Dear colleagues, 

Apologies for cross-posting, I'm forwarding this to the list on behalf
of Rexton Bunnett who has asked for the news to be circulated.

Best wishes, 
Ramona

PRESS RELEASE
MAJOR COLLECTION ON HISTORY OF MUSICALS
DESTINED FOR THE V&A

Embargoed until Wednesday 15 December 

In an act of recession-defying philanthropy, Rexton S Bunnett, the
creator of the UK’s largest private collection of musical
theatre-related memorabilia has announced his intention to leave the
collection to the nation. To achieve this, Bunnett, a lifelong musical
theatre enthusiast, has created Overtures: The Bunnett-Muir Musical
Theatre Archive Trust, to ensure the future of the collection. The
Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) will be responsible for public access
and
the archive will formally transfer to the V&A upon Bunnett’s death. 

Started in the late 1950s by Bunnett and his late partner John Muir,
the archive is a treasure-trove of recordings, posters, programmes,
scripts, books, photographs, designs and other memorabilia documenting
the evolution of the musical since the 19th century in the UK and on
Broadway. It contains over 25,000 items including the Gilbert and
Sullivan comic operas, original artwork from many turn-of-the-century
shows and a copy of Noel Coward’s vocal score of his Bitter Sweet
signed by him and the full cast. Bunnett and Muir also developed their
own research library which continues to grow. 

Rexton Bunnett said: “My partner John Muir and I spent decades
putting this collection together to act as a comprehensive record of
this crucial sector of the performing arts in Britain. I now want to
ensure that the collection remains together and can be made available
to
the public and specialist researchers.  Musicals are not only hugely
popular and great entertainment but are often an accurate reflection
of
broader changes within society which can be seen is shows such as Me
and
My Girl and Fings Ain’t What They Used To Be. The commercial success
of musicals is central to a thriving performance economy in London’s
Theatreland - which in turn is crucial to London’s tourism.”

Geoffrey Marsh, V&A’s Director of Theatre and Performance, said:
“This is an extraordinarily generous gift to the nation. The
Bunnett-Muir Musical Theatre Archive provides a fascinating insight in
the evolution of musicals in London since the late nineteenth century
and the close interplay with America’s Broadway. We are delighted
that
Rexton has chosen the V&A as the long term home for this
collection”.

Asked why he has made his decision now, Rexton said: “Our National
Museums are great institutions because generations of private
collectors
have enriched their collections in the past. It is particularly
important at times such as these, when funding is constrained that
this
tradition continues so that the public will have access in the future
to
material which records the arts in our own times”. 

From the very beginning, Bunnett and Muir conceived the collection as
a
‘living archive’. This concept underlines one of the key aims of
Overtures which is to recognise and follow new talent throughout their
careers. The development of the collection has run alongside the
careers
of the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim.

The formation of Overtures includes the ambition to preserve more film
of new musicals, such as, Laurence Mark Wythe’s Tomorrow Morning,
recorded at London’s Landor Theatre in November. The centre of
activity for the Trust is a dedicated website, www.overtures.name,
which
functions as a meeting place for performers, scholars and theatre
lovers
from all over the world. It will be developed not only to include a
complete online catalogue of the archive and serve as an educational
resource containing interviews with leading names in musical theatre,
high-quality scanned images of items from the collection and video
footage. 

The donation has already attracted support from the theatre community,
including the important gift of the archive of the King’s Head, the
pioneering fringe theatre in Islington, established in 1970 by the
American Dan Crawford.  Stephanie Sinclaire, his widow, said, “I
wanted to make certain that the innovative work of small performance
venues is recorded alongside that of the West End’s major theatres.
Dan dedicated his life to fringe theatre and recognised Rexton and
John
as guardians of this record of his achievements.  By donating the
archive I hope that future generations will learn from the work of Dan
and his colleagues - that you can achieve anything in London if you
put
your mind to it.’

ENDS


Notes:

1. Musical Theatre in the form of the musical, revue and variety
has been a mainstay of London’s theatre scene for over a century. 
The
capital’s economy depends upon the success of these shows.  While
there is a happy mix of straight plays, opera and ballet it is the
musical that attracts the largest audiences.  And, of course, the
musical has become a major export.  Shows such as Sandy Wilson’s The
Boy Friend and Lionel Bart’s Oliver! are as popular in North America
as they are in the UK, and more recently the phenomenon of Lloyd
Webber
has spread across the globe with overwhelming success.   
 
2. The Collection is being transferred to a new charity which will
raise funds to research and develop it. The V&A will be responsible
for
public access to the collection. The collection will transfer formally
to the V&A on the death of Mr. Bunnett.

3. The Trust will work in conjunction with the V&A and their
outstanding archives and help grow the National Video collection with
a
particular focus on the Fringe and its importance to Britain’s
Theatrical Heritance - it is a living archive that will be of the
moment. To underscore this relationship the Trust has appointed the
V&A’s Geoffrey Marsh as a Trustee, along with the Landor
Theatre’s Robert McWhir, King’s College London’s Dominic McHugh
and software entrepreneur Patrick Hayward, to support Rexton Bunnett
in
bringing this important addition to the National Collection to
international prominence.  

4. While forming part of the overall collection, The Dan
Crawford/King’s Head Archive is to be kept distinct.  Before Dan
came
to Islington with his theatrical vision there was hardly a
‘Fringe’
in London.  New York had its ‘Off-Broadway’ but London had just a
few small playing areas.  1970 saw the change in that and over 35
years
Dan made pub theatre an intrinsic part of London Theatre scene.  His
love of the musical and revue brought important revivals and
retrospectives.  Dan was a dynamic force in the working of London’s
theatre scene and the only thing he never conquered was the leaking
roof.

5. Details about access to the collection will be available from
April 2011 on the V&A’s website. 



Ramona Riedzewski
Archivist & Conservation Manager
V&A Theatre & Performance
Blythe House
23 Blythe Road
London W14 0QX
 
Tel: +44 (0)207 471 9870


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