Bristol Old Vic, the stunningly beautiful theatre on Kings Street in the heart of the city centre, has had a very turbulent past few years. For those that need reminding, here’s a little recap of what happened: Having fist opened in 1776, it was one of the oldest continually working theatres in the country until it closed its doors in the summer of 2007 citing desperately needed structural refurbishments and huge debts. Reading between the lines, the theatre had been in a downward spiral for years; the shows they were putting on frankly weren’t very good so the public had just stopped coming and the second large problem was the insular nature of the entire Bristol Old Vic establishment. During these problem years they seemed to regard themselves as some sort of ivory tower, culturally superior to anything else going on in Bristol and so instead of working alongside Bristol’s other theatres, festivals and events, they excluded them and therefore themselves, loosing a lot of friends and support along the way. Their 2007 closure sparked an outcry though and the public came out in force to support the theatre’s future but also demanded changes.

Three years on now and it seems like a good time to take stock and see what has changed at the Bristol Old Vic. The slate having been wiped clean, the theatre reopened to the public in March 2009 and has remained so since, providing a full and varied programme that, on the whole, seems to have gone down very well. A new artistic director has been put in place in the form of Tom Morris (yes, HIS brother) as well as a new executive director, Emma Stenning, and the great thing is they seem to be as passionate about the building, its heritage and its future as they are about theatre itself. Most importantly however, they have acknowledged and value all the other theatre and cultural events that go on in Bristol and they seem to understand the need to work with and support them for mutual benefit – the theatre’s collaboration with the excellent local company, Shakespeare At The Tobacco Factory, on Uncle Vanya in November 2009 being a good example of this. Also, their willingness to embrace and try new things in the theatre has been commendable and, well, sometimes down right exciting! Their aim is to have five flexible performance spaces by 2012 and when they’re putting on superb events like the Bristol Jam (The UK’s first festival of improvisation), Bristol Ferment (a week of work-in-progress showcases), Theatre:24 (local actors, writers and directors creating and putting on 6 brand new shows in 24 hours) and Short Fuses (a stimulus for new local work) as well as being the hub of the best Mayfest to date (Bristol’s festival of contemporary theatre), a visit to the Bristol Old Vic can never again be thought of as boring or predictable.

Impressed by this turn around and commendable revitalisation, the Arts Council England recently awarded the venue a grant of £6.1million which in turn promoted the Bristol City Council to donate £1million. This money will go towards a continuing £19million redevelopment and refurbishment project that will hopefully put them firmly back on track to being the cultural landmark and hub they should be.

That’s not to say things are perfect yet though. The financial stability of the theatre is still in the balance (highlighted by more redundancies this spring) and on their larger scale productions, there still seems to be a tendency to look to London for inspiration; however, overall it seems the Bristol Old Vic has turned a corner. It has realised its place as part of Bristol’s cultural output rather than separate or above it and now the road to recovery is understood, they just need help walking it - your help. No matter how much investment a venue gets, the theatre can never properly recover if people aren’t visiting and enjoying everything it has to offer. Whether it’s traditional works, groundbreaking contemporary theatre, or boundary pushing festivals, Bristol Old Vic now has it all and you owe it to yourself to get down there and embrace it!

www.bristololdvic.org.uk

Matthew Whittle www.matthewwhittleblog.blogspot.com
Illustrations by Tina Remiz