The Stage

Theatre Museum backers to unveil radical ‘solution’

Published Wednesday 12 July 2006 at 16:15 by Alistair Smith

Partners behind an ambitious project to revamp Covent Garden’s endangered Theatre Museum are planning to unveil a revamped programme for the venue in early September.

A coalition led by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Opera House are in discussions with the Society of London Theatre over a proposed three-way partnership to run the organisation with a greater emphasis on education and interactivity.

Speaking exclusively to The Stage, Tony Hall, executive director of the ROH and a leading figure in the discussions over the future of the Theatre Museum, explained: “I hope that we can lay out a plan for what we want to do in the late summer or early September and say this is what the programme looks like.

“Some of the questions will be answered, like, ‘Is this going to be a takeover?’, ‘Is there going to be lots of opera stuff?’, or questions from staff who are concerned about what it’s going to feel like.

“To my mind, it feels like a theatre and once you see the programme you think, ah, now I get it, and I think our audience will also get it.

“The sooner we can have a discussion about what we’re going to show, what exhibitions we are going to do, what education programme we are going to have, the better because the buzz and the excitement will come to life and any trepidation will fall away.”

It is expected that, following the announcement, the museum would undergo a dark period, during which time basic alterations could be made to the building and the new programme would be installed.

• For a full interview with Tony Hall, see this week’s edition of The Stage.