Theatre / Bristol old vic
New blue plaque unveiled at Bristol Old Vic
A new blue plaque affixed to a wall of a rehearsal room at the Bristol Old Vic doesn’t commemorate deeds long since forgot.
Instead, it celebrates the amazing achievements of The Wardrobe Ensemble who formed out of the inaugural Made in Bristol company in 2011 and on Wednesday opened their award-winning show Education, Education, Education in the theatre.
Education, Education, Education by The Wardrobe Ensemble
Made in Bristol is a project which brings together a small group of young people aged 18 to 25 who become resident at the Old Vic for two days a week across the space of a year.
is needed now More than ever
The group train to become workshop leaders, facilitators and theatre makers, creating work that can reach out across Bristol and the South West, engaging with local arts organisations as well as performing their own piece of original work at the end of the course.
Bristol Old Vic’s engagement director Lucy Hunt said: “The Made in Bristol project was formed to support the exceptional creative minds of the young people that came together to form The Wardrobe Ensemble.
“These theatre makers were on the cusp of adulthood, members of Bristol Old Vic Young Company who needed space, support and resource to take the first step forward in their careers.
“It was a tremendous success and led to Made in Bristol continuing until today, supporting a further seven years of young creative talent. We are so incredibly proud of all of these young people, who continue to prove that there really is no limit to what us Bristolians can achieve.”
Old Vic bosses hope that The Wardrobe Ensemble’s blue plaque will serve to inspire each new generation of theatre makers who use the rehearsal room on a regular basis.
Artistic director Tom Morris added: “In all sorts of ways, the success of this company is the story of everything we are trying to achieve at Bristol Old Vic, not for ourselves, but for the artists who we think can make theatre brilliant in the future.
“The fact that there is a company, all of whom discovered the possibility of a career in theatre during the first Made in Bristol, a company which has, through its sister company The Wardrobe Theatre, created the extraordinary event of a new theatre space and become a powerful element in Bristol’s theatre ecology, that’s a very special thing for us.
Education, Education, Education is at Bristol Old Vic until November 4. Visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/education-education-education.html for more information and to buy tickets
Main photo: The Wardrobe Ensemble with Bristol Old Vic artistic director Tom Morris and chief executive Emma Stenning
Read more: Preview: Education, Education, Education
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