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.
System of Arrangement
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
Languages
eng
Administrative and Biographical History
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.
Access Conditions
This archive collection is available for consultation in the V&A Study Rooms 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.
Reproduction Conditions
Information on copying and commercial reproduction may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/
Contains the following records:
Citation
V&A Collections, Theatre and Performance, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/archive/ARC102760