NVAP in Conversation

Join us for a special Q&A with the curators of Theatre and Performance to celebrate 30 years of NVAP. Learn how the archive sits within the department, the logistics behind the recordings, and what new ideas are to come! As a 30th birthday party, tea and cakes will be available to attendees.

Established in 1992, through an agreement with the Federation of Entertainment Unions, NVAP was the first project of its kind in the UK. The archive now holds over 450 high-quality archival multi-camera recordings of live performance in Britain and continues to record and preserve productions for the national collection. The archive, launched with Richard Eyre’s production of Richard III starring Ian McKellen (National Theatre, 1992), features a vast range of stage performances, with work by notable playwrights, directors, set designers, lighting designers and actors. It is an invaluable research tool to learn about significant performances and captures and preserves moments of ephemeral performance history that otherwise would have been lost. When V&A’s Stratford storehouse opens in 2024, the recordings will be available to the public to view in a brand-new facility.