New V&A Theatre and Performance Galleries

A new section dedicated to the theatre and performance arts in general opened last week at the V&A, so me and my Iphone (excuse the low def. pictures!) went to check it out.

Amongst various video clips of theatre plays, opera and dance performances (which even included a short extract of Infra, Wayne McGregor's much lauded 2008 piece for the Royal Ballet), a replica of Kylie's well stocked dressing room from her last tour, lots of props and a vintage theatre ticketing machine, there were all sorts of interesting memorabilia, such as:

A costume worn by Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest" circa 1993

Led Zep 70's concert poster, wish I had seen this!

"Egyptian inspired" (ie. the symbols) costume worn by Zep's Jimmy Page whilst on tour
sometime in the 70's

Speaking of Egyptian, here's something weird:

And something cute:

One of the many ballet costumes on display is this Japanese themed tutu (with Kimono-like sleeves) designed by the wonderful Karinska for Balanchine's "Bugaku" and worn by Mr. B's muse, Susanne Farrell in the 60's

And while we're on the subject of ballet themed exhibitions, there's a very interesting one coming up this April.