Post date: Jun 25, 2016 4:33:23 PM
In 2009 we set about a plan to raise £25,000,000 with which we would fully refurbish your theatre; the first phase of works, refurbishing the glorious Georgian auditorium was completed in 2012 to award-winning acclaim.
But we’ve been acutely aware that the front of house at Bristol Old Vic has been letting the side down, with awkward, inaccessible spaces and poor facilities that do little to make your visit as enjoyable as we want it to be.
By 2018, coming to Bristol Old Vic will be a very different experience. A building which will be able to give you a terrific welcome, offering you great food and drink in a new front of house; not just pre-show, but throughout the day.
It will be a beautiful combination of historic and new architecture; spaces that you might simply want to come and spend time in with your family and friends, and places that you might want actively to explore as we develop ways to tell our 250-year history through new artworks and activities.
Bristol Old Vic Theatre Club members are likely to be among the first to see the hoardings go up on King Street. But don’t worry! The theatre itself is still open, you’ll just need to head around the corner onto Queen Charlotte Street turning left onto The Rackhay to come in via the Backstage Door where you can join us in our Bar prior to the show. And, do come and say hello in Number 16 King Street, just opposite Renato’s, where our day time Box Office and many of our staff will be working during the build. It’s a beautiful building that we’re lucky to have as our temporary home.
There will no doubt be a chance to walk around the front of house as it currently stands on 11 June before your In Conversation talk on that day and to enter the theatre from the current entrance on King Street for the last time. Do bring your cameras to capture memories of the building as you have known it – many of you for several decades. We look forward to sharing with you the rest of this year’s exciting programme and the many productions to come in 2017 and beyond.
We also look forward to continuing to welcome Theatre Club members to hold In Conversations and other events in the Theatre throughout the refurbishment work. We were delighted that the Theatre Club hosted three In Conversations during our 250th Birthday weekend and it was wonderful to see so many Theatre Club members during the Birthday weekend.
Do keep an eye on our website, on our blog, in local press and your own newsletter for updates as the work progresses. It’s going to be quite the adventure!
Emma Stenning
Executive Director