Colchester's Mercury Theatre celebrates its history with an archival and oral history project, Mercury Voices.
This will see items from the theatre’s archive go on display for the first time and people's memories of the theatre will be recorded by Colchester Recalled.
Mercury's Youth Theatre Company has devised a series of related drama pieces for performance and there will also be an interactive touring exhibition, talks and educational resources for schools as part of the project.
Steve Mannix, the Theatre's executive director, said, “2017 marks the 80th anniversary year of the Mercury Repertory Company’s birth, and it is both exciting and fitting that we are able to delve into the Mercury’s history in this year.
"As we seek to celebrate our long and rich heritage in Colchester through this exhibition and the project as a whole, we would love to hear from Colchester residents with memories of the Mercury to help us bring our shared history to light.”
The Theatre's collection, which includes programmes, news cuttings, set designs and scripts, will be stored by Essex Records Office, and made available through a web site.
The exhibition is at the Digby Gallery, Mercury Theatre, Colchester until 16 May.