162

(Liverpool, ca. 1976)

Clive Barker Mute Theatre Manifesto and Archive [LGBTQ - Horror]

The First Manifesto of Clive Barker's Mute Theatre, Europe's Most Articulate Mime Company, by Peter Atkins. Typed manuscript, unpublished, 52 pages, illustrated with more than a dozen photographs, comprising essays, reviews, and sketches. Liverpool, England, circa 1976.

Together with an archive of material related to Clive Barker's (b. 1952) early career, including 7 still photographs from film projects (one depicting Barker filming Peter Atkins for Forbidden, 1976); an original program for The Secret Life of Cartoons (1982), performed by Barker's theatre group, The Dog Company; and two press kits for The Human Condition (Simon & Schuster / Poseidon Press, 1986) and Books of Blood (Berkeley Books, 1986). Group of 4 items.

Early and important material from Barker's formative theatrical period, documenting the activities of the avant-garde Mute Theatre. The manifesto outlines the group's aesthetic and philosophical aims, anticipating themes later developed in Barker's fiction, particularly the intersection of horror, eroticism, and transgressive identity. The archive reflects the collaborative milieu that included Doug Bradley and others, and represents a significant precursor to Barker's emergence as a major voice in LGBTQ and horror literature.

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