Bristol Old Vic Anniversary Works – 1766 facade

BOV’s auditorium is a unique asset; the oldest continuously working theatre in the UK, a vitally influential design, and a space beloved by actors ranging from David Garrick to Daniel Day Lewis.

Interior renovations are complete, and the final part of the project now focuses on the restoration of the theatre facade, originally hidden at the top of a yard behind Mr Foote’s house, and only revealed to the street once in the theatre’s 250-year history whilst the Moro works were under construction. In its broken surface can be traced the 3 original doorways and stairways of the 1766 theatre, the filled-in windows that lit its foyers, the New Gallery staircase added in 1800 when the theatre filled in its courtyard to access a third tier of seating, the grand entrance of Phipps’ staircase to the Upper Circle built in 1880 and the concrete rivets of Moro’s supporting wall of 1972.

For this final phase of works, Bristol Old Vic plans to reveal the façade as part as a stunning backdrop to its new foyer.