PUBLIC MEETING - 10th July 6:30pm
Thursday, 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
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