Key resources
See below for some key resources for studying Drama, especially Shakespeare.
Key journals include:
- Exeunt MagazineAn online theatre magazine for quality theatre criticism, interviews, essays, long-form writing and podcasts.
- New Theatre QuarterlyThis journal covers theatrical scholarship and practice.The journal publishes news, analysis and debate within the field of theatre studies.
- RIDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and PerformanceResearch in Drama Education (RIDE) is aimed at those who are interested in applying performance practices to cultural engagement, educational innovation and social change
- Shakespeare BulletinCovers performance studies and scholarly treatment of Shakespearean and early modern drama on stage and screen.
- Shakespeare QuarterlyLeading journal in Shakespeare studies, publishing highly original, rigorously researched essays, notes, and book reviews.
- TDR: The Drama ReviewThis journal focused on performances in their social, economic, aesthetic, and political contexts. Covers dance, theatre, music, performance art, visual art, popular entertainment, media, sports, rituals, and performance in politics and everyday life
- Theatre Research InternationalArticles and reviews on the historical, critical and theoretical study of documentation of drama, conceived as the art of the theater; original articles on performance, acting and production techniques and theater architecture
- The StageThe main theatre industry weekly newspaper. This resource has content that looks at many areas of the Drama profession, including articles on directing, design and acting. Also includes contributions from theatre critics
- A Younger TheatreA Younger Theatre, the latest theatre reviews, news and ticket offers. Seeing theatre through the eyes of the younger generation.
- ProQuest One Literature (formerly Literature Online) This link opens in a new window
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Access to full text journals, dissertations, eBooks, primary works, video and reference works from all over the world, including the ProQuest Black Writing Collection, and the World Literature Collection.
- Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
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Compiles literary commentary from newspapers, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books, periodicals and more.
- International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance (IBTD) This link opens in a new window
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A collection of books, articles and dissertations on all aspects of the performing arts.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Journals and eBooks in arts, humanities, social sciences and life sciences. NOTE: We do not subscribe to all of the eBook content in this database. You can filter your results by Access on the left hand menu and selecting “content I can access.”
- Understanding Shakespeare (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
A research tool that links directly from the text of Shakespeare's plays to relevant articles from the JSTOR archive.
As well as the following streaming platforms, you can find DVDs of many Shakespeare plays in our legacy AV collection the Third Floor. Viewing facilities are provided.
- BBC Shakespeare Archive (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
All the BBC's Shakespeare output: plays, poems, documentaries, interviews, images. Licensed only for streamed playback. Register here with your Roehampton email address.
- Drama Online This link opens in a new window
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Plays and criticisms from a range of publishers (e.g. Aurora Metro Books, Faber & Faber and Bloomsbury). Also includes Globe on Screen and Early Modern video from V&A Museum's archives. Note: For access select “University of Roehampton”.
- National Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
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High-definition streaming video of world-class productions, plus unique archival material, from London’s National Theatre.
- Theatre Performance and Design Collection This link opens in a new window
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A comprehensive collection of performance videos, audio recordings, and production designs (from sound and lights to sets and costumes).
- ROB (Roehampton Online Broadcasts) This link opens in a new window
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Record and stream freeview TV and radio programmes for educational use, create clips and playlists, and access the archive of recorded programmes including BBC and Shakespeare Archives. ROB is managed by AVR, for assistance contact: avr@roehampton.ac.uk.
- Drama Online This link opens in a new window
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Plays and criticisms from a range of publishers (e.g. Aurora Metro Books, Faber & Faber and Bloomsbury). Also includes Globe on Screen and Early Modern video from V&A Museum's archives. Note: For access select “University of Roehampton”.
- First Folios Compared (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
47 of Shakespeare's First Folios gathered together in digital format, allowing split screen viewing for comparison and analysis.
- Folger Shakespeare Library (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
Home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare materials and rare Renaissance books, manuscripts, and works of art. Website offers the facility to learn about Folger events and resources, both online and on location. Online texts, teaching tools and digital collections. Links to the Hamnet catalogue.
- Shakespeare's Monologues (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
A complete database of Shakespeare's Monologues, full searchable and organised by play and genre.