Old Vic Theatre - History
The Old Vic has been an important venue in the history of London theatres. Since its original foundations in 1818 it has gone by various different names over the years including the Royal Coburg Theatre, Royal Victorian Theatre, The Royal Victoria Coffee and Music Hall and The Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern. It was also National Theatre of Great Britain for a while after the organisation of such a venture was taken out by Laurence Olivier. It kept this title until 1976 when specific premises were built over in the South Bank of London in the forms of the Olivier National Theatre, the Lyttelton National Theatre and the Cottesloe National Theatre.
The venue itself was created under the guidance of James King and Daniel Dunn in 1818. Back then rules governing the running of theatres in London were very different and it meant that only certain shows could run – in this case no serious dramas were allowed due to the venue’s status as a ‘minor’ theatre. Plays in the early years showcased such dramas despite the rulings and included the likes of Richard III, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear after an opening night that included melodrama, a harlequinade and an Asiatic ballet. Eventually, the later owner of the venue Daniel Egerton and William Abbott were able to put on serious plays legally when the laws were abolished in the 1830s.
The rest of the nineteenth century saw many threats of closure. As a result the 1870s and 1880s were characterised by closures followed by re-openings, which correspond with many of the changes of name. The curious names of The Royal Victoria Coffee and Music Hall and The Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern were the results of people wanting the venue to have the name ‘theatre’ removed from the title, feeling that it had ‘impure associations’.
The twentieth century brought great prosperity to the venue with a new theatre licence issued by Lord Chamberlain. During World War One the venue had to endure various Zeppelin bombing raids, but as with many other London venues the theatre survived triumphantly and it survived The Great War.
But the luck wasn’t great as good during the Second World War as the venue was badly damaged by bombs in 1941. But the theatre managed to continue and as the century progressed many great actors graced the stage including Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins, Maggie Smith, Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier whilst the theatre became the National Theatre.
Today the Old Vic continues to be a world class venue under the Artistic Direction of Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey.
