Subject guides: Theatre Studies: Databases

This guide provides a general introduction to library and information resources for all those studying, teaching and researching on topics relating to theatre studies.

About Library databases

The Library uses the term ‘database’ to describe a searchable online resource which forms an increasingly important part of our overall Library collections. Usually, the Library pays for access to copyrighted content within licensed databases, although a small number may be freely avialable to access.

Why use Library databases?

Access to information sources far beyond our own Library collections, anytime and anywhere
Powerful search facilities for research
Databases can be subject specific
More importantly, using the databases provided by the Library will help you find reliable information from trusted sources.

You might be able to find references to licensed databases by searching Google, but you'll only be able to access them via UoE login by following the links from Databases A-Z or Databaes by Subject, that is, if we do own or subscribe to the databases you need.

What do databases cover?

A database may be dedicated to a single subject (e.g. Beckett Digital Library) or cover several subjects (e.g. Arts and Humanities Citation Index). Some publishers also provide a single platform which allows you to search across all their databases from one website (e.g. ProQuest).

You can find a variety of resources:

full text e-journal articles
e-books
abstracts
citation information
newspaper articles - historical and current
primary source material, e.g. archives
dissertations
conference proceedings
images
audio-visual content including video streaming

Relationship between DiscoverEd and Library databases

DiscoverEd is a catalogue of all the Library collections, physical and electronic. The system is maintained by the Library. Databases are maintained and updated by database publishers.
Most databases are indexed in DiscoverEd by database name. We aim to keep this indexing as up to date as possible.
Most databases are also indexed in DiscoverEd at the item level, such as e-books, e-book chapters, and e-journal articles, but NOT for all the databases. One such exception is The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, 1902-2014 : you can find the database name in DiscoverEd, but articles in this database are NOT indexed in DiscoverEd. Therefore, search the database itself if you are looking for TLS articles.
You can search full text within full-text databases (e.g. JSTOR), but NOT in DiscoverEd because the latter doesn't index databases at the full-text level.

Tips for accessing databases

Access databases via the one of the correct routes below, instead of doing so via Google:
- Library Databases list
- DiscoverEd
- Library channel in MyEd
- Resource Lists
Remember to sign in when using DiscoverEd
Remember to use VPN when off-campus
Try a different browser
Some databases limit the number of simultaneous users - if you are turned away, just wait for a little while and try again.

► More about Library databases...

List of subscription-based databases. University login required.

Asian American Drama This link opens in a new window
Asian American Drama is an online text collection that brings together more than 250 plays, along with related biographical, production, and theatrical information. The collection begins with the works of Sadakichi Hartmann in the late 19th century and progresses to the writings of contemporary playwrights, such as Philip Kan Gotanda, Elizabeth Wong, and Jeannie Barroga.
Audio Drama: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection This link opens in a new window
Audio Drama: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection delivers, for the first time online, hundreds of important dramatic works in streaming audio from the curated archive of the nation’s premiere radio theatre company. The plays—which include some of the most significant dramatic literature of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries—are performed by leading actors from around the world and recorded specifically for online listening.
BBC Literary Adaptations in Video This link opens in a new window
This collection of 236 titles comprises a treasure trove of BBC productions of famous literary works, many that were buried in the BBC archive for the past few decades. From Dickens to Shakespeare, from Chekhov to Arthur Miller, from Jane Austen to Mary Shelley, a great breadth of works is included. Talent like Mark Rylance, John Gielgud, Ian McKellen, Colin Firth, and more make this product a must-have for theatre, drama, performing arts, and literature courses. In addition to actual performances, the product includes titles like Face to Face where actors and directors discuss their craft.
Black Drama Third Edition This link opens in a new window
Black Drama, now in its third edition, contains the full text of more than 1,700 plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 200 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries. Many of the works are rare, hard to find, or out of print. James Vernon Hatch, the playwright, historian, and curator of the landmark Hatch-Billops Collection, is the project’s editorial advisor. More than 40 percent of the collection consists of previously unpublished plays by writers such as Langston Hughes, Ed Bullins, Willis Richardson, Amiri Baraka, Randolph Edmonds, Zora Neale Hurston, and many others.
Box of Broadcasts This link opens in a new window
BoB (Box of Broadcasts) enables all staff and students in subscribing institutions to choose and record any broadcast programme from 60+ TV and radio channels. The recorded programmes are then kept indefinitely (no expiry) and added to a growing media archive (currently at over 1 million programmes), with all content shared by users across all subscribing institutions.
Contemporary World Drama This link opens in a new window
Contemporary World Drama examines the richness and diversity of contemporary theatre and drama from a global context, bringing together new work from established and up-and-coming contemporary playwrights from around the world, including recently produced world premieres and previously unpublished works from every continent. At completion, the collection will include 1,000 contemporary plays, from 2000 to present day.
Digital Theatre Plus This link opens in a new window
Digital Theatre+ provides access to 600+ theatre productions and supporting educational resources, with over 300 videos of quality live performances of classic, contemporary and international productions.
Drama Online This link opens in a new window
Drama Online is a digital library of the world’s most studied and critically-acclaimed plays, accompanied by a wealth of innovative teaching and performance tools, critical analysis, contextual information, references and practical texts. We have subscribed to following components:

