The Old Vic
The Cut, London , SE1 8NB

Nearest underground:
Waterloo (Northern Line, Jubilee Line, Waterloo and City Line, Bakerloo Line)

Nearest rail:
Waterloo

From its less distinguished beginnings, the Old Vic has been lucky enough to have enjoyed a steep ascent in fortunes. The original 1818 theatre on this site was the Royal Coburg. Being geographically quite a distance from the bustle of Theatreland, its unpopular location meant that it rapidly became what was known as a Blood Tub, the less than pleasant sounding name given to theatres specialising in crude melodramas with bargain-priced tickets. In 1880 its inglorious operations ceased and the theatre closed.

Fortunately it was bought the same year by social reformer Emma Cons, who put on concerts and Shakespearean drama. In the late 1880s she summoned the help of her niece from South Africa , one Lilian Baylis, then 24. Baylis turned out to be one of British theatre’s most pioneering figures. She founded the Old Vic Shakespeare Company in 1914 and under her direction in 1923 the theatre showed a cycle of all Shakespeare’s works, a world first. Dubbed ‘The Magnificent Tyrant’, Baylis was renowned for ensuring performances of the highest stature. The trend continued throughout the 20 th Century; Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre was based here until it moved to its present South Bank home. In 1998 the theatre began a new phase in its life when it changed hands, and is now under the reigns of artistic director Kevin Spacey.

What's on at The Old Vic

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