Bristol old vic joins global Bloomberg Connects App

This week we’re celebrating the launch of our guide on the Bloomberg Connects app bringing our visitors closer to the heritage of Bristol Old Vic. In honour of the launch we’re going behind the scenes to talk to our Heritage Participation Producer, Hatty Welsh.

Hatty, what is a Heritage Participation Producer?

That’s a good question, it is an unusual role to have in a theatre. The heritage part means I look after everything to do with the history of Bristol Old Vic, it’s 259 this year so there is a lot of history! The participation part means I encourage different kinds of people to get involved and interpret that history, including nursery children, young people, community groups, to name a few. It would be boring if I did it all myself. Then producer just means it’s my job to make things happen, like Family Days, workshops, that sort of thing. It’s also my job to curate the exhibition spaces at the theatre and work with the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, and Bristol Archives, who look after our archive collections. It’s quite a varied role but it does include a lot of emails!

What does your average day at Bristol Old Vic look like?

I don’t think there is such a thing as an average day at Bristol Old Vic! I do a lot of different things. Sometimes I spend most of the day in the office doing admin, sometimes I’m going to our archives to do some research, other times I’m cutting and sticking for a family event. Sometimes I’m even making guides for apps…

What’s a must-see item on the Bristol Old Vic Bloomberg Connects guide?

It’s a bit of a cheat because it’s a few things in one, but I like the Talking Bricks trail. It’s an audio trail that takes you round the building to spot traces of how the theatre looked in different eras. I grew up in Bristol and Bristol Old Vic looks quite different now to when I first came here in the early 2000s, so it’s interesting to think about how it’s looked and felt a bit different to each generation that’s come here since 1766…and I’m not at all biased because it’s my voice on the trail.

What do you wish more people knew about Bristol Old Vic?

I wish people knew that anyone can come to Bristol Old Vic. You don’t need to see a show or even buy a drink, you can just come in and have a wander round or sit and read a book. We have a library and free exhibitions and displays. Of course I’m really interested in the history of this theatre, so I like to tell people about it – did you know there was once a live elephant on our stage?! - but I’m more interested in people finding their own points of interest and coming to their own conclusions. I think the best way to do that is to spend time in the building and see where the history happened and the mark it’s left.

If you’d like to learn more about Bristol Old Vic you can download the Bloomberg Connects app for free, or scan the QR codes around the theatre during your next visit to access the web browser experience.