In
The Taming of the Shrew, a brilliantly surreal and controversial
romantic comedy, we get a glimpse into the complex relationship
between a husband and wife. A drunken groom realises his
mistake on his wedding day and a furious father-in-law
teaches him a lesson. A man playing a boy dresses up as
a girl, and a girl played by a boy dresses up as a bride.
In
Twelfth Night, on the island of Illyria nothing is quite
what it seems. Shipwrecks, storms, late night drinking,
duels and broken hearts make fertile ground for Shakespeare's
most beautiful and haunting of comedies.
John Osborne was one of the 20th century's most celebrated
playwrights and the original ‘angry young man'. Following
the success of Look Back in Anger, he continued to
examine the state of the country in The Entertainer ,
this time using three generations of a family of entertainers
to symbolise the decline of post-war Britain.
To mark the play's 50th anniversary, Robert Lindsay plays
struggling comedian Archie Rice, a music-hall performer in
an age when music halls had all but disappeared. Driven by
dreams of stardom and a desperation to equal his father's success,
Archie finds himself a man out of his time – a selfish, deceitful
has-been, headlining a tacky revue in a rundown seaside town.
Family tensions rise to the boil as he shamelessly cheats on
his wife and tricks his dying father into financing one last
revue. But throughout it al, Archie jigs and jabbers before
his ever-diminishing audience and does whatever it takes to
keep the show going.
The
Old Vic - The
name Old Vic has long been associated with Shakespeare
- it was the first theatre to produce all of the great
bard's plays in the First Folio. Its early
history however, was very different. In 1816
building of the Royal Coburg was started, but after it
finally opened in 1818 it quickly became the realm of lurid
melodramas. Since 1833 the theatre has been known affectionately,
and then officially, as the Old Vic. Redecorated and renamed
the Royal Victoria had no affect on the entertainment offered. Renamed
once again in 1871 as the New Victoria Palace, it closed
in 1880. Less than a year later it reopened
as the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern and was used
for concerts, operas and extracts from Shakespeare. In
1912 the theatre was rescued by the unique management style
and personality of Lilian Baylis, described by some as
'The Magnificent Tyrant', who embarked on the history-making
Shakespeare season. The building was closed for the duration
of the war after suffering severe bomb damage in 1941.
Reopening in 1950 it became the home of the Old Vic Company,
the unofficial national theatre company. In 1963
the theatre became the temporary home (for 13 years!) of
the embryonic National Theatre formed under the guidance
of Laurence Olivier. A £2 million face-lift
in 1982 saw the Old Vic take on a new lease of life and
play host to a number of musicals (such as HAIR) interspersed
with the traditional Shakespeare and high quality dramas.
If
you can't find the seats you are looking for it doesn't necessarily
mean the show is sold out.
Please fill out our request booking form and we
will do our best to get the tickets for you. CLICK
HERE FOR REQUEST BOOKING FORM
