DONATION OF THE MONTH - SEP
8 Sep 2023
Most loyal followers of the BOV blog, a very happy September to you.
As the season turns, may we share our deepest regrets that despite unwavering hope that ‘August will get better’ – it never did.
Now we have another winter to weather* before the long hot days return. (*we're writing this in 32degree heat so I don't know my own name anymore..)
Fear not! Donation of the month is here to brighten your day and boy-o-boy is it a corker, donated (on a temporary basis for our new exhibition: Homemade) by the legendary Bristol Archives. It is a rare, complex, intriguing, historically significant, valuable and highly coveted… DRUM ROLL PLEASE
bbbbbrrrrrrrrmmmmmmpppppppptttttttttttsssssss
HERITAGE DONATION OF THE MONTH! (Top Trumps style...)
BRISTOL OLD VIC BAR RECIEPTS BOOK FROM THE 1950s
Historical Significance: 10/10
I suspect there is more to this document than meets the eye. Answer me this, dear readers: why did this one little seemingly inconsequential book, covering 4 out of our 257 years, get saved and donated to our archive alongside hugely significant documents such as the original proposal to build a theatre, and our 1778 Royal Licence?
This writer suspects there is a secret message encoded within it; the answer to some unsolved crime, or a series of clues leading to the real reason why we’ve never burned down. Perhaps it was us who burnt down all the other 18th Century Theatres – and this book contains the only evidence of this heinous and conniving plan to be the longest continuously running theatre in the western hemisphere! Such mystery and suspense is well deserving of a 10/10.
Aesthetic: 6/10
It is sweet, neat and tidy with some curly yet readable handwriting. Perhaps most delightful, however, is the impressive long addition throughout that transports the reader back to a pre-pocket calculator age. A solid 6.
Age rating: 2/10
The 1950s? Why, that was just yesterday!
Rarity 10/10
Why oh why is there only one of these in our archive? Who saved this one when all the others were disposed of? What secrets is it keeping?
WHAT IS IT TRYING TO TELL US??!!!
Celebrity Rating: 10/10
There is some BOV royalty lurking in the pages of this bar receipt book.
Our 1951 British premier of Jean Anoulih’s The Traveller Without Luggage featured some big BOV stars and was hailed as ‘…one of the most auspicious openings to a new season the Bristol Old Vic have had’ (enter Nancy Medina and Choir Boy, got your ticket yet?). We made 109 pounds 14 shillings and 11 pence on bar in The Traveller’s the first week.
Our 1952 production of Lionel Shapiro’s The Bridge received such reviews as: ‘There has not been as good a theatrical examination since Sartre’s Les Mains Sales of the conflict between personal and political loyalties in a world divided by beliefs hardened into hatreds . .. he [Shapiro] not only deserved success tonight but had it thrust upon him by the excellence of the Bristol Old Vic players.’ We made 89 pounds, 86 shillings on bar in the first week.
And I’d be a fool not to mention SALAD DAYS, our fabled musical triumph of 1954 that did so well we were able to buy the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School premises in Clifton. We made 109 pounds, 18 shillings and 3 pence on bar in the 1st week.
Backstage Gossip: 10/10
Here it is readers, at the edge of your seats, the moment you’ve most been waiting for:
THE SHOWS THAT MADE AUDIENCES DRINK THE MOST (and least):
3rd place: our November 1953 production of Anthony and Cleopatra made 149 pounds, 7 shillings and 8 pence in its 3rd week.
2nd place: Our 1951 - 2 production of Jack and the Beanstalk made 153 pounds, 4 shillings in its 6th week (January 1952).
1st place: Our 1953 – 54 production of The Merry Gentlemen broke records in every week of its run, making a high of 194 pounds, 2 shillings and 1 pence in its 2nd week (Jan 1954).
On the other end of the scale, Spanish Serenade made a disappointing 25 pounds, 1 shilling and 7 pence in its only week in June 1952.
What does this tell us about audiences (that we probably know already?)
1 – people drink most in the festive season
2 – dry January wasn’t a thing in the early 1950s
3 – except for winter shows, Shakespeare is the next highest ranking for booze consumption
4 – one does not need a drink to enjoy the gentle strumming of Pepita Sarazena’s Spanish guitar
Conclusion
Packed full of murder and mystery, secret codes, significant historical data on audience consumptions habits, and BOV hits of the 50s – this little bar receipts book is not to be dismissed. If you don’t believe me you can see it for yourself in our band new exhibition: Homemade running until next May - more info here: Homemade | Bristol Old Vic
Come and check out our exhibition, our new season, and of course don’t forget to buy a drink or a pie and our Kitchen + Bar so that you, too, can feature on a Bristol Old Vic bar receipt.
