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| The exterior of the Old Vic from the corner of Baylis Road and Waterloo Road. Baylis Road is a thoroughfare in Lambeth, London SE1, England running between Westminster Bridge Road to the south-west and | |
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| Designation | Grade II* listed |
| Architect | Rudolph Cabanel of Aachen |
| Owned by | Old Vic Theatre Trust |
| Capacity | 1,067 |
| Type | Resident company |
| Opened | 1818 |
| Rebuilt | 1871 J T Robinson 1880/1902 Elijah Hoole 1922/1927 by Frank Matcham 1933-8 F Green and Co 1950 Pierre Sonrel 1960 Sean Kenny 1983 Renton, Howard, Wood and Levine. The London Borough of Lambeth ( is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Inner London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance Frank Matcham (22 November 1854 Newton Abbot, Devon – 17 May 1920 Southend-on-Sea, Essex) was a famous English theatrical |
| Previous names | Royal Coburg Theatre Royal Victorian Theatre Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern |
| Production | Speed-the-Plow |
| www.oldvictheatre.com | |
| Coordinates: | |
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Speed-the-Plow (1988 is a play by David Mamet which is a satirical dissection of the American movie business a theme Mamet would revisit in his later films A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Waterloo Road is a road straddling Lambeth and Southwark, London, SE1. It became a Grade II* listed building in 1951[1]. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance
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. For other meanings of repertory please see Repertory (disambiguation. The Royal National Theatre, located on the South Bank in the London Borough of Lambeth, England.
Contents |
History
Origins
The theatre was founded in 1818 by James Jones and James Dunn (formerly managers of the Surrey Theatre in Bermondsey), and Thomas Serres, then Marine painter to the King who managed to secure the formal patronage of Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg naming the theatre the Royal Coburg Theatre. Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Surrey Theatre began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided contemporary London entertainment of both Bermondsey (ˈbɜːmənzi or /ˈbɜːməndzi/ is an area in modern London on the southern bank of the river Thames, and presently part of the London Borough Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (7 January 1796 &ndash 6 November 1817 was the only child of the ill-fated marriage between George IV (at the time Prince of Wales Leopold I ( Leopold George Christian Frederick (in German Leopold Georg Christian Friedrich) Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later The theatre was a "minor" theatre (as opposed to one of the two patent theatres) and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. The patent theatres were the Theatres that were licensed to perform "spoken Drama " after the English Restoration of Charles II in 1660 Nevertheless, when the theatre passed to William Bolwell Davidge in 1824 he succeeded in bringing legendary actor Edmund Kean south of the river to play six Shakespeare plays in six nights. Edmund Kean (March 17 1789 &ndash May 15 1833 was an English Actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever The theatre's role in bringing high art to the masses was confirmed when Kean addressed the audience during his curtain call saying "I have never acted to such a set of ignorant, unmitigated brutes as I see before me. " When Davidge left to take over the Surrey theatre in 1833 it was bought by Daniel Egerton and William Abbott who tried to capitalise on the abolition of the legal distinction between patent and minor theatres and also in 1833 the theatre was renamed the Royal Victorian Theatre after the heir to the throne Princess Victoria. Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 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"[2]. Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Emma Cons (1838 – 24 July 1912) was a British Social reformer, Educationalist and Theatre manager. See also Prohibition, Teetotalism The Temperance Movement attempted to reduce the amount of Alcohol consumed within a community or society in The penny lectures given in the hall led to the foundation of Morley College[3], an adult education college, that moved to its own premises nearby, in the 1920s. Morley College is an Adult education college in London, England. Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults
Old Vic company
With Emma Cons's death in 1912 the theatre passed to her niece Lilian Baylis, who emphasized the Shakespearean repertoire. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Lilian Mary Baylis CH ( 9 May 1874 – 25 November 1937) was an English Theatrical producer and manager William Shakespeare ( baptised The Old Vic Company was established in 1929, led by Sir John Gielgud. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH ( 14 April, 1904 – 21 May 2000) known as Sir John Gielgud, was an 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. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lilian Mary Baylis CH ( 9 May 1874 – 25 November 1937) was an English Theatrical producer and manager Sadler's Wells Theatre is the name of six theatres that have been built since 1683 at a site on Rosebery Avenue Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington Ballet is a formalized form of Dance with its origins in the French court further developed in France and Russia as a Concert dance See also Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE ( June 6, 1898 &ndash March 8, 2001) was the 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. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Wartime exile
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. The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 in World War II. Burnley is a large Market town in the borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73500 In 1944, the company was re-established in London with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier as its stars, performing mainly at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) until the Old Vic was ready to re-open in 1950. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Ralph David Richardson ( 19 December 1902 &ndash 10 October 1983) was an English Actor, one of a group of theatrical Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron The Noël Coward Theatre is a West End theatre on St Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In 1946, an offshoot of the company was established in Bristol as the Bristol Old Vic. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London The Bristol Old Vic is a Theatre complex and theatrical company in the centre of Bristol, England.
National Theatre company
In 1963, the Old Vic company was dissolved and the new National Theatre Company, under the artistic direction of Lord Olivier, was based at the Old Vic until its own building was opened on the South Bank near Waterloo Bridge in 1976. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Royal National Theatre, located on the South Bank in the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron The South Bank is the area in London on the southern bank of the River Thames near Waterloo station that houses a number of important Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
In July 1974 the Old Vic presented a rock concert for the first time. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. National Theatre director Sir Peter Hall arranged for the progressive folk-rock band Gryphon to premiere Midnight Mushrumps, the fantasia inspired by Hall's own 1974 Old Vic production of The Tempest starring Sir John Gielgud for which Gryphon had supplied the music. Gryphon were a British Progressive rock band of the 1970s notable for their unusual sound and instrumentation The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH ( 14 April, 1904 – 21 May 2000) known as Sir John Gielgud, was an
Reopening
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. Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, OC, CBE ( July 24, 1914 — July 11, 2007) was a Canadian Businessman In 1998, the building was bought by a new charitable trust, The Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) 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. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
Current developments
In 2003, the actor Kevin Spacey was appointed as new artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company receiving considerable media attention. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26 1959 is an American actor and Film director. Spacey said he wanted to inject new life into the British theatre industry, and bring British and American theatrical talent to the stage. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He appears in one or two shows per season, and performs some directorial duties on other shows.
References
- ^ English Heritage listing details 28 Apr 2007
- ^ 'The Royal Victoria Hall - "The Old Vic"', Survey of London: volume 23: Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall (1951), pp. 37-9 accessed: 28 April 2007.
- ^ An endowment from the estate of Samuel Morley led to the creation of the Morley Memorial College for Working Men and Women on the premises, these were shared and lectures were given back stage, and in the theatre dressing rooms. Samuel Morley ( 15 October 1809 - 5 September 1886) was an English woollen manufacturer Philanthropist, dissenter ( Congregationalist
- Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 128-9 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
- Pictures and early history of Vic-Wells
- Guide to events at the Old Vic Theatre
- Old Vic Theatre History
External links
- Old Vic Theatre official website
- UK Theatre Network
- Old Vic archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, University of Bristol
- Lilian Baylis archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, University of Bristol
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