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Dateline: 16th May, 2007
Bristol Old Vic, Britain's oldest-continually operating theatre, is to close its doors at the end of July 2007 for a £7 million refurbishment. The decision was made at an emergency Bristol Old Vic board meeting on Friday, May 11. The sudden announcement, which was quickly followed by the news that Simon Reade, the Old Vic's artistic director since 2003, is to step down, has sent shockwaves through the theatrical community, prompting widespread speculation that all is far from well behind the scenes at the historic theatre. The theatre board said that the abruptness of the closure announcement was because a £1 million donation by The Linbury Trust, part of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, had just become available and the timing was 'right'. The refurbishment, which will begin on August 1, will address electrical and plumbing issues to ensure the theatre complies with health and safety regulations and remains safe for use by staff, performers and audiences. The refit of the Grade One-listed building will also include new seating, a new air -cooling system, the raising of the stalls floor levels in order to improve stage visibility and the installation of a disabled lift access. Bristol City Council has already provided £1 million towards the project with Arts Council England providing a further £2 million. Support from the Linbury Trust, together with other trusts and individuals, brings the total to £5 million. A public appeal is due to be launched this month to raise the remaining £2 million needed. But the closure has been slammed by former joint artistic director David Farr who said he was "angry and worried" by the announcement. Farr was brought in with Reade four years ago to revive the fortunes of the once mighty venue which in its time has been home to the likes of Peter O'Toole. Farr left after eighteen months to take over the helm at the Lyric Hammersmith with the theatre in apparently rude health, leaving Simon Reade as overall artistic director. The closure at the end of July has put paid to the theatre's autumn/winter schedule, details of which have already been announced. These included a stage version by Caryl Phillips of Simon Schama's Rough Crossings in collaboration with Headlong and putative further projects including Kneehigh's Rapunzel, a sell-out hit at BAC last Christmas, a co-production with Birmingham Rep of Tom Stoppard's Hapgood, another Kneehigh show with a commercial producer and Chekhov's Ivanov directed by Kenneth Branagh. Fears have been voiced that the cancellation could have a knock-on effect on other companies and theatres. What is certain is that lay-offs will follow and the staff, who number around eighteen in total, will be reduced to a 'skeleton' few. This week it was reported that a source described as "close to the theatre board", said that the decisions taken had been made because of pressure from ACE. The suggestion has been denied by a spokesman for ACE who said that there was no suggestion of the immediate removal of funding by them. The theatre, under Farr and Reade, and later under Reade, has won a number of local and national awards for its productions and has continued to enjoy strong support from the national critics. However, the growing number of hostile comments from disgruntled Bristol theatregoers posted on The Guardian's theatre blog suggests that not everyone has been thrilled with the way the theatre has been run of late, with suggestions that the theatre had been increasingly unable to secure the loyalty of a core audience. As a reviewer of productions at the Old Vic over a period stretching back more than four years, my own feeling is that while the theatre undoubtedly enjoyed early success attracting directors of the calibre of Lindsay Posner and Sam West and actors such as Terence Rigby and Phil Daniels, the quality of the programming has indeed been patchy since Farr's departure in summer 2005. The theatre board insists the theatre will reopen after the completion of the renovation work in December 2008. Watch this space. Reporter: Pete Wood Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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