Plymouth Theatre History's photostream

The city of Plymouth in south-west England has a long and impressive theatrical history. Although physically isolated from the rest of the country, its size and the wealth generated by its trade and naval connections led to the growth of a middle-class who wanted to be entertained.

The constituent three towns of Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse had theatres which attracted the country's leading actors, companies and entertainers. This collection of images sets out to illustrate their legacy.

Our original Applause SouthWest website was funded by the National Lottery through the New Opportunities Fund.

Times, priorities and opportunities change. Flickr didn't exist when we planned Applause SouthWest but now provides us with a superb opportunity to bring our historic theatrical resources to a much wider audience.

Although the original site had a number of elements - some historical and some more contemporary - we are concentrating on preserving the historical elements. That's the theatres, playbills, photographs and the programmes.

If you have enjoyed looking at our images and would like more information, we would love to hear from you. Or just leave a comment on an image.

To see more images relating to the history of theatre in Plymouth, visit Plymouth History on Flickr.


Copyright: The copyright in these images belongs to Plymouth Library Services. All rights reserved