The Theatre and Performance collection was founded in the 1920s when a private collector, Gabrielle Enthoven, donated her extensive collection of theatrical designs, memorabilia, books and photographs to the Museum. Since then the collection has continued to grow and has provided a home for many other significant objects and archives. All areas of the live performing arts are represented in the collections, documenting both current practice and the history of the performing arts in the UK.
About the Theatre and Performance Collections
An overview of the Theatre and Performance collections indicating the very broad range of materials collected across all areas of the live performing arts, the history of t…
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The National Video Archive of Performance
The National Video Archive of Performance (NVAP) creates high quality archival recordings of live performance which are available for theatre researchers. It is the outcome…
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Played in Britain: Modern Theatre in 100 Plays 1945-2010
The Played in Britain iPad app celebrates sixty years of remarkable post-war theatre – from J. B. Priestley’s classic play An Inspector Calls (1946), to Laura Wade’s Posh (…
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Researching theatre and performance
Recommended resources about the performing arts within the V&A's Theatre and Performance Collections and elsewhere, and advice on how to research theatre and performance.
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Theatre and Performance Archives
The V&A Theatre and Performance Collections include many special collections and archives of the performing arts, from individual performers and collectors, theatres, theat…
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Gormley to Gaga: Design for Performance
Designing for performance is a live, collaborative and energetic process that is dependent on constant reinvention and reimagining. Artists, designers…
Buy nowEvent - Theatre & Performance Galleries Tour
Fri 19 February 2010–Tue 31 December 2013
TOUR: Take a guided tour of the V&A's exciting theatre and performance collections, including rock & pop posters, theatre and ballet costumes, puppets, stage sets and more! See new costumes from the Lion King now on display.
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