The display pays tribute to the Bury-born writer, actress and performer, who remains one of the North West’s most celebrated cultural figures.
The exhibition coincides with the ten-year anniversary of her death on April 20 and showcases handwritten letters and scripts loaned to the gallery by Victoria’s Literary Estate and her family.
A new Victoria Wood exhibition is coming to Bury (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)
There are lots of pictures of her life and work on display (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)
Visitors can explore a range of material reflecting her incredible career, which spanned decades across television, theatre and music.
Highlights include notebooks filled with Wood’s ideas and original lyrics for her iconic song The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let’s Do It), alongside photographs from her childhood in Bury, letters, her teenage years and her time as a student at Birmingham University.
Victoria Wood was born in Prestwich and raised in Bury, where she attended Bury Grammar School for Girls with her northern roots deeply reflected in much of her work.
She was well know for her comedy work, including the TV show Dinnerladies (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)
It features a new portrait by Manchester artist, Stanley Chow (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)
Fans can see handwritten letters and scripts (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)
There are handwritten and annotated scripts on display from some of her best-known works, including Talent, Victoria Wood Presents, Dinnerladies, As Seen on TV, Housewife 49 and Acorn Antiques: The Musical.
A selection of Victoria Wood’s most prestigious awards will be on display, including her OBE, CBE and four of her BAFTAs.
The exhibition also features a video montage offering behind-the-scenes footage from the BBC One Christmas Day broadcast of Victoria Wood’s All Day Breakfast in 1992, as well as a rehearsal recording of Dinnerladies before a live audience.
Fans will be able to revisit some of her most memorable characters from her stand-up routines, including Kimberley’s Friend and step aerobics instructor Hayley Bailey, as well as footage of Wood performing The Ballad of Barry and Freda.
Work by renowned photographers Andy Hollingworth and Harry Borden will also be included, alongside a newly created portrait of Wood by Manchester artist Stanley Chow.
Susan Lord, museum and exhibition curator, said: “We are thrilled to hold this exhibition in this most important year, and we are grateful to Victoria’s Literary Estate and her family for lending us so many unique items relating to Victoria’s award-winning career and her home life too.”
The exhibition forms part of the museum’s wider programme and is expected to draw visitors from across the country, with exclusive, hand designed merchandise available from the gallery for a limited period of time.
The exhibition is free and will be open to the public from Tuesday, April 21.
More information can be found on the Bury Art Museum website. Anyone planning to visit is advised to check ahead for the latest details.