NVAP Musical Matinee: The Color Purple

The Color Purple is a dynamic and tender musical that celebrates the importance of female friendship, resilience, and empowerment. It follows the story of Celie, a young African-American woman who overcomes abuse and adversity in pursuit of her own voice and identity. The musical is based on the novel of the same name, written by Alice Walker, and the Steven Spielberg film. The book is by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. This production was directed by Tinuke Craig at The Curve Theatre, Leicester, and recorded live by the V&A in July 2019.


This screening will be 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute interval. Please note, NVAP's are subject to last minute changes.

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 view and learn about significant British productions and captures and preserves moments of ephemeral performance history that otherwise would be lost. When V&A East opens in 2024 all the recordings will be available for the public to view in a brand-new facility.