Bristol Old Vic’s future down to Boyden’s review

Published Thursday 20 September 2007 at 12:05 by Alistair Smith

Peter Boyden, author of the 2001 Arts Council England report into regional producing theatre that led to the government giving an extra £25 million to the sector, has been appointed to head up the “root and branch” review into the artistic future of the beleaguered Bristol Old Vic.

The move follows reports that the theatre’s board was considering reforming the company with no artistic director and only 13 weeks of in-house work per year when the Bristol Theatre Royal reopens following refurbishment.

Equity, which had learnt of the reported plans, has written to ACE chairman Christopher Frayling demanding talks and claiming the proposals are an “outrage” and “would change the Theatre Royal from a producing house to something which looks more like an arts centre”.

Equity spokesman Martin Brown said: “What we fear is that we are seeing the dismantling of one of the jewels of UK theatre. It has touched a nerve across the acting community and we cannot and will not allow this theatre, with its history of production, to be destroyed.”

However, Old Vic chair Rupert Rhymes insisted that “nothing is set in stone as far as the future of the Bristol Old Vic is concerned”. He said he had appointed Boyden to look at all possible scenarios for the theatre company’s future to decide which would “make sense to both the artistic world and the arts council”.

Boyden has provided two of the most radical theatre industry reports of recent years. Before his work for ACE, he paved the way for Equity’s controversial overhaul during the nineties.

However, Rhymes added that no complete proposals had been discussed formally. “I’m anxious to get this work under way and end all these rumours,” he told The Stage. “We all believe that there should be a producing company of some form in Bristol - in what form we can’t say yet.”

Meanwhile, Frayling has agreed to meet with the union to discuss its concerns. However, he has underlined the amount of financial support which has already been committed to the Bristol theatre - more than £1 million per year in regular funding and more than £2 million rescue funding since 2001, as well as £2 million earmarked for the Theatre Royal’s refurbishment - and has pointed out that by the time the theatre announced its closure earlier this year, audience levels had fallen to 35% of the venue’s capacity.

ACE director of theatre strategy Barbara Matthews said: “Funding of all organisations beyond March 2008 is subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review but, whatever the government’s decision, the arts council is committed to seeing significant theatre production remain in Bristol.

“We do, however, have an absolute responsibility to ensure that public money is invested in the most effective way and that is why we have asked the Bristol Old Vic board to provide a clear and viable business plan. The plans outlined by Equity have not been shared with us and no formal business plan has yet been submitted to us. The detail of that plan is entirely for the board to determine. The arts council’s role is to decide whether that plan justifies funding.”

Boyden is expected to report before the end of the year.