The Special Collection

The Crucible Theatre replaced the Sheffield Playhouse repertory theatre in Townhead Street. Construction started in 1969 and took two years to complete. The theatre was designed by Tanya Moisewitsch and built with a thrust stage, as recommended by its founding artistic director, Colin George.

The opening night gala took place in November 1971 and was a three-part programme featuring children acting in an improvised scene, Chekhov's Swan Song starring Ian McKellen and Edward Petherbridge, and a music hall finale with a Sheffield brass band.

The Crucible is primarily a producing theatre, but also hosts touring productions and the World Snooker Championships. Under Artistic Directors, including Colin George, Michael Grandage, Samuel West and Robert Hastie, the Crucible has evolved and innovated, winning the Regional Theatre of the Year award three times.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Crucible, the Library digitised a collection of fifty programmes - one from each of the Crucible’s 50 years - alongside the opening gala production Fanfare and their 50th anniversary production Rock paper scissors. Visit The Crucible at 50: Sheffield Theatres collection.

The Library is also producing a growing digital collection of programmes from the Crucible’s production archive, which, eventually, will offer full coverage of all shows produced at the Crucible during its history.

Visit our Sheffield Theatres collection.

In January 2025, the Montgomery became the fourth venue within the Sheffield Theatres complex. The building on Surrey Street was originally built in 1886 as a meeting hall for the Sheffield Sunday Schools Union as well as a memorial to James Montgomery, the Scottish poet, journalist and social reformer who had settled in Sheffield.

In January 2025, the Montgomery became the fourth venue within the Sheffield Theatres complex. The building on Surrey Street was originally built in 1886 as a meeting hall for the Sheffield Sunday Schools Union as well as a memorial to James Montgomery, the Scottish poet, journalist and social reformer who had settled in Sheffield.

The Montgomery survived both the Blitz and a devastating fire in 1971 to become the home for many of Sheffield’s leading community theatre groups. The building now houses a 410-seat theatre, a dance studio, gallery and an old library.

Palace Theatre, Attercliffe (Douglas Speed Walker) Collection

The Palace Theatre in Attercliffe opened on the 3rd of January 1898 as the Alhambra Theatre of Varieties. It was designed by the architects G. D. Martin and A. Blomfield Jackson, both of London, and constructed by G. Longden and Sons, of Sheffield.

While not initially a success under its first manager, Frank McNaughten, it was renamed the Palace Theatre and sold off to J. Allan Edwards of Derby in 1907. In 1913 it was sold again to the Roberto Brothers, who converted it into a cinema.

In 1926 it was sold to a local architect, Arthur Richard Walker, whose sons Speed and Jack reopened it as a variety house. Following closure as a theatre in early 1930, and a period of operating primarily as a cinema, the theatre returned to exclusively live performances in July 1937.

Unfortunately, like many variety halls of the time, the theatre’s audiences declined and it gained a reputation as a ‘number two variety house’ with many lesser acts and strip shows. The theatre closed its doors for the final time in July 1955. It was demolished in 1962. In its lifetime, the theatre had played host to stars including Charlie Chaplin, Bud Flanagan, Max Bygraves, Harry Secombe and Hylda Baker.

The items in this collection were donated by the granddaughter of Douglas Speed Walker.

A concise finding aid to the archive is available below.

The Betty Gilbert collection

Betty Gilbert was born in Sharrow Vale in Sheffield in 1926. She was a cousin of the comedian Ben Warris and inherited a love of live performance from her father, an amateur musician and entertainer. She remained a keen theatre-goer right up until her death at the age of 96.

Betty was a particular advocate for Sheffield’s active ‘am-dram’ scene. She regularly visited venues such as the Library Theatre and the Montgomery Theatre, and championed local groups like the Ecclesfield Priory Players, Sheffield Light Opera Society and the Stannington Players.

Betty left an eclectic collection of programmes, pamphlets and tickets which represents a cross section of the region’s wider cultural life over many decades. School plays, community productions and amateur theatre are particularly ephemeral, and it was Betty’s wish that material relating to these shows be preserved both as a scholarly resource and as a tribute to the talented and dedicated men, women and children of Sheffield who provide such joy to their audiences.