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London Theatre & Cinema Distinguished London Theatres The Old Vic
London Theatre & Cinema Distinguished London Theatres The Old VicThe Old Vic
The Old Vic is located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. It became a Grade II listed building in 1951.
It also shares the name of a repertory company that was based at the theatre. The company formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain when formed in 1963, under Laurence Olivier. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were built on the South Bank complex, which opened in 1976.
The theatre was founded in 1818 by James King, Daniel Dunn and Thomas Serres, then Marine painter to the King who managed to secure the formal patronage of Princess Charlotte (the only child of George IV) and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, naming the theatre the Royal Coburg Theatre.
The theatre was a "minor" theatre (as opposed to one of the two patent theatres) and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. 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. 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 (thanks to Leopold's earlier diplomatic manoevres. His neice was Victoria and Albert Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, her future husband - was his nephew). In 1880, under the ownership of Emma Cons to whom there are plaques outside & inside the theatre, 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".
In 2003, actor Kevin Spacey was appointed as new artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company receiving considerable media attention. Spacey said he wanted to inject new life into the British theatre industry, and bring British and American theatrical talent to the stage. He appears in one or two shows per season, and performs some directorial duties on other shows.
The Old Vic, The Cut, London, SE1 8NB
Call: 0870 060 6628
It also shares the name of a repertory company that was based at the theatre. The company formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain when formed in 1963, under Laurence Olivier. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were built on the South Bank complex, which opened in 1976.
The theatre was founded in 1818 by James King, Daniel Dunn and Thomas Serres, then Marine painter to the King who managed to secure the formal patronage of Princess Charlotte (the only child of George IV) and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, naming the theatre the Royal Coburg Theatre.
The theatre was a "minor" theatre (as opposed to one of the two patent theatres) and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. 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. 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 (thanks to Leopold's earlier diplomatic manoevres. His neice was Victoria and Albert Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, her future husband - was his nephew). In 1880, under the ownership of Emma Cons to whom there are plaques outside & inside the theatre, 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".
In 2003, actor Kevin Spacey was appointed as new artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company receiving considerable media attention. Spacey said he wanted to inject new life into the British theatre industry, and bring British and American theatrical talent to the stage. He appears in one or two shows per season, and performs some directorial duties on other shows.
The Old Vic, The Cut, London, SE1 8NB
Call: 0870 060 6628
