key performing arts companies, in effect acting as company archives by preserving vital records of contemporary work in theatre. Examples include the Royal Court, Talawa Theatre Company, Akram Khan Company, the Young Vic and the Almeida Theatre. Other major acquisitions focused on the work of individuals such as Vivien Leigh, P J Harvey, June Whitfield, Ronnie Barker and Bronislava Nijinska. In 2021 the department faced discontinuation under a major V&A restructuring plan brought about by the museum's COVID-related financial deficits. This restructuring would cut Theatre and Performance staffing disproportionately and distribute its remaining curators across several departments, thus abolishing it as a distinct entity and a focus for performing arts documentation and research. A campaign and petition to save the department was initiated by SIBMAS (the International Association for Performing Arts Libraries and Museums). See also List of museums in London West End theatre Notes External links Theatre and Performance Collection at the V&A Link to archive collections held at the V&A Theatre and Performance Department "London’s Theatre Museum – Something Worth Saving". Website of the "Guardians of The Theatre Museum". Accessed 1 May 2008. Defunct museums in London Museums sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Theatre in London Theatre in the United Kingdom Museums disestablished in 2007 Performing arts