Bristol Old Vic today announced the next series of one-nighters in their historic Georgian Theatre as well as events on the newly-christened The Courtyard stage, in the theatre’s spacious and award-winning Bar & Café.
A rolling programme of work on The Courtyard stage and in the historic Theatre will run through the autumn as Bristol Old Vic continues to discover what theatre can be in the current climate, while supporting freelance artists to perform once more. The programme includes theatre, spoken word, dance, live music and poetry from the innovative artists who are part of the Bristol Old Vic family, in the spirit of exploration and fun.
On Thu 8 Oct, Bristol Old Vic Associate Artist Toby Jones (Uncle Vanya, The Girl, Captain America, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) will return to Bristol Old Vic Theatre as the first guest in a series called Desert Island Theatre. In conversation with his long-term collaborator and friend Tom Morris, this will be a unique theatrical event in which he will recall – and attempt to recreate – 7 moments of theatre which have had a profound affect on him and his career. One of acting’s greatest talents, Jones has played everything from Dobby the House Elf in Harry Potter to Truman Capote and starred as Lance in 3 series of the BBC hit comedy The Detectorists as well as the Christ-figure in Bristol Old Vic’s Messiah. Expect a highly unpredictable evening full of surprises in this live event for a socially-distanced audience.
The following evening, (Fri 9 Oct) on The Courtyard stage, cult Bristolian Cabaret artist and storyteller Tom Marshman curates a wild night of Covid Cabaret in Going Out with Annette Curtain (and friends). Join Bristol’s biggest gossip, Annette Curtain (aka Tom Marshman) and her glamourous assistant Ryan the Geeky Twink, for the glitziest, glammest drag cabaret in town. A live, in-person show featuring some very special guests. (An application for permission to include a knife thrower on the bill is currently awaiting attention on Oliver Dowden’s desk..)
Saturday night (10 Oct) on The Courtyard stage is handed over to music as Ian Ross (multi-instrumentalist, composer and Music Director for Kneehigh and Wise Children) presents The Magpie Collection. This includes compositions from some of his much-loved theatre productions (Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Wise Children, Mallory Towers) and original folk trio compositions from Eleven Magpies. Ian will be joined by Elizabeth Westcott (violin) and James Gow (cello).
After trialing names with audiences, The Courtyard stage was chosen to reflect the space’s unique history. From 1766 until the 1820s, Bristol Old Vic’s current foyer included a paved courtyard positioned in front of the Theatre, and open to the sky. A place where people gathered together, waiting before they were let in to see the latest piece of prohibited theatre.
Bristol Old Vic producer Sian Weeding said: “The Courtyard stage’s name felt particularly apt at a time when theatre feels indirectly prohibited and we are all held in this space waiting to be let in. The work we are presenting on The Courtyard stage asks our much-missed audiences and artists to come together and explore this new time as we gently welcome them back to their theatre.”
