Bristol Old Vic's Studio Returns!

After over a year and a half standing dark during the pandemic, Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio Theatre returns with a blazing season of work to celebrate a brand-new beginning.

This magical, flexible space will present a programme full of invention - spanning every type of work the Studio was built for and fulfilling many of the promises of work that had to be postponed due to the pandemic. It includes performances from emerging talent, cutting-edge artists, collaborations and in-house productions which celebrate the future of theatre in all its forms. And, after a 23-month postponement, the theatre is delighted to be able to present The Red Lion, which had to close hours before its press night on Mar 16, 2020, due to the first lockdown. This will be a roaring celebration, not only of the amazing Bristol talent who are part of the production, but also marking a triumphant return for the theatre and the city.

Theatremakers – and Watchers – of the Future
Launching The Weston Studio this Christmas is a co-production from Bristol Old Vic and Dip and Fall Back Theatre Company for our youngest audiences, Anansi’s Big Big Adventure (18–31 Dec). Bursting with myth and magic and based on the African and Caribbean folk tales of Anansi – this show is specifically made for 4–7yr olds. The production is created by the team behind the 2019 show Anansi and the Grand Prize – Bristol-based theatre makers Edson Burton and Ruth Ramsay.

The mischievous Anansi the Spider spots a great shiny disc in the forest near his home. Curious, and telling his six children he will only be a minute, he walks to the forest edge to find out what it could be. But they’re too busy arguing to notice he’s gone. And the disc seems to move further into the trees—where panthers, snakes and wild animals lurk… Anansi is lost. The disc is nowhere to be seen and danger is drawing near. Can his children work together, using their unique special powers, to find their father before it’s too late?

In January, Bristol Old Vic’s theatremakers of the future take over with a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet (8–11 Jan) This new version of Shakespeare’s tragedy is a collaboration between Bristol Old Vic’s award-winning Young Company and Young SixSix members aged between 15 and 21. Directed by Julia Head, this bold production will be a relentless unfolding of the world’s most famous love story, set against the violent chaos of this broken world. It will also work hand-in-hand with a companion project involving young people, to explore the impact of knife crime and its effect on communities, and work towards reducing criminal exploitation of young people. 

In the spring, another magical piece of theatre especially for young children and their families visits The Weston Studio. The award-winning Travelling Light presents Vixen from 13–16 Apr, an original story by Bristol writer Matt Grinter about a young girl who is turning into a fox. Expect to see beauty hidden in unremarkable places, friendships that don’t follow the rules and a girl aching to belong. Suitable for ages 7+ and their families.

The theatre’s ongoing partnership with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is also re-energized this November as the students become the first to step onto The Weston Studio stage and help us rediscover its unique role once again. Their production of Macbeth runs from 11–20 Nov.

Top Regional Talent and Inspirational Artists for the Spring.
In February, 23months after having to cancel the production on its press night due to the first lockdown – we are delighted to be able to present The Red Lion directed by Ed Viney. Running 7–20 Feb, 2022 this roaring return of Patrick Marber’s play explores issues of trust, loyalty and conflict across generations and stars Bristol’s Joe Sims as the ambitious manager Kidd, David Lloyd as the kit man Yates and making his professional stage debut, Thomas McGee as the gifted young player, Jordan, who is trapped between them.

This is followed by the Bristol-based dance company (and Bristol Old Vic associate artists) Impermanence, presenting a triple bill of new dance, Out of Curiosity, curated by Impermanence and featuring works created and performed by some of the most exciting choreographers working in the UK today. Don't miss the chance to see these brilliant new works up close and personal in the intimate context of The Weston Studio theatre. For one night only, Thu 24 Feb.

Hot on its heels comes A Night in Sign, visiting Bristol Old Vic for the first time, for a night of live music, comedy and spoken word. It will take over The Weston Studio on Sat 26 Feb and the entire show will be performed in British Sign Language, Spoken English and English Captions. Come and have a drink, grab a seat and be blown away by some of the country's most exciting Deaf and Hard of Hearing talent including the BBC's The Greatest Dancer's Chris Fonseca.

It’s a joyous ‘welcome back’ to firm favourites Living Spit, regular visitors to Bristol Old Vic, who were last seen at Christmas 2020 with Beauty and the Beast in the Theatre, as well as a version of their comedy The Six Wives of Henry VIII on The Courtyard Stage. This time, we’re thrilled to see them return to The Weston Studio with Elizabeth I: Virgin on the Ridiculous (14–26 Mar). With more live original music, silly songs, smutty shenanigans, perfunctory props, and hysterically historical horseplay, this promises to be (another) poorly researched lesson in Tudor history that you’ll never forget.

In the spring, Sorry You’re Not a Winner runs from 29 Mar–2 Apr. A striking new play from Samuel Bailey, whose debut play Shook won him the 2019 Papatango Prize and Times Breakthrough Award in 2021. Samuel began his theatre-making career with Bristol Old Vic’s Young Company and the theatre’s Made in Bristol scheme before becoming one of the UK's hottest young playwriting talents. A Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth co-production, Sorry, You’re Not a Winner is a play about aspiration, social mobility and getting caught between class. It asks if ‘making it’ means leaving everything you know and everyone you love behind – what’s the point?

What Remains of Us is written by David Lane (Stalin’s Daughter) and directed by Sita Calvert-Ennals. Together they co-conceived this raw, moving and at times absurdly funny new play as an urgent response to international debates around borders and the human stories at their centre.

Seung-Ji hasn’t seen her father Kwan-Suk since she was three. Separated by one of the world’s most militarised borders, they come face to face again in this compelling story based on the state-organised temporary reunions of divided Korean families. With intelligence agencies and the global media looking on, can father and daughter confront their past, and find a connection in the present?  

Produced by Judy Owen Ltd in association with Bristol Old Vic, Bath Spa Productions and Korea National University of Arts, Bristol Old Vic is delighted to finally be able to welcome What Remains of Us to the studio where it will run from 3–12 Mar, (rescheduled from 2020).