Our Programming Policy and Contacting Us

HOW DO WE DECIDE WHICH WORK TO PRODUCE? 

Our programming team meets monthly to discuss the new programme proposals against the aims set out above. 

The work we produce is sometimes generated by our own creative team, sometimes proposed to us by independent artists, sometimes co-produced with companies who inspire us, and sometimes developed through our New Work Department, Ferment, e.g.

• Touching the Void was proposed by Artistic Director Tom Morris to co-producer and writer David Greig of the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh 
• Jane Eyre was proposed to the theatre by Associate Artist and director Sally Cookson 
• The Red Lion was proposed to theatre by local artist Joe Sims 
• The Princess and the Hustler was co-produced with Eclipse 
• Wuthering Heights is co-produced with Wise Children, The National Theatre and York Theatre Royal 
• Outlier was developed through Bristol Ferment in 2020 and programmed in the theatre in 2021

HOW DO WE PROGRAMME VISITING WORK?  

We are always on the lookout for visiting work that can inspire our artists and audiences and compliment, balance and challenge our produced programme. This helps us to achieve variety across the programme with a range of artists, stories, themes, tone, and form. 

When considering visiting work, we use our guiding value that the stories we tell should fully reflect our society so that our community feel Bristol Old Vic belongs to them.  

Examples of shows and companies which have visited Bristol Old Vic include 

• Barber Shop Chronicles (Fuel/National Theatre) 
• The Encounter (Complicité) 
• Tristan and Yseult (Kneehigh Theatre) 
• The Suit and A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream (Ballet Black) 
• Political Mother (Hofesh Schechter)  
• Madam Butterfly (OperaUpClose) 
• Zog (Freckle Productions) 
• Orpheus (Little Bulb Theatre)

HOW TO PROPOSE AN IDEA FOR A NEW SHOW TO BRISTOL OLD VIC 

Please write, introducing yourself and the idea to programming@bristololdvic.org.uk. 

It is most helpful for us to see examples of your work, a single page description of the project and a script or other materials as appropriate. If we do not already know your work, please let us know when and where we might be able to see it.

HOW TO PROPOSE A SHOW WHICH MIGHT TOUR TO BRISTOL OLD VIC 

Please send a single page proposal about the piece of work together with a script or any other relevant supporting materials. 

It is most helpful to us if you can include an invitation to see the finished piece of work at least 3 months in advance of the performance, although we understand this is not always possible. 

HOW DO WE MAKE OUR PROGRAMMING DECISIONS? 

We are lucky to receive a huge number of programming suggestions, invitations and new ideas.  Some are for finished shows looking for touring dates.  Others are for scripts or production ideas looking for a home.  

All proposals we receive follow this process: 

Step 1. Your proposal is received, acknowledged, and assessed against this programming policy. 

Step 2. If your show aligns with our programming ambitions, we will take the show to our monthly programming ideas meeting for discussion. Please note that the agenda for these meetings is heavy and sometimes proposals have to await a second meeting.

Step 3. If the programming team agree that we’d like to programme your show, a member of the team will be in touch to progress the discussion. If your idea is for a production or co-production, this would lead to an exploratory meeting which might progress to a production. If your proposal is for a touring show, we’d discuss the show’s availability and aim to pencil some dates. 

Step 4. (Visiting work only) Technical information packs for the stage and show will be exchanged. 

Step 5. (Visiting work only) A deal is made and drawn up into a deal memorandum, which will be passed to you for checking and signature. Once returned, a full contract will be sent to you. This contract will include the dates you have programmed with us and all the information you’ll need for your time at Bristol Old Vic. 

DIGITAL 

We present digital work through our ‘Bristol Old Vic On Screen’ programming strand. This is most frequently Live Broadcasts of our produced work, but we sometimes host ‘digital touring weeks’ of shows from other companies (Can I Live? by Fehinti Balogun, produced by Complicité, is a recent example) or commission new work for our Sudden Connections strand of short-form digital programming. 

In addition to Live Broadcasts, we also look to make our productions available to digital audiences On Demand; for example, re-releasing much-loved past shows in a virtual boxed set.  

Any opportunities to apply for digital commissions will be listed on our For Artists page.

OFF-SITE 

We very rarely produce or programme work that is off-site or site-specific due to the year-round programme in our theatre spaces, but we make exceptions to this where possible for projects of scale (Sally Cookson’s Treasure Island in King Street and Wise Children’s Malory Towers in The Passenger Shed are recent examples). 

We are also able to act as a ticketing agent for specific projects, whereby our Box Office can sell tickets for your production or project (a recent example is The Wardrobe Ensemble’s ‘The Theatre on The Downs’). 

We charge a 10% plus VAT commission on gross sales to cover administration and staff time involved in providing this service. 

Please contact programming@bristololdvic.org.uk to make an enquiry.