Turns out Tanya is really pretty well known! Her drawings, sketches, notes, transcripts, stage directions, lists (endless lists), sketch boxes and correspondence make up over 80 boxes in the V&A theatre archive in London, as well as many of her original costume designs being held at the Bristol Theatre Archive, with still more material linked to productions at the Old Vic and National Theatre.
Because of copywrite I’m unfortunately not able to share much of the visual material I uncovered but I shared a couple of examples of her costume design in the previous post and here you can see more of her set designs and stage notes. I also spent a day wandering round Pollocks Toy Museum in London and the V&A Theatre section on their top floor – images attached!
Perhaps my favourite find was from the British Library: an old recording to her from her husband, a production manager and musician, Felix Krish. The scratchy recording is only a few minutes long, and as it was presumably recorded on record, not all of but is audible, but I found it incredibly poignant, as only 9 months after their marriage, he was killed in an RAF training exercise. She never remarried.
Here is the transcript as I could understand it:
Hello Family, this is [inaudible] in [inaudible]. If my voice sounds at all odd, then the needle on the [inaudible] I couldn’t possibly more robustiously hopeless. And if you find my [inaudible] it would mean that a census has been [inaudible] hammer and chisel, poor man. Here’s [inaudible] Ben’s birthday [inaudible] October, I can’t send him a cable [inaudible] please use this as evidence that I wish you many happy returns for the day, on the day. [inaudible] awful [inaudible] available, wonder what the devil is [inaudible] time [inaudible] while the second flyer [inaudible] I just said what did you say or I wonder what you said or [inaudible] and the awful nonsense [inaudible] would go on forever like that [inaudible].
Umm [inaudible] failed rather, because in the first place I’ve rarely seem them and in the second place you don’t get a chance to say a word [inaudible] you leave [inaudible] all the conversation you need [inaudible] all the people who may be forced to listen to this, God help them [inaudible] um, I’m [inaudible] rather embarrassed myself [inaudible] difficult with all my own writing [inaudible] amongst themselves [inaudible] like i say aren’t added [inaudible] love to us and all that kind of thing [inaudible] I can’t [inaudible] something definitely there [inaudible] Now i think i should rather get down to the real point of this record [inaudible] remind you that I love you all very much and to take care of yourselves, God bless, and I’ll be [inaudible]
