Exhibition of Victorian entertainments
Shropshire Archives will be showcasing their collection of Victorian entertainments from Friday 13 January 2012.
The free exhibition, at Theatre Severn and The Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury, provides a fascinating insight into both Victorian music hall acts and the art of Victorian advertising posters.
The collections show the exciting variety of entertainments and circuses that the Shropshire public could expect to see in the 19th century.
Dating from the 1840s, a stunning array of touring acts is represented in these striking posters. Acrobats, hot air balloons, magicians and menageries of animals from around the world are just some of the spectacles which visited Shropshire in the Victorian era. These entertainments reflect Victorian society in all its diversity, as performers attempted to astonish, inform and entertain their audiences.
A number of the events shown in the posters took place in Shrewsbury’s Music Hall, currently being transformed into a new venue for Shrewsbury’s Museum and Art Gallery, which is due to open in 2013.
Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for economic growth and prosperity, said:
“This exhibition showcases just one of the treasures of the collections held at Shropshire Archives. Shropshire Council is grateful to all those who allow their archive collections to be made accessible to the public, and we would like to thank the Eyton family, in particular, for their permission to exhibit these examples.”
Shropshire Councillor for Quarry and Coton Hill, Councillor Andrew Bannerman, said:
“These posters are unique and spectacular. They illustrate the Victorians’ love of colourful entertainment which was either free or within the reach of almost all pockets. The exhibition harks back to last summer’s Olympian festival, and is a fine appetiser for the forthcoming Olympic Torch and Jubilee celebrations.”
The Victorian entertainments exhibition runs until 7 April 2012.
For more information about the exhibition, call Shropshire Archives on 01743 255350 or email archives@shropshire.gov.uk.
