There are now moves to take the collection to Blackpool - but does the north west have the theatre culture - and audiences - to sustain the museum?

Executive Director of the Campaign for Museums, Ylva French, went to the Theatre Museum in London last weekend to get a last glimpse of a popular, much-loved museum. The museum closes next Sunday, January 7 2007. It's time Londoners valued their theatre heritage more, says Ylva.

Wake up London! One of your precious assets is about to disappear without so much as a whimper. The Theatre Museum will close on Sunday January 7 2007. While some 40% of visitors to London enjoy its museums, even more come for the theatre. And we are about to close the one thing that combines the two: it may not be perfect but go this week and see what we and London’s visitors will be missing.

I took my own advice - there was no sign last Sunday that this was a place about to be closed. Visitors were everywhere, and the place was really busy - except the franchised shop, whose staff had closed its doors and taken the stock with them.

From the entrance in Russell Street, the thrill and excitement of the theatre permeates the building in vision and sound. The cavernous ground floor still shows the splendid Building of the West End exhibition; head down the long strange ramp and find out what made the 50s so great.

Then into the Redgrave exhibition, the Black Dance exhibition, the permanent galleries, a workshop on stage makeup, the studio theatre and the wonderful Paintings Gallery – scene of many parties, launches and events.

In 1987, I was one of many early visitors to the new museum as it opened with a great fanfare. No-one really liked the awkward layout but everyone loved the ideas and the content, especially the luvvies.

The Theatre Museum has always been popular with young audiences

There were many hard times - Simon Callow reminds us in The Standard that the paper has twice run a successful Save the Museum campaign as it struggled for funding.

Each time there was a lot of huffing and puffing in the theatre community. However, there was never any genuine meeting of minds with those who have the ultimate responsibility – the V&A Trustees.

So here we are repeating history again, and this time it looks like curtains. A deal with the Royal Opera House was mooted but didn’t have time to run its course. The closure is confirmed.

The V&A plans to store the collection, continue archiving, and stage exhibitions at the V&A. It will never be the same as a proper Theatre Museum in the heart (well almost) of London’s theatreland.

And as for Blackpool, another proposed location, well London – wake up! This is where it all started – remember the Curtain, the Rose and the Globe? Shakespeare came to London and the world followed. How can we let all that theatrical history disappear?

Ylva French was Public Relations Manager at the then London Tourist Board in 1987; she is now the Executive Director of the Campaign for Museums, organiser of Museums and Galleries Month, and a Trustee of the 24 Hour Museum.

Find out more at www.theatremuseumguardians.org.uk