Bristol Old Vic launches parent-friendly performances for autumn season
19 Sep 2019
Continuing its mission to make theatre accessible for everyone, Bristol Old Vic is now including 10.30am performances for both its autumn showstoppers Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) and Cyrano.
The early morning performances are aimed at parents and carers of children under 18 months old and are perfectly suited to those who are unable to attend the traditional matinee or evening performance times. The babes-in-arms policy enables parents or guardians to book a full price ticket with no extra charge for the child, while the new morning show means there’s still enough time to make the school pick up.
This follows on from Bristol Old Vic’s original work with PIPA (Parents and carers in performing arts), which looked at championing accessibility for those with parental caring responsibilities working in the arts. Taking this idea beyond artists onstage, Bristol Old Vic also recognises the difficulties for parents and guardians who wish to watch theatre performance and hopes that the 10.30am offer will make a difference.
Bristol Old Vic was one of the founding members of the PIPA Best Practice Charter. The set of guiding principles was created for all professional performing arts organisations to enable the development of supportive working practices which are inclusive and accessible for those with caring responsibilities.
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) will have a 10.30am performance on Tue 24 Sep.
Tickets start at £11.50, available here.
Cyrano will have a 10.30am performance on Tue 5 Nov.
Tickets start at £11.50, available here.
To find out more about the PIPA Best Practice Charter Programme please email: pipacampaign@gmail.com
Bristol Old Vic is the longest continuously running theatre in the UK, and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2016. The historic playhouse aims to inspire audiences with its own original productions, both at home and on tour, whilst nurturing the next generation of artists, whether that be through their 350-strong Young Company, their many outreach and education projects or their trailblazing artist development programme, Bristol Ferment.
They use their funding to support experiment and innovation, to allow access to their programme for people who would not otherwise encounter it, or be able to afford it, and to keep their extraordinary heritage alive and animated.
On 24 Sep 2018, Bristol Old Vic completed its 2-year multi-million pound redevelopment project, which transformed its front of house space into a warm and welcoming public building for all of Bristol to enjoy, created a new studio theatre and opened up its unique theatrical heritage to the public for the first time.