Unfinished Histories

Unfinished Histories Unfinished Histories records British Alternative Theatre 1968-88, through interviews and collecting archives -women's, Black, Disabled, experimental etc

Interviews: We have recorded around 100 extensive interviews on audio or video to date, of around 3 to 8 hours in length and are always fundraising to record more. Archive material: We collect and preserve archival material relating to the field, clearing copyright and digitising selected items to make them available on our web site and liaising with appropriate museums and libraries to ensure its long-term preservation . We have lodged material with Bishopsgate Institute (our main archive), the Victoria & Albert Museum, Rose Bruford College of Drama and Special Collections at the University of Bristol and University of Sheffield to date, with the proviso that they are accessible to the public. AV material:
• UH locates and organises the preservation copying of audio and video material from work of the period, including unique footage. This is lodged it with the Sound Archive at the British Library where, again, it is accessible as part of the public record. Material includes interviews and audio and video show recordings.
• UH is working to ensure the preservation and publication of numerous unpublished scripts, many of which have never been submitted to the national collection at the British Library and are therefore in danger of being lost to posterity, as well as other important written documents relating to the movement. Research Support: UH commissions and conducts research and creates freely available online digital resources to encourage research, study and new creative work in response to this history. These include educational resources mapping contemporary publications in the field. We have completed an online index of 8 key journals on alternative theatre in the 1960s-80 and scanned many 100s or articles and listings, but need further funding to make this accessible online. Personal Histories: In 2013 UH developed a new project to encourage those who were involved in the movement to begin to record the individual histories of the 700+ companies set up within this time frame. It also plans to document the key venues and organisations that supported the work. See www.unfinishedhistories.com to discover the enormous quantities of material already gathered to record this history. UH has so far received funding from Heritage Lottery, Unity Theatre Trust, Awards for All, Lipman-Miliband Foundation, Palatine (in conjunction with University of Sheffield), Rose Bruford College and others as well as individual donations.

Special offer till 11th September  50% off my latest anthology (and others in the Montez Press back catalogue!) Don't mi...
09/09/2026

Special offer till 11th September 50% off my latest anthology (and others in the Montez Press back catalogue!) Don't miss it!
Radical Rediscoveries: Women's Performance Texts 1969-1992 currently available from Montez Press for half price - £20 instead of the usual £40!
The book is the first of three volumes by Unfinished Histories as part of Montez Press imprint Scores, in collaboration with the Associate Artists programme at London Performance Studios. This collection brings together six seminal works of British alternative feminist and women’s theatre from the archive, with a contextual introductory text by Dr. Susan Croft, co-founder of Unfinished Histories. The play texts included are: Va**na Rex and the Gas Oven by Jane Arden (1969), Go West Young Woman by Pam Gems (1974), Ophelia by Melissa Murray (1979), Minutes by Hesitate & Demonstrate (1979), Room by Natasha Morgan (1981) and The Wind of Change by Winsome Pinnock (1987). Founded in 2007 by Susan Croft and Jessica Higgs, Unfinished Histories is a project to gather the oral histories and preserve the archive of the vital alternative theatre movement in Britain from around 1968 to the early 90s. It shares information gathered through its extensive website www.unfinishedhistories.com as well as through exhibitions, discussions, newsletters, readings and publications, and seeks to encourage new work inspired by this history. From 2023 to 2026 Unfinished Histories is working with London Performance Studios on the project FYFFI: Fifty Years of the Fight for Inclusion.

Search for: FYFFI 3 SLIDEFIND OUT MORESlide 2FYFFI: Fifty Years of the Fight for InclusionCelebrating the struggle for change in theatre, what’s been gained, what remains to be achieved through readings, workshops, guided walks, exhibitions, publications and symposia. We start with 50 years since ...

https://mailchi.mp/964037c5fb69/latest-news-from-unfinished-histories-and-fyffi-9319342  Please support our important wo...
02/07/2026

https://mailchi.mp/964037c5fb69/latest-news-from-unfinished-histories-and-fyffi-9319342 Please support our important work! Many thanks.

We'd be grateful for any offering, big or small to help us achieve our 2026 programme. Unfortunately, delays in funding, and a difficult landscape over the past few years has meant that we are reaching out to all that care about our work, and keep radical theatre histories alive, to inspire future g...

Latest Newsletter - lots happening!
23/06/2026

Latest Newsletter - lots happening!

Contents Forthcoming Events Unfinished Histories presents FYFFI 3: Marking 50 Years Since Naseem Khan's ground-breaking report The Arts Britain Ignores Coming in July: 2 new Playreading Marathons! Free but book below plus  Microgrants offered! Dates and Events for later in the year Additional Mater...

Brilliant to see Sheila's book - Sheila Burnett - featured in The Guardian!Unfinished Histories helped launch it last ye...
22/01/2026

Brilliant to see Sheila's book - Sheila Burnett - featured in The Guardian!
Unfinished Histories helped launch it last year at Bishopsgate Institute
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2026/jan/21/experimental-pip-simmons-theatre-group-in-pictures?CMP=share_btn_url&fbclid=IwY2xjawPfBh1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeiA62GMXESsC6qKQklC4lwxL8soUDvJzWaGzEFDBo7KFVL9XU129Qpd0W9A0_aem_AMparNGaV08kRDFH41cm7A

The maverick theatre-maker Pip Simmons, who died two years ago aged 80, is captured on stage and off in a book by photographer Sheila Burnett documenting the radical troupe’s years of European touring

Radical RootsRediscovering Our Lost LGBTQ+ Theatre HistoriesAn evening of playreadings from the 1980s.Sunday 1st Feb, 7....
07/01/2026

Radical Roots
Rediscovering Our Lost LGBTQ+ Theatre Histories

An evening of playreadings from the 1980s.
Sunday 1st Feb, 7. 30pm
Hackney Showroom
Info and tickets here

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