Revealing Times for Bristol Old Vic Refurbishment???

Refurbishment of the Bristol Old Vic, Britain’s oldest working theatre, have revealed a number of “unexpected details” about the 1766 playhouse. The work, which seeks to reconfigure the theatre sympathetically to its original design – including a thrust stage which has been temporarily reinstated – will create an intimate space similar to a Shakespearean amphitheatre. Recent work has revealed the original flag flooring of the pit and pit corridors as well as the locations of the theatre’s original turnstiles. The Old Vic have now also confirmed the size and shape of the under-stage area in the original design of the theatre and have used the front of exposed boxes to find the exact size, shape and materials of the raked stage which was previously thought to have been flat. It has also been confirming that the audience at the venue (originally called the King St Theatre, Bristol, and later the Theatre Royal) would have had to stand rather than sit to get a good view of the stage. The Old Vic’s artistic director Tom Morris today said that if further funding was raised it would be possible to reinstate the original pit floor underneath planned seating. The theatre have also said they hope to use funds raised in the wake of the discoveries to make the findings as accessible as possible to future generations, theatre historians and students.