1. Nick Hern Books Collection : Over 500 modern plays from specialist theatre publisher Nick Hern Books featuring pre-eminent playwrights including Howard Brenton, Jez Butterworth, and Caryl Churchill.

2. The RSC Live Collection: 17 films of live productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2013 to the cutting-edge 2016-17 production of The Tempest starring Simon Russell-Beale

3. Shakespeare's Globe On Screen (2008-2015): 21 films recorded live on the Globe stage from leading actors including Mark Rylance, Stephen Fry, and Roger Allam’s Olivier Award-winning Falstaff in Henry IV

4. Shakespeare’s Globe on Screen 2 (2016-2018): Features landmark productions from the Globe Theatre’s most recent seasons, including the first production from the indoor Jacobean theatre, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014

5. Shakespeare in the Present: A six hour acting masterclass with international coach Patsy Rodenburg, starring Joseph Fiennes

6. Stage on Screen: Critically acclaimed stage productions of four key set drama and literature texts: The Duchess of Malfi, Doctor Faustus, The School for Scandal, and Volpone.

7. Shakespeare’s Heroes and Villains: Steven Berkoff: A 90 minute masterclass from Steven Berkoff, world-renowned writer, director, and actor.

8. Maxine Peake as Hamlet: A landmark reinvention of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with Maxine Peake in the title role.
International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text This link opens in a new window
International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text is the definitive research tool for the study of theatre and the performing arts. This database was initiated by the American Society for Theatre Research, and since 1984, the Theatre Research Data Center (TRDC) at Brooklyn College has published 14 volumes of the IBTD. These volumes comprise a fully indexed, cross-referenced and annotated databank of over 60,000 journal articles, books, book chapters and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries. International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text contains more than 490 full-text titles, including more than 170 full-text journals, and more than 360 full-text books & monographs.
International Database of Shakespeare on Film, Television and Radio This link opens in a new window
This authoritative online database of Shakespeare-related content in film, television, radio and video recordings is international in scope, is regularly updated and currently holds nearly 8,000 records dating from the 1890s to the present day.
National Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
The National Theatre Collection brings the stage to life through access to high definition streamed video of world-class theatre productions and unique archival material, offering insight into British theatre-making and performance studies. Volume 1 contains 30 video performances and Volume 2 has 10 performances (a further 10 performances will be added by the end of February 2022). All the performance recordings include captions. As a supplement to the filmed productions, exclusive digitised archival materials such as prompt scripts, costume designs, and more are available to provide behind-the-scenes background and contextual information. The featured 40 performances are:

