Bristol Old Vic on the global stage

I find Tom Morris, artistic director of Bristol Old Vic, in a reflective mood. As the oldest theatre in the English-speaking world, Bristol Old Vic has endured its share of hardships over its illustrious 250-year-old history, but with theatres going dark across the nation and 75 per cent of turnover disappearing at a stroke, the pandemic threw its continued viability into question.

“We didn’t know how we were going to survive,” he admits. Yet even in the midst of lockdown, over the summer of 2020, Morris was striking an optimistic note, telling The Times ‘it’s not all doom’ as he identified the shutdown as an opportunity for the transformation of British theatre. In terms of the Old Vic, those roots are already beginning to bear fruit.

In our half-hour chat, Morris frequently touches on what he calls “this extraordinary phenomenon that Bristol has of creative resilience”. The enforced break has allowed the organisation to take stock, regroup, and rebuild.

“We have been lent an opportunity to think afresh about what the role of this theatre might be, in terms of the city that we live in, and actually nationally and internationally as well. I absolutely stand by what I said,” Morris tells Bristol24/7.

During the pandemic, Bristol Old Vic was the beneficiary of a much-needed injection of cash from the Culture Recovery Fund which, Morris points out, ensured the theatre didn’t go bust.

That said, in order to raise money with which to make new work, it was the audience that answered the call, coming forward with generous donations that have enabled the venue to gradually reopen – first with solo performances in the foyer, then to limited audiences in theatre and, finally, to large-scale productions.

Full houses are once again expected from October, though there have been notable changes to the ways in which audiences can access work. Successful experiments with unregulated, ‘open concessions’, along with ‘pay-it-forward’ tickets for those in a more secure financial position, are helping to rebalance the perception of theatre being accessed by the privileged few.

A ‘see it safely’ protocol is underway helping audiences to feel confident in coming back to live shows, and there will be regular socially distanced shows for those that feel more comfortable with them.

Courtyard sessions, al fresco ‘beach huts’ and catering pop-ups have been amongst the raft of innovations helping audiences to make a slow return to the theatre but, for many, it’s a gradual return to normality.

“For every single courtyard session so far, the artists have said they haven’t performed in 18 months or two years, and most of the audiences say they haven’t been out to shows in that time,” continues Morris.

“That means that every night is an opening night, and we need to look after and listen to people, bearing that in mind.”

Bristol Old Vic’s stunningly modern front-of-house 2018 refurb adjoining its historic facade. Photo by Philip Vile

In a new and exciting innovation for the Old Vic, shows will now be live broadcast to viewers in the home, thereby widening access and opening the theatre up to a potentially international audience.

“One of the areas of change that we’ve made is in accelerating our digital programme,” explains Morris. “We have managed to raise some funds to invest in the kit that allows us to broadcast our shows live from the theatre, and this is something we have wanted to do for the last ten years, but we’ve been so busy stoking the fires of running the theatre we haven’t been able to do the dismantling and rebuilding that is necessary. That has finally been possible during the pandemic.”

The much-vaunted and pre-pandemic Old Vic production of Touching the Void was brought back to the theatre for a week-long run in summer 2021, and live-broadcast to ticket holders at home. It’s a good example of the huge landscape opening up for the Old Vic beyond its home city. Morris is confident that the composed edit, currently being finalised, could now have a prolonged life in cinemas, TV and on the international stage.

Fiona Hampton as Sarah in Touching the Void. Photo by Geraint Lewis

“If we get it right, it could offer a huge amount not only for us as a business, but also for audiences all over the world who have heard of this beautiful ancient theatre we happen to be lucky enough to have in Bristol,” says Morris.

The theatre’s Autumn/Winter programme has been curated as ‘a balanced, celebratory welcome back’ to theatre and highlights include world-renowned director Emma Rice’s take on Wuthering Heights, Giles Ferera’s The Meaning of Zong, which Morris calls “an absolutely extraordinary piece of writing”, and “the greatest actor of our age” Mark Rylance’s Bristol Old Vic debut as Dr Semmelweis.

Wrapping up our conversation, I ask Morris about the role that the cultural landscape has in mapping the future of Bristol, and it’s hard not to be swept up by his passion for what he does.

“I’ve always felt that Bristol is the most exciting possible city to be running a theatre, because simultaneously it has this established high-momentum culture of curiosity around the arts, amazing established audiences, and an extraordinary body of artists and experimentalists,” he reflects.

“At the same time, it is a city which is manifestly full of injustice, and within which the possibility of making meaningful change happen, both socially and culturally, is incredibly exciting.”

Main photo by Geraint Lewis

Read more: Bristol Old Vic Announces Autumn/Winter Season 2021/22

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