Mr Guy Baxter writes: In December 2014 the University of Reading/Beckett International Foundation purchased at auction the theatrical archive of the actress Billie Whitelaw relating to her work with Irish writer and Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett. Billie Whitelaw was Beckett's favourite actress. He directed her in several theatrical productions and revivals of his plays. The collection includes correspondence, annotated playscripts and rehearsal notes for some of Beckett's most famous works, including Play, Not I, Happy Days, Rockaby, Eh Joe, Embers and Footfalls, as well costumes worn by Billie during those performances. The annotated playscripts and rehearsal notes complement our existing holdings on those plays, as we already hold Beckett's own directorial notes as well as most of the relevant draft manuscripts and typescripts.
The items will join the rest of the University's Beckett Collection which is the world's largest collection of manuscript materials relating to Beckett. It will offer anyone with an interest in Beckett's plays or the theatre, including scholars, students and theatre practitioners, a unique insight into how one of the world's greatest writers worked with his actors. The Beckett Collection was established in 1971 and has grown ever since, largely through material donated by Beckett himself and by friends and admirers from the worlds of literature, publishing and theatre. Indeed, the core of the collection consists of materials relating to Beckett's work in the theatre, including manuscript drafts of his drama, his own directorial notebooks, annotated copies used during productions, correspondence with theatre people such as the stage designer Jocelyn Herbert, a large collection of audio and visual material (such as the production photographs by John Haynes), stage designs and ephemera. The collection also includes 'stage files', containing material (programmes, posters, flyers, reviews, etc.) relating to individual productions worldwide of Beckett's plays since 1953.
Billie Whitelaw's close links with the University of Reading began in 1992, when she became the first Annenberg Fellow. During her week-long residency, she gave a series of workshops and performances for staff, students and members of the public. Over the years she supported the Beckett Collection and was a Patron of the Beckett International Foundation. In 2001 she received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Reading.
The Beckett Collection is open to public access, and currently accounts for nearly 20% of reading room use; these include scholars, students, theatre practitioners and members of the public. It also enhances our academic and public outreach programmes; in the last two years alone we have put on three exhibitions, a manuscript workshop, a public lecture, and an interview with the theatre director lan Rickson. The Billie Whitelaw archive will feature in public events (such as exhibitions) and in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes. Our collections are also available for UK and international loans, and we have an online catalogue which enables worldwide dissemination of knowledge of our holdings.
A few days after announcing the purchase, we received the sad news that Billie Whitelaw had passed away.