Old Vic

Old Vic
a famous theatre in south London, built in 1818. It was officially named the Royal Victoria Theatre in 1833, and was given the nickname the ‘Old Vic’ later in the century. It became well known in the early 20th century when Lilian Baylis began producing Shakespeare’s plays there. The National Theatre was based there from 1963 until its own building was completed in 1976.

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London theatre company.

The company's theatre opened in 1818 as the Royal Coburg; renamed the Royal Victoria in 1833, it became popularly known as the Old Vic. The company, managed by Lilian Baylis, began a regular Shakespeare season in 1914. From the 1930s it was noted for its memorable productions of Shakespeare's plays and other classics, with actors such as John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, and Ralph Richardson. The company was dissolved in 1963 and formed the nucleus of the new National Theatre, which performed at the Old Vic theatre until moving to a new building in 1976.

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▪ London theatrical company
 theatre in the Greater London borough of Lambeth. It was formerly the home of a theatre company that became the nucleus of the National Theatre (Royal National Theatre).

      The company's theatre building opened in 1818 as the Royal Coburg and produced mostly popular melodramas. In 1833 it was redecorated and renamed the Royal Victoria and became popularly known as the Old Vic. Under the management (1880–1912) of Emma Cons, a social reformer, the Old Vic was transformed into a temperance amusement hall known as the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern, where musical concerts and scenes from Shakespeare and opera were performed. Lilian Baylis (Baylis, Lilian Mary), Emma Cons's niece, assumed management of the theatre in 1912 and two years later presented the initial regular Shakespeare (Shakespeare, William) season. By 1918 the Old Vic was established as the only permanent Shakespearean theatre in London, and by 1923 all of Shakespeare's plays had been performed there. The Old Vic grew in stature during the 1920s and '30s under directors such as Andrew Leigh, Harcourt Williams, and Tyrone Guthrie (Guthrie, Sir Tyrone).

      The Old Vic theatre building was badly damaged during World War II, and, when the company returned to London from wartime touring in 1944, it was housed in the New Theatre. Under the combined direction of Laurence Olivier (Olivier, Laurence, Baron Olivier of Brighton), Ralph Richardson (Richardson, Sir Ralph), and John Burrell, the Old Vic company presented memorable productions of Shakespeare's plays and other classics, including Cyrano de Bergerac, Oedipus Rex, Love for Love, and Peer Gynt. After World War II the Old Vic School and the Young Vic, a company that performed for children, were established and housed in the Old Vic theatre. The company returned to its repaired original home in 1950, but the lack of space and adequate funds caused the school and the Young Vic to close in 1952. In 1963 the Old Vic company was dissolved, and the Old Vic theatre became the temporary home of the new National Theatre. The Young Vic was reconstituted in 1970, and by 1974 it had become an independent company. The theatre building was home to the Prospect Theatre Company from 1977 to 1981. The Old Vic was refurbished in 1983 and used intermittently thereafter by various groups, including the Peter Hall Company in 1997.

Additional Reading
Edward J. Dent, A Theatre for Everybody: The Story of the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells (1945, reprinted 1979); Peter Roberts, The Old Vic Story: A Nation's Theatre, 1818–1976 (1976); D.F. Cheshire, Sean McCarthy, and Hilary Norris, The Old Vic Refurbished (1983); George Rowell, The Old Vic Theatre: A History (1993).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Old Vic —   [ əʊld vɪk], Londoner Theater, eröffnet 1818 als Royal Coburg (Aufführung populärer Melodramen); ab 1833 unter dem Namen Royal Victoria, daher die Bezeichnung Old Vic; ab 1900 Stätte für Konzerte, Shakespeare Szenen und Opern, ab 1914… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Old Vic — the Old Vic a theatre in South London, famous especially for its productions of plays by William Shakespeare …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Old Vic — Infobox Theatre name = The Old Vic caption = The exterior of the Old Vic from the corner of Baylis Road and Waterloo Road address = The Cut city = Lambeth, London country = United Kingdom designation = Grade II* listed latitude = 51.5022… …   Wikipedia

  • Old Vic — Außenansicht des Old Vic Das Treppenhaus im Old Vic Theatre Das Old Vic Theatre ist ein Theater in London. Es wurde 1818 von William Barrymore als Royal C …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Old Vic — The Old Vic Vista exterior del Old Vic desde la esquina de Baylis Road y Waterloo Road Otros nombres Royal Coburg Theatre Royal Victorian Theatre Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern …   Wikipedia Español

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  • Old Vic Theatre — Außenansicht des Old Vic Das Treppenhaus im Old Vic Theatre …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Old Vic Company — Die Old Vic Company war das Ensemble des Old Vic Theatre zwischen 1929 und 1963. Nach einer etwas bewegten Geschichte der Spielstätte formte sich an ihr 1929 die Company unter der Leitung von Sir John Gielgud. 1946 wurde als Ableger das Bristol… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Old Vic — Royal Victoria Hall in London …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

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