Theatre and Performance
Discover the best information, whether you’re a new Theatre and Performance student starting your first assignment or delving into a research project.
Popular pages on the Library website
Three key actions for getting started
Finding information for your assessments
Developing strong information searching skills saves time and brings results. Finding Information Skills covers everything you need for academic searching. Take the Finding Information Skills assessment for a personalised action plan.
Reading Lists
These are set up by your tutors to guide you to good quality, relevant and useful materials to help you with your studies. They are a great starting point before doing your own research - find out more about your Reading Lists.
Library Search
Library Search can make your academic life easier by helping you find a range of reliable and trustworthy sources for your work. It contains a wealth of information to help you make the most of your studies, including books/eBooks, journals/eJournals, articles, databases, and more.
Using Library Search may feel daunting at first, but don't worry, we have a range of guides on how to find relevant resources.
Databases
Databases are searchable collections of good quality, academic material, particularly journal articles. They can be small subject specific or large collections covering a wide range of subject areas. Most databases provide access to full-text items.
| Provides scripts for many modern and classic plays from a huge range of authors. It also includes books providing analysis and criticism of plays and playwrights, as well as a small collection videos of specific productions. | |
| Contains journals and magazines covering the arts and entertainment industry. | |
| A great place to start a search on most subjects, providing access to both books and journal articles. | |
| Provides information on new TV commissions, new facilities, new platforms, as well as analysis, opinion, interviews, and ratings. It is a great way to keep up-to-date with the broadcast industry. | |
| More than 900 broadcasts of Shakespeare’s plays and poetry, along with documentaries, comedies and critical analyses of his work. | |
| Within the Black Plays Archive (BPA), users can search for productions, listen to audio extracts of plays, watch interviews with playwrights and browse the teaching resources. | |
| Oxford Reference Online consists of a wealth of facts, figures, definitions, and translations found in dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. |
Primary sources
In general, primary sources are original documents and objects that give first-hand accounts of a topic or event and are created by people who had a direct connection with the topic or event. These can be government, company or personal papers, newspapers, books or magazines, or films or works of art.
| Prompt books for more than 90% of Shakespeare’s plays, including editions owned by notable actors and directors such as Charles and John Philip Kemble, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry and Laurence Olivier. A prompt book is the main copy of a production script. | |
| Offers researchers a comprehensive insight into performance practice in this unique theatre space. Documenting more than 200 productions from 1997-2016. | |
| Contains the key periodicals for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries. Covers from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to the 21st century. |
Video
Videos offer a dynamic way to absorb information. They often present complex ideas in an easily digestible format.
| This collection provides videos of more than 300 classic, contemporary and international theatre productions. There are over 230 interviews exploring the theatre-making process as well as essays, documentaries, lectures, and study guides relating to all aspects of theatre. | |
| A substantial collection of videos for a wide range of subject areas including, business, counselling, film, health, history, music, and more. | |
| An archive of more than 2.2 million radio and TV programmes that have been broadcast in the UK. You can search for, and watch, anything already in the archive, as well as making use of the TV scheduling service. This allows you to record TV and radio programmes that are scheduled to be broadcast over the next seven days. | |
| Provides access to a large, curated catalogue of more than 30,000 educational documentaries and classic films from leading producers. | |
| Drawing on ten years of NT Live broadcasts, alongside high-quality archive recordings never previously seen outside the NT's Archive, the National Theatre Collections provide more than 60 filmed performance. | |
| Physical training exercises for actors provided via 60 very short videos with accompanying audio commentary, reflection, and texts. |
Newspapers
Newspapers are a great source for reviews and comment on film, television, theatre, and performances.
The Library gives students and researchers access to wide-range of Newspapers.
Industry websites
There is a wealth of information on the internet, just remember to evaluate what you find carefully. The following are some trusted industry websites that support your studies and professional development.
| A wonderful resource for up-to-date TV scripts and there is lots of other useful scriptwriting guidance on the site as well. | |
| Information on British film and television drama. |
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers more than 9,000 professionally produced online courses covering a wide range of technical, creative and professional skills.
Always use our institutional link to log in – you will need your University email address and password. The first time that you log in, you will be taken through a setup process to discover courses tailored to your interests.
Discover more in our video: Using LinkedIn Learning at Salford.
Print Books
You can borrow print books from the Library. The location details below are a guide, it is best to search Library Search for exact location of items:
| Classmark | Subject Area |
| 790 | Performance |
| 792 | Theatre |
Study better
University assessments
Whilst studying at Salford you will need to complete a range of assessments. We provide a range of guidance on how to approach the different assessment types you may come across.
Referencing
We provide eLearning, written guides, and an extensive list of referencing examples.
Skills A-Z
We have developed eLearning over a wide range of subjects for you to develop your academic skills at home and in your own time.
Workshops
We offer online and face-to-face workshops to help you develop your academic skills. These engaging, interactive sessions cover a wide range of topics which take place throughout the year, so check up on the list regularly.
Click on a workshop title to book onto the session via Advantage. If a session has no remaining spaces, sign up to the waiting list in case a space becomes free!
One to one appointments
You can book a one to one appointment with your Academic Support Team to discuss finding information, academic and writing skills, or digital support.
Follow the link below, choose your school and what you'd like support with, then select your chosen time slot and book on through Advantage.
Can't find what you need?
Contact the Academic Support Team using this form. You can also see who's who in the Team.