The collections are an important record of the work of prominent individuals and organisations that have shaped our performing arts, from companies, actors, dancers, singers, directors, choreographers, costume designers, production designers, agents and promoters. They cover a range of performing arts including dance, theatre, musical theatre and opera, circus, illusion and festivals.

Major collections

• The PROMPT Australian Performing Arts Programs and Ephemera Collection: programs, flyers, tickets and more for theatre, musicals, opera, dance and comedy from the late 19th century to the present.
• Don McMurdo Performing Arts Collection: images documenting over 200 opera, theatre, and ballet performances between 1976 and 1998, including individual artist performances.
• ESSO Performing Arts Collection: interviews from dance, music, and theatre fields, documenting Australian theatre history from the 1930s to the 1980s.
• Qing dai min jian yan zou tu: a set of paintings on Chinese performing arts in the Qing dynasty China.
• Bill Stephens interviews: audio recordings of conversations with prominent Australian performers.
• Collection of posters on children's entertainment: 38 posters from Australian and overseas children's productions. Acts include 19th century Australian high-wire performer Ella Zuila, Circus Oz, the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Acrobats of China, the Tintookies and Bananas in Pyjamas.

Selected collections

significant people and around subjects of ongoing interest using these 

• Hince Collection: books, music, and manuscripts related to Western music from medieval times to the 20th century, including Indonesian music and ballet.
• Peter Ellis Collection: oral history interviews, recordings, sheet music, and manuscripts on dance music.
• Williamson Collection: featuring notable artists and productions from the late 19th to the mid-20th century and documenting the history of the JC Williamson Ltd theatrical company via playscripts, libretti, music, costume designs and more.
• Melba Collection: chronicling the life and career of Dame Nellie Melba, one of the world's most renowned opera singers, featuring her personal papers, scores, letters, photographs, and memorabilia.

Manuscripts

Our manuscript collections include personal papers of prominent figures and records of organisations in the performing arts, including:

• Sir Robert Helpmann
• Dame Peggy van Praagh
• Peter Finch
• John Bell and Anna Volska
• Ruth Cracknell
• Kristian Fredrikson

Subscriptions and databases

You can access licensed databases, online archives, and digital collections for free through eResources if you have Library login.

• Bungei Kurabu. Meiji hen
• Nineteenth Century Collections Online. British theatre, music and literature : high and popular culture
• The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, 1902-2019

Multidisciplinary resources can be good sources of information on international artists and performances. Try Press Reader.

Published material and newspapers

Our holdings include historical works, biographies, critical studies, newsletters, and unique materials like theatre programs, broadsides, and scrapbooks.

Michael Bell, John Bell and Anna Volska and Nimrod Theatre Company, issuing body, Shakespeare, As You Like It : Nimrod, July 20 to Sept. 18, 1983, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-536557073

Newspaper clippings

We maintain valuable newspaper clipping files from 1970-1990 (a period that is mostly not available online). We hold 2 types of clipping files:

• biographical, such as Kylie Minogue biographical cuttings
• subject, such as Festivals subject cuttings.

Find out more about how to find and access the clippings in our guide to Australian newspapers.

Scrapbooks

We hold a collection of fragile scrapbooks of performing arts ephemera dating back to 1857. Key scrapbooks include:

• Bessie Campbell, 'Banjo Queen'
• Ballets Russes Australian tours, 1938-1940

Pictures

Our pictures collection includes paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and posters of significant people, places and events in the Australian performing arts.

Reference works and print collections

Reference works are a good place to look when more specialised resources are not proving easy to find. Some of the key titles in our collection include:

• The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia
• The Routledge Dictionary of Performance and Contemporary Theatre
• The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance

How to find information

These tips will help you search for and access material from our collections.

Browse by subject

Use the catalogue to browse by title, author, subject, or call number. Select 'subjects' from the drop-down menu and type a subject (e.g., 'performing arts'). Start with broad subjects first:

• Performing arts
• Dance
• Music
• Torres Strait Islanders – Music
• Theatre
• Circus

The catalogue will suggest relevant subject headings. Open a record and view the assigned subject headings to find related items.

For example, a subject search for 'circus australia' will display items with the subject Circus--Australia. These items may also show more subject headings that you can explore including:

• Circus -- Australia -- History
• Circus -- Australia -- Photographs
• Circus -- Australia -- Anecdotes
• Circus -- Australia -- Posters
• Circus -- Comic books, strips

You can also browse the Arts and Humanities category, which includes the Performing Arts sub-category in eResources.

Where else to look

• The Arts Centre, Melbourne holds Australia's largest collection of performing arts history. Explore its Performing Arts Collection.
• The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (AIATSIS) has a large collection of sound recordings which cover languages, ceremonies, music and oral histories. Explore the AIATSIS collection using their guide to sound recordings (PDF,129kb).
• The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) holds extensive audio-visual archives.
• AusStage is a free online database that supports research into live performance in Australia.
• MusRef is a free website and guide to more than 13,000 print and internet music reference resources.

Get help

Our specialist staff can help you with your research, to locate resources and to use our microform and scanning equipment, but they can't conduct research on your behalf. Find out more in our Information and Research Policy.

You should also make sure you understand the rules around use, reuse and performance of material in our collections.