Archives and rare books

The Shakespeare Institute Library has significant research collections, covering:

  • Production design, including costumes, sets and ground/stage plans​
  • Actors' scripts and research notes​
  • Photographs of Shakespeare productions​
  • Administrative records of theatre venues​
  • Working papers for publications​
  • Production brochures and posters​

Please note there are items in the archive collection that are closed due to the Data Protection Act 2018, which is the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).​

Rare books​

The rare books from the Shakespeare collection are currently located at the Cadbury Research Library, at the University of Birmingham Edgbaston campus.​

The rare books can be searched for on FindIt@Bham – University of Birmingham (exlibrisgroup.com) 

Please contact the Cadbury Research Library in advance to request to view items from the rare books collection: ​