Bristol Old Vic

A theatre of outstanding historic interest, occupied by a company of national stature. The auditorium is a remarkable survival of an eighteenth century city theatre, with similar dimensions to the contemporary Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Whereas it is thought that Drury Lane may have had a slightly fan-shaped auditorium with tiers facing the stage on a shallow curve, the balconies at Bristol are fully semi-circular in the centre, and very nearly parallel at the sides. Stage-boxes are framed between giant Corinthian pilasters. The stage originally projected as far as the outer pilasters, but has long been cut back to the inner pair, and the crucial Georgian proscenium doors removed. As first built the theatre had a stalls circle of boxes and one tier above. In about 1800 a further tier was added with a deep gallery in the centre. The ceiling slopes steeply upwards from the line of the outer pair of pilasters to the back of the gallery. The tier fronts are supported by slender fluted columns at 2.75m (9ft) centres. Most of the delicate gilded filigree decoration on tier fronts, pilasters and ceiling dates from the early and mid-nineteenth rather than eighteenth century.

In 1972 the whole structure of the 18th century stage house with its splendid Victorian machinery was demolished, an incredibly destructive act, and rebuilt with an inappropriately flat stage instead of the raked stage that the form and sightlines of the auditorium demand. Surprisingly, the opportunity to restore the original apron and proscenium arch doors was not taken. A sad memorial, a model of the stage machinery was put on display in the theatre foyer in 1981. In 1972 W Skinner’s mediocre 1903 entrance front was also demolished and replaced by a new studio theatre by Peter Moro, the New Vic, itself now of interest as an important work of its time. A new entrance was made through the adjacent imposing mid eighteenth century façade of the former Coopers’ Hall. The opportunity was lost at this time to make use of the fine hall at first floor level as the main saloon for the theatre. It now forms the well and landing of a staircase leading from ground floor to first balcony level.