Volume 1

Comedies: She Stoops to Conquer (2012), One Man, Two Guvnors (2011), London Assurance (2010)
20th century classics: Yerma (2017), The Cherry Orchard (2011), The Deep Blue Sea (2016), Les Blancs (2016), A Streetcar Named Desire (2014), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2018), Consent (2017), Translations (2018)
Shakespeare plays: Hamlet (2010), Othello (2013), King Lear (2011), Macbeth (2018), Julius Caesar (2018), Coriolanus (2014), Twelfth Night (2017), The Winter's Tale (2018), Romeo and Juliet (2017)
Literary adaptations: Frankenstein (2 performances, 2011), Jane Eyre (2015), Treasure Island (2015), Peter Pan (2017), Wonder.land (2015), Small Island (2019)
Greek classics: Antigone (2012), Medea (2014)
World historical drama: Dara (2015)

Volume 2

Turn of the century plays for contemporary audiences: Heda Gabler (2017), Julie (2018), The Seagull (2016), Three Sisters (2019)
20th century classics: A view from the Bridge (2015), All My Sons(2019)
Contemporary plays: Barber Shop Chronicles (2017), This House(2013)
Shakespeare: Macbeth (2019)
Musical theatre: I want My Hat Back (2015)
North American Indian Drama, 2nd Edition This link opens in a new window
North American Indian Drama brings together 250+ full-text plays representing the stories and creative energies of American Indian and First Nation playwrights of the twentieth century. Many of the plays are previously unpublished or hard to find, and they represent a wealth of dramatic material that is often overlooked or inaccessible. Together, the plays demonstrate Native theatre’s diversity of tribal traditions and approaches to drama—melding conventional dramatic form with ancient storytelling and ritual performance elements, experimenting with traditional ideas of time and narrative, or challenging Western dramatic structure.
North American Women's Drama, 2nd Edition This link opens in a new window
North American Women’s Drama brings these writings the attention they deserve, by publishing the full text of 1,500 plays written from Colonial times to the present by more than 100 women from the United States and Canada. Many of the works are rare, hard to find, or out of print. Almost a quarter of the collection consists of previously unpublished plays. Now for the first time, these plays can be studied, analyzed, and read with ease. Each play is extensively and deeply indexed, allowing both keyword and multi-fielded searching. The plays are accompanied by reference materials, significant ancillary information, a rich performance database, and associated resources. The result is an exceptionally deep and unified collection — to give voices to women, to represent women’s issues, to break stereotypes, to examine women’s views, to present women in various roles, and simply to entertain.
Royal Shakespeare Company Collection This link opens in a new window
Modern recordings help you bring Shakespeare to life in the classroom. The Royal Shakespeare Company Collectionoffers high-definition recordings of The Bard’s dramatic canon, featuring the world’s best Shakespearean actors and directors, along with supplemental teaching materials to help students engage more deeply with the material and enhance the overall learning experience.
Screen Studies Collection by ProQuest This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive survey of current publications related to film scholarship alongside detailed and expansive filmographies. This collection includes the specialist index FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database and the detailed and complementary filmographies created by the American Film Institute and the British Film Institute; AFI Catalog and Film Index International. Please see individual databse entries for more detailed descriptions of each database.
Theatre in Context This link opens in a new window
Experience the history of the theatre through 40,000 pages of monumental reference works, encyclopedias, images, flyers, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and other resources that offer a glimpse into the productions of the past.
Theatre in Video This link opens in a new window
Theatre in Video contains more than 250 definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries, online in streaming video - more than 500 hours in all, representing hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors. This video resource is searchable by title, actor, playwright, and subject. It is also browsable by actor, director, playwright, genre, and dates. It is possible to bookmark specific scenes, monologues, and staging examples and then include those online links in learning and teaching material and in Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Twentieth Century North American Drama, 2nd Edition This link opens in a new window
Twentieth Century North American Drama contains 2,050+ plays from the United States and Canada. In addition to providing a comprehensive full-text resource for students in the performing arts, the collection offers a unique window into the economic, historical, social, and political psyche of two countries. Scholars and students who use the database will have a new way to study the signal events of the twentieth century—including the Depression, the role of women, the Cold War, and more—through the plays and performances of writers who lived through these decades.