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The National Museum of the Performing ArtsDateline: 30th June, 1997I'm ashamed to confess that it was only a couple of weeks ago I first visited the Theatre Museum, the National Museum of the Performing Arts, in Russell Street, Covent Garden. But since then I've talked to a lot of friends who are theatre fanatics and/or professionally involved in theatre, and more than half of them haven't been either, so that did make me feel a bit better! At least I've been, albeit late. If you haven't visited, do so. It's well worth a few hours of your time, and at £3.50 for adults, £2 concessions and £8 for a family ticket, it's good value for money (1997 prices). Once you've bought your ticket, you can come and go as you please throughout the day. I did: I arrived at 1.30, stayed till 2.45, went to a matinee, then returned at 6.00 and stayed till it closed at 7.00. It's open from 11.00 Tuesday to Sunday. There's a permanent collection, featuring stage models, costumes, paintings and other art work, posters and props, audio-visual displays and reconstructions of early theatres. In addition there's memorabilia of great actors such as Garrick, Keane and Irving. There's even a collections of hand-painted costumes from Nijinsky's Rite of Spring. But it was the non-permanent exhibitions that really grabbed my attention. There are seven of them at the moment, and they're there till November, so you've plenty of time to see them. The first you see as you go in is Dressing the Part, a celebration of the art of costume making in the 20th century. Particularly impressive is the collection of costumes by Sue Blane for English National Ballet's Alice in Wonderland, all based on Tenniel's original illustrations. There's also a collection of photographs by theatre photographer Nobby Clark, covering 25 years and a wide range of productions, companies and performers. As a former theatre photographer myself, I found this particularly enjoyable - although that enjoyment was not unmixed with envy at the sheer talent of the man! For those interested in the process of creating a show, there's a wonderful section devoted to the Royal National Theatre's production of The Wind in the Willows. Since I'd done the A.A. Milne version (Toad of Toad Hall) back in March, this really did fascinate me. I just wish I'd seen it before we went into rehearsal. There are photographs and designs, but the real centrepiece of the exhibition for me was the videos of the workshops the company did on movement and voice. It was a real treat to see the movement vocabulary and the vocal style emerging as the workshops progressed. Then there's SLAP - A Celebration of Stage Make-up, with six associated demonstrations throughout the day, and a video showing how the latex make-up was created for Phantom. In the Studio Theatre there's Recording Performance, showing how performances have been recorded through the ages, with loads of archive material in print, audio and video. And there are two workshops a day. Finally there are two visual arts exhibitions: theatre-orientated ceramics, drawings and books from the collection of Robert Eddison and Picturing the Players, 42 oils and 40 watercolours on theatrical themes from the collection of Somerset Maughan. Oh yes, and there are free guided tours of the Museum three times a day, and special prices for groups of ten or more. In fact, the Museum is happy to organise special activities for groups if they are contacted early enough. There's the (inevitable) souvenir shop and a bookshop, too. All in all, it's a damned good place to visit if you're on a theatrical visit to London. If you live in London and haven't been, shame on you! If you want to book in a group, or just want to check what's going on, phone 020 7836 7891.
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