On the day the V&A reopens to visitors & Tristram Hunt publishes a feature in the Times (highlighting that there is a lack of understanding that Theatre & Performance is a specialism), it is also a day staff are written to about the future of their jobs. I would like to share with you a letter from distinguished dramatist David Wood, who is a major figure in Children’s theatre also a donor to the V&A Museum.  

While the Theatre & Performance department will now survive in a much-truncated form along with Furniture, Fashion/ Textiles in a new department.  We should know shortly the outcome of this V&A reorganisation and the number of job losses. We once again urge V&A management to keep as many of the hard-working, knowledgeable staff as possible. When the theatre/ performance world is back on its feet it should have a national collection with expert staff who are capable and worthy of the great heritage of UK theatre/ performance. We thank David for his passionate letter.  

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Dear Tristram Hunt,

A few years ago, Whirligig Theatre, the children’s touring theatre company I ran for twenty-five years, donated its archive to the V&A Theatre & Performance Department.

Not long after, I was delighted to donate much of my own archive as an actor, playwright, composer and producer, to the V&A, knowing that it would be safe and cared for by the dedicated, knowledgeable, specialist staff with whom I had liaised.

Since then my musical adaptation of THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA has been filmed for the V&A archive, one of the very few examples of a family show recorded for posterity.

The two archives could well have been housed elsewhere, but I particularly wanted the V&A to have them, because you have a unique national and international reputation for collecting and maintaining historic theatre material. Furthermore, I had taken part in several events at the excellent Theatre Museum in Covent Garden, and, having been very sad to see it disappear, I had been reassured to learn that the V&A promised to look after the collections and add to them, as well as make them available for research purposes.

I cannot believe that you are proposing to downgrade the Theatre and Performance Department. To merge it with Furniture and Textiles makes no sense at all. Theatre is a living, breathing art form that embraces so much more than just design.

And to lose the expertise of your brilliant, enthusiastic team of people who are all passionate about the theatre and its history, and understand the importance of preserving not just its academic aspect, but also the unique appeal of performance as an art form.

This news, to be honest, feels to me like a slap in the face. I was thrilled that my life’s work was to be looked after by the V&A and be made available for students and researchers. I donated my archives willingly. Now, although, I accept that the material will be safely stored, I don’t feel that the irreplaceable collections with which you have been entrusted will now receive adequate respect, attention and accessibility. I feel, to sound melodramatic, betrayed. The current vibrant and celebratory guardians of theatre history are to be replaced by part-time, non-specialist babysitters, who cannot show the same empathy and enthusiasm for the treasures in their charge.

Our British Theatre is generally proclaimed as the best in the world. Not, sadly it seems, of enough stature to be properly respected and proudly trumpeted by the V&A, who should be its greatest advocate. I quite understand you need to save money. But doing it this way is a scandal. Vandalism by neglect and lack of respect for a unique art form. Please think again.

Yours sincerely,

David Wood OBE (“the National Children’s Dramatist – The Times)