Heralding a new era, David Farr and Simon Reade, the new artistic directors of Bristol Old Vic, have announced a new spring season of classic dramas and new works for 2003. (Click their names for more details)

In the Main House:
(Click their names for more details)

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES by Christopher Hampton (1985) from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos (1782). Directed by Samuel West.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS a new dramatisation by David Farr from the novel by Charles Dickens. Directed by Gordon Anderson May 8 – June 7

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare and directed by David Farr.

Moon On A Rainbow Shawl

King John

 In the Studio:

The theatre’s Education Department, led by Director of Education Heather Williams, presents an ambitious programme of work by the Bristol Old Vic Youth Theatre - two European classics and three new English plays:

March 13-15 PAINS OF YOUTH by Ferdinand Bruckner ( Germany 1926)

March 14-15 ECLIPSE by Simon Armitage (1997)

March 19-21 LEAGUE OF YOUTH by Henrik Ibsen ( Norway 1869)

March 27-29 THE QUEEN MUST DIE by David Farr (2003)

Throughout April and the Easter holidays, Bristol Old Vic presents Jill Tomlinson’s story for the under sevens.April 2-26

THE OWL WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK in a new dramatisation by Simon Reade. Directed by Rebecca Gatwood.April 28-May 31

MAYFEST is a month long celebration of new visual theatre from across Britain including The Clod Ensemble, Horse and Bamboo, Point Blank Living Pictures, Dark Horse, News from Nowhere, Marc von Henning and People Show.

In addition the new generation takes over the theatre when Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Circomedia move into the spaces with their student showcases:

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

In the Main House (June 12-21) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and in the Studio (June 11-21) Tonight at 8.30, three one act plays by Noel Coward.

Circomedia

In the Main House. (July 2-5)Midnight Summer Dreams. Showcase of circus skills and physical theatre.

 

And more work for families is programmed with the Birmingham Stage Company’s production of James and the Giant Peach in the Main House (June 24-28) and Bristol Old Vic’s The Great Big Story Mix Up in the Studio (May 10)

 

Speaking at the new launch in Bristol, David and Simon said:

• "We’re very honoured to be joining this historic theatre in this great city.

• We believe audiences will be as excited by the range of these plays as we are. We’re bringing front rank directors and designers who have been working in the best of British theatre - dynamic creative teams to produce this packed repertoire.

We are all looking forward to collaborating with the skilled and experienced in-house team. This is a defining moment for Bristol and the Bristol Old Vic, where we seek to become a true national theatre."

 

Bristol Old Vic Youth Theatre present five extraordinary plays performed by Bristol’s finest teenage actors. Pains of Youth by Bruckner and League of Youth by Ibsen provide an opportunity to see two European classics rarely performed in this country.

Eclipse by Simon Armitage, The Queen Must Die by David Farr and The Ice Palace by Lucinda Coxon are produced as part of the National Theatre Connections programme which is aimed at creating new writing for and about young people by some of the best playwrights of our time.

The creative team is led by Heather Williams and includes directors Sally Cookson, Caroline Hunt, Heidi Vaughan, composer John O’ Hara and designer Katie Sykes.

To accompany the new season will be a series of discussions, talks and workshops to include: Simon Reade in conversation with the season’s directors, workshops in Victorian melodrama and an open forum with the two new artistic directors.

In addition, there are a series of tours to local primary schools of educational projects which are both unique and innovative. Heroes and Zeros (in collaboration with Weston Education Action Zone), and Project Myrtle (in Collaboration with The Primary Care Trust), explore numeracy and drugs awareness respectively, through theatrical performance and participatory workshops. The Education Department will also continue its ground-breaking work with the National Children’s Bureau to promote the use of drama in developing well-being in children and young people.