Victorian & Edwardian Theatre in Performance: Music & Machinery – Stagecraft & Spectacle took place at the beautiful Grade I listed Tyne Theatre & Opera House in mid-September. The 3-day conference examined the inter-relationships between the stage, the orchestra pit, the performer and the audience during the Victorian & Edwardian periods.

The conference included a wide selection of papers from academics, historians and enthusiasts of the stage with papers on theatre fires, aerial ballet, scenery and scenic artists, the development of tap, and stage machinery amongst others.  We were delighted to host guests illusionist Paul Kieve, who shared secrets of staging illusions, and pianist Philip Carli who accompanied a paper on silent film. A full conference programme can be found here.  

The conference also marked the completion of the theatre’s performance database which has been developed as part of our heritage project and includes all performances at the TT&OH between 1867-1919. The searchable database can be found on our website here. We still have a few tweaks to sort out so please bear with us. 

The conference culminated with a practical demonstration of the historic Victorian stage machinery, which has been restored by Master Carpenter Colin Hopkins and our volunteer team. To find out more about the machinery project, follow the link here.