Yvonne Brewster Archive

This collection contains material relating to the life and work of Yvonne Brewster, a director and writer, and focuses on both her stage and television career. It includes programmes, correspondence, newspaper cuttings, photographs, posters, and audio-visual material.

Yvonne Brewster is a director and writer working on stage and in television. Brewster was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 7th October 1938. She studied Speech, Drama, and Mime at the Rose Bruford College and the Royal Academy of Music. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Open University in 2001, and an honorary fellowship from the University of London's Central School of Speech and Drama.

Yvonne Brewster founded The Barn in Kingston, Jamaica with Trevor Rhone in 1965; Jamaica's first professional theatre company which is still producing theatre today. Furthermore, in 1985 Brewster founded the Talawa Theatre Company with Mona Hammond, Carmen Munroe, and Inigo Espejel, a Black British theatre company. The company supports the work of black directors, writers and actors and focuses on reinterpreting classic plays as well as new work. She directed a number of ground-breaking productions for Talawa including several Shakespeare plays and 'The Black Jacobins' by CLR James.

As well as working extensively in theatre, Yvonne Brewster worked on television and film including The Fight Against Slavery , My Father Sun-Sun Johnson , and Romeo and Juliet .

Brewster was Drama Officer at the Arts Council of Great Britain between 1982 and 1984. Her memoirs, entitled The Undertaker's Daughter: The Colourful Life of a Theatre Director were published in 2004.

Brewster has won a number of awards including a National Black Theatre Festival 'Living Legend Award', an Annual Community Award for the arts, an EFBWBO 'Heritage Award', and a BAFTA for Romeo and Juliet . She was also awarded an Order of the British Empire for Services to the Arts in 1993.

This collection is arranged as follows:

• THM/516/1- Talawa Theatre Company
• THM/516/2- Personal Documents
• THM/516/3- Other Theatre Projects
• THM/516/4- Other Projects
• THM/516/5- Print
• THM/516/6- Professional Documents and Awards

This archive collection is available for consultation in the V&A Blythe House Archive and Library Study Room by appointment only. Full details of access arrangements may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/

Access to some of the material may be restricted. These are noted in the catalogue where relevant.

Given by Yvonne Brewster, 2018.

Information on copying and commercial reproduction may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/

This collection was appraised in line with collection management policy.

See also the core collections of the V&A Department of Theatre and Performance. Material relating to ...., as well as the ..... in general may be found in several collections, including the biographical, productions, company and photographs files.

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