June 26th, 2008
In January Bristol demonstrated its support for Bristol Old Vic and the Theatre Royal in classic fashion by packing out a public meeting. This show of support was followed by unanimous cross party support for BOV from Bristol City Council and the Arts Council confirming that funding would be renewed from March 2008, initially for 6 months. This triggered the appointment of Dick Penny as the new Chair of BOV and the recruitment of a new Board. The immediate task was to review the status of the Theatre Company and the Refurbishment Project leading to the formulation of a development plan which would see Bristol Old Vic become a power house of theatre production once more with a sustainable and exciting future.I am pleased to say that we are now in a position to share our plans and invite all interested people to attend a Public Meeting on Thursday 10th July, six months to the day since the January meeting. We are conscious that the January meeting was very full and hope that this meting will be equally popular and therefore we will provide a relay from the auditorium into the front of house areas.
To develop our thinking we have been hosting an open house event each month with a different theme for each session. At the July event we will be sharing plans for both the refurbishment project and the re-starting of theatre production by Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company.
While we have been developing our future plans we have also been undertaking small works to make the theatre useable in the short term. This has enabled us to keep the very active youth theatre going and to open for one-off public events. The latest is on Sunday 29th June with a performance of Shakespeare and Stratford starring Judi Dench, Jane Lapotaire, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Richard Pasco, Martin Best, Stanley Wells and Paul Edmondson, organised by the BOV Theatre Club as a fundraising event for the capital appeal. The event is almost completely sold out with a few additional seats going on sale yesterday. We are very sorry that lots of disappointed theatre goers have been unable to get a ticket but there will be a returns desk open at the theatre on the night from 6.30pm.
“I am very conscious that many many people are keen to help, keen to know what is happening, and keen to have their theatre open and active again. Everyone at Bristol Old Vic shares the desire to be open and active as soon as possible. The public meeting will be a chance to share our plans to achieve this, to report the status of the company and to discuss the ideas which inform the development plan. Please come along and let us know your thoughts. Bristol Old Vic is an essential part of the city’s contemporary culture and together we can make it an international beacon for Bristol.”
Dick Penny
Executive Chair
Bristol Old Vic
Public Meeting
Thursday 10th July 6.30pm
Theatre Royal, King St, Bristol
Posted in Open House days | 1 Comment »
June 13th, 2008
To survive theatre must keep pace with life in the twenty-first century and that suggests that we should update and modernize our Georgian theatre but how far should we go?
Should we be looking at modern décor and take out the Georgian and Victorian influences?
Should we change the stage and bring it further into the auditorium?
Join the debate! What are your thoughts?
Sarah Smith - Project Co-odinator
Posted in Open House days | 4 Comments »
May 13th, 2008
From Guardian Blog - posted by Matthew Austin - Mayfest Producer
The citywide Mayfest proves the closure of the Bristol Old Vic need not be a disaster - and could yet prove to be a golden opportunity
The Mayfest 2007 festival was in full swing in the Bristol Old Vic Studio when news broke that the theatre would close indefinitely for refurbishment. It was the end of a turbulent few years that had seen ticket sales and confidence in the theatre’s artistic output in sharp decline.
The evening stunned staff were told the theatre was closing and they were losing their jobs, a few of us had a solemn drink in the Royal Naval Volunteer pub opposite the theatre in King Street. At 8pm I headed across the street to watch Al Seed and Ben Faulke’s show, The Endurance. Suddenly, live theatre felt sharper, more acute, full of meaning and strangely euphoric. My co-producer, Kate Yedigaroff, and I realised that Mayfest should continue. And so we set about making that happen.
This year’s festival is one of the first exercises in working in partnership that Bristol has seen since the its main subsidised theatre shut its doors. With Southville’s Tobacco Factory as the festival hub, we have made new friends at Arnolfini, with whom we’re presenting a weekend of category-defying performance, and also at the Alma Tavern, Circomedia and the Wickham Theatre at Bristol University. With Dick Penny now at the helm at the Bristol Old Vic, we have been able to make the whole thing happen with hefty support from our old home.
We’re presenting a range of work from local companies such as Action Hero, Precarious, Lost Spectacles, Tinned Fingers, Kettle of Fish, The Special Guests and Search Party, alongside more established artists such as Gravity & Levity, Al Seed, Tim Crouch, Mem Morrison, Rotozaza, Ridiculusmus and the legendary Russian company BlackSkyWhite.
As Lyn Gardner wrote on this blog a few weeks ago, Bristol is on the crest of a new wave of theatre and performance activity. With Arnolfini’s superb Inbetween Time returning in February 2009 and a revitalised Tobacco Factory launching new initiatives for writers and devised companies, Bristol is turning what could have been a disaster into a golden opportunity.
Perhaps the closure of the city’s largest theatre is a blessing in disguise. Its enforced absence has allowed policymakers, funders, artists and, most importantly, audiences to reconsider what they want from theatre in 21st-century Bristol. Penny has said the Bristol Old Vic should breathe out as well as in, meaning it should give life to a range of activities across the city, from new writing to circus to experimental theatre. A more varied and diverse theatre ecology is beginning to emerge - and the programme for Mayfest 2008 hopefully shows that in action.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »
April 30th, 2008
Writing for Performance - Open House
Bristol Old Vic
Thu 15 May 2008
6.30pm 8.30pm
Scriptwriters in the region are invited to an evening at the Bristol Old Vic, hosted by Board members, Dick Penny and Catherine Johnson.
This open and informal session will be an opportunity for writers to discuss with Dick and Catherine the future development of new work at the theatre, and to launch a debate on how the theatre might be able to facilitate the making of that new work.
To support this event, the theatre will be adding a new section to its website specifically for writers. The Writer’s Room, in the first instance, will contain a blog where you are invited to ask questions, post comments and start debates prior to the meeting. For those of you who may not be able to attend the session, a podcast of the meeting with Dick will be published after the event.
This event forms part of the ongoing process of consultation with all our ‘audiences’ and is only the beginning of what we hope will be a useful and continuous dialogue.
To confirm attendance on the 15th please email Sharon Clark on clark.sharon@blueyonder.co.uk
Posted in The Writers Room | 11 Comments »
April 23rd, 2008
Shakespeare & Stratford
An evening of, prose, music, comedy and song
Sunday, 29th June 2008 at 7.30 p.m.
As part of the ongoing efforts of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Club’s fundraising campaign we are delighted to announce that along side Martin Best, Jane Lapotaire, Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Richard Pasco, Dame Judi Dench, one of the grand dames of British theatre, will be appearing live on stage of Bristol’s historic Theatre Royal in aid of the ongoing refurbishment appeal.
The evening will be a humorous and entertaining journey, seen through the eyes and pens of such literary greats as Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf and Jane Austen, coupled with thespian insights from Kenneth Branagh, Donald Sinden and Spike Milligan. This wonderfully evening of entertainment celebrates debates and lampoons the world and works of the great bard himself.
All proceeds will go to the Bristol Old Vic Refurbishment Appeal.
Tickets for the event will go on sale by postal application only from 1st May (a downloadable application form is available on the website www.bristol-old-vic.co.uk.)
Posted in Fundraising Events | 1 Comment »
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