Kings on King Street
3 May 2023
We couldn’t finish the May newsletter without a nod towards the historic event taking place this month – no not Eurovision – the Coronation of King Charles III.
As we’re based on King Street, we’re contractually obliged to share this little list of some of the top Kings who have appeared on our stage over the past (almost) 260 years.
Richard III – That nasty, complicated piece of work - Richard III had his most recent outing on our stage in 2019 directed by John Haidar and starring the electrifying Tom Mothersdale in the role.
King Lear –a King who had real trouble with the kids... Starred the legend that is Tim West in 2018 – the third time he’d played the role - now in his 80s, and accompanied by Stephanie Cole as the Fool and David Hargreaves as Gloucester. The rest of the company were made up of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Graduates getting a masterclass from one of the greats.
Oberon
We could go on and on with Shakespeare plays but let’s just add one more – the beautiful King of the Fairies, Oberon – created by Handspring Puppet Company for our 2012 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Performed by David Ricardo Pearce.
Old King Cole
Before Daniel Day Lewis went on to take over Hollywood, he trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and his first professional acting debut was on our stage. Old King Cole by Ken Campbell was a children’s play (based on the nursery rhyme) and took place in our old Studio theatre in 1979. Here’s Daniel Day Lewis perfecting paper dolls (one of those extra skills every young actor needs on their CV).
Coronation of George IV
1 Mar 1822 was quite the evening at the theatre! Your ticket included a musical reenactment of the coronation of George IV, complete with reproduction Westminster Abbey, a celebrity horse, a dance, an orchestra, and concluded with a hilarious farce!
It was probably about midnight by this point - talk about value for money..
King Sausage
Last Christmas we conjured up a retelling of ETA Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and The Mouse King, full of weird and wonderful characters including this sausage-obsessed King. All coronation regalia should be made out of food in our opinion..
Fun fact:
Bristol Old Vic opened when King Charles’ great-great-great-great-great grandfather George III was on the throne, although he didn’t officially acknowledge us until 12 years after we’d opened (we were a bit seedy back then).
Here's a copy of the Royal Charter - so we're now totally legit!
