A Theatre Full of Junk: Haunted by an Unruly Archive

Abstract

This essay takes as its object of study the task of cleaning up the material objects that had accumulated in the Annexe Theatre, a university theatre in Launceston, Tasmania. It was stuffed to bursting point with an overwhelming amount of theatrical miscellanea from past shows, teaching, research projects and conferences that had been accumulating since the building was opened in 2002. By examining a series of ‘findings’, this essay explores the ethos, values, and cultural identity that these remnants might divulge. In doing so, the paper considers the relationship between this collection in the theatre building and an archive, then draws on Diana Taylor’s concept of the ‘scenario’ and Avery Gordon’s theorisation of haunting as a mode of inquiry that offers a way to unpack this building as an archive of affective investments, examining both a local theatre culture and reflecting on larger challenges for theatre and performance departments.