The Stephen Joseph / Library Theatre Collection: Overview


Scarborough Library is not just home to the Concert Room, where the UK's first professional theatre in the round company was founded dedicated to in 1955. It is also home to the most substantive collection of archival material relating to Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre in the UK.
The collection is currently being curated and documented by theatre historian and Alan Ayckbourn's archivist, Simon Murgatroyd, and is an ongoing project to catalogue, expand and promote the collection. As the project progresses, details of this work will be expanded and carried on this page leading eventually to a full catalogue being available.

As of January 2026, the collection essentially consists of:
  • A collection of original programme for Theatre in the Round a the Library Theatre from 1955 to 1976.
  • Brochures and flyers for Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre between 1955 and 1976.
  • Correspondence relating to Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre between 1955 and 1972 - including material by Stephen Joseph relating to the creation of the company.
  • Original ground-plans and designs for Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre.
  • Publications by Stephen Joseph relating to Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre.
  • Programmes collections for amateur productions staged at The Library Theatre from 1955 until the mind 1980s.
  • A collection of original programmes for the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round from 1976 to 1996.
  • Brochures and flyers for the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round from 1976 to 1996.
  • Newspaper cuttings relating to Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre and the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round.
  • A limited collection of miscellaneous material pertaining to the Stephen Joseph Theatre (1996 - present).
  • Published play-texts by Alan Ayckbourn and books by and about the playwright.

Future acquisitions are currently being explored to include completing the programme collections for Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre and the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, creating a complete set of Stephen Joseph's published works and adding an original photographic archive of professional productions at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre.

Simon Murgatroyd, January 2026
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The Library Theatre Collection pages of A Round Town are associated with The Stephen Joseph / Library Theatre Collection held in archive by Scarborough Library. This collection of material is the most significant collection relating to the UK's first professional theatre in the round company founded by Stephen Joseph on the first floor of Scarborough Library in 1955. The collection is currently being curated and catalogued by archivist and theatre historian Simon Murgatroyd.