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 Interactive map of Young Vic | |
| Address | The Cut London,SE1 United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°30′12″N0°06′27″W / 51.50323°N 0.10748°W /51.50323; -0.10748 |
| Public transit |  Waterloo;Southwark Waterloo;Waterloo East |
| Owner | The Young Vic Company |
| Type | Non-commercial resident company |
| Capacity | 420 Main house 150Maria (studio) 70Clare (studio) |
| Production | Repertory seasons |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1970; 56 years ago (1970) |
| Rebuilt | 2006:Haworth Tompkins |
| Architect | Haworth Tompkins |
| Website | |
| youngvic.org | |
TheYoung Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located onThe Cut, near theSouth Bank, in theLondon Borough of Lambeth.
The Young Vic was established byFrank Dunlop in 1970.Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeedingKwame Kwei-Armah, andDavid Lan before him.
In the period after World War II, a Young Vic Company was formed in 1946 by directorGeorge Devine[1] as an offshoot of theOld Vic Theatre School for the purpose of performing classic plays for audiences aged nine to fifteen.
This was discontinued in 1948, when Devine and the entire faculty resigned from the Old Vic, but in 1969Frank Dunlop became founder-director of The Young Vic theatre withScapino, his free adaptation ofMolière'sThe Cheats of Scapin, presented at the new venue as a National Theatre production. It opened on 10 September 1970 and starredJim Dale in the title role, with designs byCarl Toms (decor) andMaria Björnson (costumes).[2]
Initially part of theNational Theatre, the Young Vic Theatre became an independent body in 1974.[3]
In the words ofLaurence Olivier, then-director of the National Theatre: "Here we think to develop plays for young audiences, an experimental workshop for authors, actors and producers." The aim was to create an accessible theatre which offered high quality at low cost in an informal environment. The aim was to appeal to young audiences, but this time not specifically to children.
Frank Dunlop completed creation of the theatre venue in 1970, abreeze-block building constructed out of a former butcher's shop and an adjacent bomb-site with a red wooden slat auditorium bench seating[clarification needed]. The structure was intended to last for five years, but has become permanent.
The auditorium, with athrust stage, has an approximate capacity of 420, although the configuration and capacity can vary depending on the design of each production.
The Theatre undertook a significant rebuilding and renewal project in the 2000s, designed by architects Haworth Tompkins, boosting its visibility on The Cut. In addition to the Young Vic's main house, there are now two smaller theatre spaces. The Maria, named after theatre designer Maria Björnson, is the larger of the two with a capacity of 150. The Clare, named after a former artistic director of the Young Vic andSheffield Crucible,Clare Venables,[4] seats 70. Like the main house, both smaller theatres have flexible seating configurations which can be arranged to suit the production design. In the two smaller auditoria, seating is usually unreserved, with the actors performing in close proximity to the audience.[5]
The Young Vic performs both new writing and classic plays, the latter often in innovative productions. Despite its small size, like the Almeida Theatre, the Young Vic has attracted well-known actors since its creation. These have includedIan Charleson, who made his memorable professional debut with the Young Vic 1972–74, and who played Jimmy Porter inLook Back in Anger and Hamlet in the first revival ofStoppard'sRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1973, andVanessa Redgrave,Helen Mirren,Judi Dench,Timothy Dalton,Robert Lindsay,Willard White,John Malkovich,Michael Sheen andArthur Lowe.
The rock bandThe Who held free, weekly concerts at the Young Vic in early 1971, in order to rehearse what would become their album,Who's Next. One of these shows was released on the Deluxe edition of this album.
A memorial at the theatre's south-east corner commemorates the 54 people killed in 1941 while sheltering in the cellars of the former building duringthe Blitz.[6]
In 1982 the theatre hosted aPoetry Olympics, where comedianPat Condell took part.[7] Virginia Woolf taught atMorley College[8] from 1905, a precursor of the Young Vic's education and community engagement programme. The latter now runs an office which accommodates and houses the 'homeless'Belarus Free Theatre, ofNikolai Khalezin,Natalia Koliada, withSarah Kane's '4.48 Psychosis' performed underground, illegally in Minsk and Farringdon[clarification needed], in the cold cells of Clerkenwell House of Detention, a secret location in London.[9][10] Echoing the words of Woolf and mirroring her suicide, Kane's play was sponsored by another feminist, Sue Emmas, who since the year 1993 has been Associate Director of the social engagement programme,[11][12][13] working closely with Kwame Kwei-Armah and leads the Directors Program[14] which provides initiatives for emerging directors, with emphasis on seeking out and nurturing artists from under-represented backgrounds.
In 2003, the Young Vic launched a campaign to raise £12.5 million for a major reconstruction of its building and closed in 2004 for work to start.
Designed by architectsHaworth Tompkins – also known for their refurbishment of theRoyal Court Theatre,Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and two temporary venues for theAlmeida – and with Jane Wernick Associates as the structural engineers, and consulting engineers Max Fordham LLP designing the building services, the refurbishment was completed in October 2006.
The main auditorium has been left intact, but refurbished and technically enhanced. The butcher's shop has also been retained as the main entrance to the building and also the box office.
The remainder of the 1970s structure has been rebuilt to provide newfoyers, dressing rooms, two studio theatres, and workshop spaces. An award of £5 million was received from theArts Council of England.
The Young Vic re-opened on 11 October 2006, with a production of the community operaTobias and the Angel; with music byJonathan Dove and a libretto byDavid Lan.[15]
On 16 May 2007, the refurbished Young Vic won theRIBA London Building of the Year Award.[16] Following this award, the Young Vic was also shortlisted for theRIBAStirling Prize on 27 July 2007.[17]
A rebranding exercise bySense Worldwide in 2010 resulted in the abandonment of its 30-year-old "sit anywhere" policy and a new strapline, "It's a big world in here".[18]
The Young Vic was one of the launch theatres forDigital Theatre, a project that makes theatre productions available in video download form. The first performances that were filmed wereKafka's Monkey andThe Container.[19]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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