Learn more about theatre’s history

The Theatre Royal Nottingham has teamed up with the University of Nottingham’s School of English and Horizon Digital Economy Research Hub to create a mobile phone-based technology which brings the theatre’s 150-year past to life.
Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Pictured circa 1899.

Photo courtesy of Nottingham Historical Film Unit and picturethepast.org.ukNottingham Theatre Royal.

Pictured circa 1899.

Photo courtesy of Nottingham Historical Film Unit and picturethepast.org.uk
Nottingham Theatre Royal. Pictured circa 1899. Photo courtesy of Nottingham Historical Film Unit and picturethepast.org.uk

On Sunday, there will be a series of free digital sessions so members of the public can try out this new technology, allowing access to historical images and specially recorded stories via their mobile phones.

This includes speeches from opening night in 1865, extracts from a visitor’s book from Theatre Royal digs in the 1920s, the history of the Empire Theatre and details about Nottingham’s first Theatre Royal from 1760.

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These free sessions will be held at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. The sessions are free but ticketed, so will need to be booked in advance on www.trch.co.uk or 0115 989 5555.

At the start of each session, there will be a welcome introduction on the Theatre Royal’s Dress Circle foyer including easy-to-follow instructions and support on how to download the site and use the app. The app includes an interactive GPS map so users can simply tap their smartphone screen to bring up audio and images relating to the Theatre Royal in various city centre locations.

This includes locations around the Theatre Royal itself, plus areas in the Lace Market, the Arboretum and Old Market Square.

App users can return to the Theatre Royal at any point during the afternoon to give evaluation on this new technology and to take the opportunity to look through a display of archive materials in the stalls foyer.

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David Longford, creative learning manager for the Theatre Royal Nottingham, said: “This is still a research tool but is quite exciting for us to go digital with our archive. It’s something we are hoping to continue to develop in the future.”

Photo courtesy of Nottingham Historical Film Unit and picturethepast.org.uk

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