NVAP Musical Matinee: Spring Awakening

Join us for a screening from the National Video Archive of Performance

+44 (0)20 7942 2000
  • Saturday, 22 April 2023

  • V&A South Kensington

    Cromwell Road
    London, SW7 2RL

  • Hochhauser Auditorium, Learning Centre for Arts

  • Free event

NVAP Musical Matinee: Spring Awakening  photo

Spring Awakening is a daring and subversive musical about the struggles of adolescence, exploring themes of sexuality, repression, and the consequences of ignorance in a conservative society. It is based on the play by Frank Wedekind with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater. This production was directed by Rupert Goold at the Almeida Theatre, London, and recorded live by the V&A in January 2022.

This screening will be 2 hours and 15 minutes, including a 15-minute interval.

Established in 1992, through an agreement with the Federation of Entertainment Unions, NVAP was the first project of its kind in the UK. The archive now holds over 450 high-quality archival multi-camera recordings of live performance in Britain and continues to record and preserve productions for the national collection. The archive, launched with Richard Eyre’s production of Richard III starring Ian McKellen (National Theatre, 1992), features a vast range of stage performances with work by notable playwrights, directors, set designers, lighting designers and actors. It is an invaluable research tool to view and learn about significant British productions and captures and preserves moments of ephemeral performance history that otherwise would be lost. When V&A East opens in 2024 all the recordings will be available for the public to view in a brand-new facility.

Header image: NVAP still from Spring Awakening, 2022 © Victoria and Albert Museum