| Description | The records of DV8 incorporate material from DV8 Physical Theatre and DV8 Films, primarily consisting of physical and digital items relating to the dance pieces and films produced by the companies. This includes audio-visual and photographic documentation, administrative documents, technical material used in the preparation and creation of the productions, as well as publicity material and press. The archive also includes items relating to the artistic director of DV8 Physical Theatre, Lloyd Newson, including photographs, press cuttings and interviews.
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| AdminHistory | DV8 Physical Theatre was formed in 1986 and was led since its inception by Lloyd Newson, who directed and conceived all productions besides My Sex, Our Dance which was co-conceived with Nigel Charnock. Prior to it’s formation, Newson worked with 26 choreographers and 4 different dance companies. In 1985, Newson left Extemporary Dance Theatre and produced Bein’ Apart, Lonely Art, a commission for Dance Umbrella (UK), along with Michelle Richecoeur. The following year, DV8 Physical Theatre was officially formed, and Newson worked with Nigel Charnock to create My Sex, Our Dance. Between its founding and final production in 2016, DV8 produced eighteen highly acclaimed dance pieces and four award-winning films. DV8’s work has primarily focused on social, psychological and political issues driven by Newson’s personal interest in these subjects. Over time, the form of DV8’s output changed, with text gradually playing a larger role. Work from 2007 onwards primarily focused on the relationship between verbatim text and movement, with the exception of the re-staging of Enter Achilles in 2020 for Rambert Dance Company. DV8 Physical Theatre toured both nationally and internationally, and produced a site-specific piece at the Tate Modern, London in 2003. DV8 Films Ltd. was founded in 1991 as a separate company to produce DV8’s film output and was the production company for three films – Strange Fish (1992), Enter Achilles (1995) and The Cost of Living (2003).
DV8 received over 50 national and international awards throughout its existence for their stage and film productions, including the 1994, 1996 and 2005 Prix Italia, an Emmy in 1997 and the 2012 Helpmann Award for Best Ballet or Dance Work.
The company was put on 'hold' in 2016, and Lloyd Newson retired in 2022, with DV8 Physical Theatre subsequently brought to an end. |
| Arrangement | DV8’s archive is arranged into five series:
DV8/1 Productions
DV8/2 Films
DV8/3 Administrative
DV8/4 Personal
DV8/5 Miscellaneous
Within the Productions and Films series, each production and film have been arranged chronologically. Where several productions were produced in the same year, they appear in the same order used by DV8 Physical Theatre's former website. Each series has been further divided into seven possible sub-series: Research and Development, Technical Material, Administrative Material, Marketing and Publicity, Photographic Documentation of the Production/Film, Audiovisual Documentation of the Production/Film and Press. A further sub-series - Educational Output - was added to the series 'Can We Talk About This (2011-12)' (DV8/1/18) and 'John (2014-15)' (DV8/1/19) due to the production of educational material by DV8 Physical Theatre for these works, and the presence of that material in the collection. An eighth sub-series was added to the series 'The Cost of Living (2004)' (DV8/2/6) titled 'Awards and Nominations' due to the presence of documentation relating to that.
Research and Development refers to material gathered and created during the processes of research and development prior to the creation of the production itself. Examples of this include the extensive press cuttings compiled as part of the research for To Be Straight With You (DV8/1/17/1/2 and DV8/1/17/1/3)
Technical Material refers to material used to technically produce productions or films. For example, soundtracks and stage plans.
Administrative material refers to documentation such as communications between DV8 Physical Theatre and venues.
Marketing and Publicity refers to items produced for the purposes of marketing and publicity such as photographs and flyers.
Photographic documentation refers to photographic evidence of the productions that was not produced for marketing purposes. This includes photos of the venues such as the Mariinsky Theatre (DV8/1/10/5/1).
Audio-visual documentation refers primarily to full filmed versions of productions or copies of films, but also includes extracts or partial versions of the same.
Press includes press cuttings relating to productions or films, including reviews of the productions and films.
Audio-visual, photographic and documentary material was donated to the collection in both physical and digital formats. Where possible, physical audio-visual materials have been digitised and are available to view in the Theatre Collection Reading Room along with the existing digital material.
Though DV8 Films was established as a seperate company, administrative records relating to both DV8 Physical Theatre and DV8 Films were received together, and so this organisation has been maintained.
Some of the audiovisual material within the collection had been given a reference number prior to donation to the Theatre Collection. This original reference number has been noted in the ‘Alt Ref No’ field.
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