Research Guides: Theatre: Theatre on Video

Theatre on Video

Aside from live performance, recorded films of theatre and performance are possibly the most informative sources for becoming familiar with various dance styles and aesthetics. Remember that these are usually highly edited and produced and may not be representative of what happened on stage.

Online Archives and Databases

These library subscription and free databases allow access and information about all kinds of recorded performances. The four subscription services, Digital Theatre+, Academic Video Online, Royal Shakespeare Company, and the National Theatre Collection have many videos that you cannot find for free online.

Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window
Has hundreds of theatrical performances, television and film adaptations of plays, and documentaries and interviews with artists, including videos from BroadwayHD, BBC's "Performance," OzFrank Theatre Matrix, the interview series Elliot Norton Reviews, and Dramatists Talk About Their Work. among many others.
Offers thousands of award-winning films, including Academy®, Emmy®, and Peabody® winners.
Digital Theatre+ This link opens in a new window
Unlimited access to some of the world's finest theatrical productions, unique backstage insights, practitioner interviews and written analysis.
National Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
Streaming video of world-class productions and unique archival material.Through a collaboration with the U.K.'s National Theatre,
This collection offers a range of digital performance resources never previously seen outside of the National Theatre’s archive.
Primary Sources Collection (Proquest) This link opens in a new window
This database contains the Royal Shakespeare Company Collection, which includes videos of 25 different Shakespeare plays from the series Live from Stratford-upon-Avon. The database also includes The L.A. Theatre Works Collection consisting of radio dramas.

Library DVDs

There are many DVDs of theatrical performance at Campbell Library in both the general DVD section on the first floor, and in the DVD section of the Performing Arts Collection, on the second floor. Make sure to check Library Search to see which location it is in. You can browse DVDs of theatrical performances under the call number PN.