Kneehigh’s The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is a portrait of Marc Chagall’s and Bella Rosenfeld’s marriage. It is a portrait as colourful, as quirky and as inventive as Chagall’s own paintings, and it has enormous charm. Writer Daniel Jamieson and director Emma Rice created their first version of this story over twenty years ago for Theatre Alibi. This new production marks the end of Rice’s long association with Kneehigh, as she has now moved to become Artistic Director for Shakespeare’s Globe.

The opening of Bristol’s Theatre Royal, the Old Vic, in May 1766 could not be described as an event that would be upstaged by anything or anyone. It was one of history’s particularly quiet months and consequently, the Old Vic had the stage pretty much to itself. And now, 250 years later, it’s still going strong and is the oldest functioning theatre in the English speaking world . . . Hopefully a lot of people came into the theatre for the first time and, hopefully, future generations will insure with the continuation of this remarkable institution for another 250 years.

In a bar near The Old Vic a THEATRE BUFF is chatting to his friend, an ageing and slightly conservative DRAMATURG for a touring theatre company.

D: Madame Bovary, a play you say?

TB: That’s right.

D: Not possible. She’s a wonderful literary creation I’ll grant you, but it’s all internal, her thoughts and emotions, she hardly says a word.