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Old Vic
Theatre |
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Old Vic
Theatre |
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Old Vic Theatre |
Currently showing:
Resurrection Blues |
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The Old Vic is a theatre in
the Waterloo area of London on the corner of The Cut and
Waterloo Road. It was also the name of a repertory
company that was based at the theatre, and provided the
basis of the Royal National Theatre company.
The theatre was founded in 1818 by the actor William
Barrymore as the Royal Coburg Theatre. In 1833 it was
renamed the Royal Victorian Theatre after the heir to
the throne Princess Victoria. In 1880, under the
ownership of Emma Cons, it became The Royal Victoria
Hall And Coffee Tavern and was run on "strict temperance
lines"; by this time it was already known as the "Old
Vic".
With Emma Cons's death in 1912 the theatre passed to her
niece Lilian Baylis, who emphasized the Shakespearean
repertoire. The Old Vic Company was established in 1929,
led by John Gielgud. Between 1925 and 1931, Lilian
Baylis championed the re-building of the then-derelict
Sadler's Wells Theatre, and established a ballet company
under the direction of Ninette de Valois. For a few
years the drama and ballet companies rotated between the
two theatres, with the ballet becoming permanently based
at Sadler's Wells in 1935.
Stairwell of the Old Vic
The Old Vic was damaged badly during the Blitz, and the
war-depleted company spent all its time touring, based
in Burnley, Lancashire at the Victoria Theatre during
the years 1940 to 1943. In 1944, the company was
re-established in London with Ralph Richardson and
Laurence Olivier as its stars, perfoming mainly at the
New Theatre until the Old Vic was ready to re-open in
1950. In 1946, an offshoot of the company was
established in Bristol as the Bristol Old Vic.
In 1963, the Old Vic company was dissolved and the new
National Theatre Company, under the artistic direction
of Laurence Olivier, was based at the Old Vic until its
own building was opened on the South Bank near Waterloo
Bridge in 1976.
After the departure of the NT, the Old Vic continued as
a home for classic and new drama, and was significantly
restored under the ownership of Toronto department-store
entrepreneur 'Honest Ed' Mirvish during the 1980s. In
1998, the building was bought by a new charitable trust,
The Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000. In 2000, the production
company Criterion Productions was renamed Old Vic
Productions plc, though relatively few of its
productions are at the Old Vic theatre.
In 2004, the actor Kevin Spacey was appointed as new
artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company
receiving considerable media attention. Spacey hopes to
inject new life into the British theatre industry, and
bring British and American theatrical talent to the
stage. He will appear in two shows per season, and will
perform some directorial duties on other shows.
The theatre stands in a prominent position on the corner
of Waterloo Road and The Cut just south-east of Waterloo
Station |
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Old Vic
Theatre seating plan |
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