London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) will open theatre and performance galleries in March next year following the closure of its Covent Garden Theatre Museum in early 2007.
The new first-floor galleries will display more than 250 set models, stage props, costumes, playbills and documents representing live performance in Britain over the past 350 years.
A V&A spokeswoman said the redesign of the galleries at the South Kensington site would cost almost £1m.
The museum closed the Covent Garden facility after the Heritage Lottery Fund rejected two successive grant applications for upgrading the building.
The V&A confirmed that it is still "in discussions with Blackpool [council] on the possibility of a long-term relationship which would enable us to show V&A exhibitions and collections there [including the theatre and performance collection]".
The performance and theatre galleries, and seven ceramics galleries set to open in September, are part of the first stage of the museum's £120m Future Plan, launched in 2001 with the opening of the British galleries.
The initial phase will be completed by the inauguration of the £30m renaissance and medieval galleries next November.
Meanwhile, a separate proposal for a new theatre museum on the former V&A site in Covent Garden has been rejected by landowner Capital and Counties.
The new first-floor galleries will display more than 250 set models, stage props, costumes, playbills and documents representing live performance in Britain over the past 350 years.
A V&A spokeswoman said the redesign of the galleries at the South Kensington site would cost almost £1m.
The museum closed the Covent Garden facility after the Heritage Lottery Fund rejected two successive grant applications for upgrading the building.
The V&A confirmed that it is still "in discussions with Blackpool [council] on the possibility of a long-term relationship which would enable us to show V&A exhibitions and collections there [including the theatre and performance collection]".
The performance and theatre galleries, and seven ceramics galleries set to open in September, are part of the first stage of the museum's £120m Future Plan, launched in 2001 with the opening of the British galleries.
The initial phase will be completed by the inauguration of the £30m renaissance and medieval galleries next November.
Meanwhile, a separate proposal for a new theatre museum on the former V&A site in Covent Garden has been rejected by landowner Capital and Counties.