The Old Vic today announces new talks in its Voices Off series. a full list of upcoming events is below. Priority booking for Voices Off events for Present Laughter, A Very Expensive Poison and A Christmas Carol opens on Fri 14 Jun at 10am.
Voices Off is a series of talks, conversations, debates and workshops which explore the themes raised by the productions on the main stage.
PRESENT LAUGHTER
Setting the Stage
Fri 21 Jun, 1.30–5.30pm, Rehearsal Room
Tickets: £10
Join us for another gathering of theatre practitioners – this time specialising in stage design: set design, scene painting, prop making and installation. This one-off symposium will bring together established and emerging artists, as well as those who engage with the business of design, such as agents.
Whether you’re already working in this area of theatre, or want to find out more about the world of theatre set design, the symposium will include panel discussions and debates from experts, the chance to ask your own questions − and don’t miss the opportunity to network with the panellists and other attendees. Previous events in this series, Composing the Stage and Shaping the Stage, sold out, so get your tickets now.
The event will be chaired by Gary Yershon (Associate Artist of The Old Vic and RSC).
The panel includes:
Vicki Hallam (Props & Mask Maker)
Luke Halls (Video Designer)
Rob Howell (Set Designer)
Sacha Milroy (Production Manager)
Vicki Mortimer (Set Designer)
Davina Shah (Agent)
In partnership with Connect, a network for theatre-makers who have participated an Old Vic project and are invited back to The Old Vic for support in making the next step.
Andrew Scott In Conversation
Supported by the Noël Coward Foundation
Thu 25 Jul, post–show, Auditorium
Tickets £6
‘For me, it’s important that you see the human being behind the celebrity’ Andrew Scott
After playing Leo in Noël Coward’s dark romantic comedy Design for Living in 2010, and more recently performing Simon Stephens’ devastating monologue Sea Wall in 2018, Andrew Scott returns to The Old Vic stage for a third time to play Garry Essendine in Coward’s provocative comedy, Present Laughter.
Join us after the performance on Thu 25 Jul for a Voices Off Q&A with Andrew, who will be discussing what it’s like to play the complex and much-coveted role of Garry – the star actor in the midst of an identity crisis, about to embark on an overseas tour. Get the opportunity to ask Andrew your own questions about the play and the relevance of Coward’s writing today.
If you would like to attend the performance of Present Laughter before the Q&A, tickets are still available here. The Q&A is also open to anyone not attending the performance on this day.
A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON
Marina Litvinenko and Luke Harding In Conversation
Tue 10 Sep, 5pm, Auditorium
Tickets £6
The world premiere of Lucy Prebble’s A Very Expensive Poison, based on Luke Harding’s jaw-dropping exposé of the events behind the notorious death of ex-FSB Officer Alexander Litvinenko comes to The Old Vic stage from Tue 20 Aug.
Join Marina Litvinenko and Luke Harding before the show on Tue 10 Sep, for a discussion of the real-life events the play is based on, their political legacy on the world stage, and what it’s like seeing the story translated into drama.
Luke Harding is a British journalist and a foreign correspondent for The Guardian. His book A Very Expensive Poison: The Definitive Story of the Murder of Litvinenko was published in 2016.
Marina Litvinenko is the widow of Alexander Litvinenko. In 2007, she co-wrote Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB with Alexander Goldfarb.
Lucy Prebble and John Crowley In Conversation
Thu 26 Sep, 5pm Auditorium
Tickets £6
Join us before the performance of A Very Expensive Poison on Thu 26 Sep for an In Conversation with playwright Lucy Prebble (The Effect, ENRON) and director John Crowley (The Goldfinch, Local Hero). Find out more about the process of putting this brand new play, based on the shocking expose of the events behind the notorious death of ex-FSB Officer Alexander Litvinenko, on to the stage.
LUNGS
How to Save the World
Coming soon
The climate crisis is arguably the most urgent crisis that humanity has faced in our history and the biggest threat to civilisation as we know it. We are already living with its effects – including extreme weather, famine, and species extinction – and it is estimated that it will be responsible for the deaths of over a quarter of a million people per year in the coming decades.
Public opinion is changing, with public concern for the environment at a record high this year, but are we going far enough to avert climate disaster?
Inspired by our production of Lungs, in which a couple weigh up whether or not to bring a baby into this over-polluted world, The Old Vic will hold a series of talks to address some of the burning questions around the climate crisis: is the responsibility personal or governmental? What is the role of big business? Does direct action protest work? Is a Green New Deal the only answer? And what do we need to do to save the world?
Includes one Voices Off talk to be kindly supported by Mishcon De Reya LLP.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Christmas Storytelling with Michael Rosen
Sat 14 Dec, 10am, Auditorium
Tickets £12 adults, £6 children
With the auditorium transformed for this year’s A Christmas Carol, gather round The Old Vic stage for a morning of festive storytelling magic.
Much-loved children’s author and poet Michael Rosen returns to The Old Vic to read from some of his own favourites for children aged 8+.
FAMILIES
The Children's Bookshow presents Neal Layton
Fri 20 Sep, 11am, Auditorium
Tickets: Children £6, accompanying adults free
Suitable for children in Years 1, 2 and 3
Running time approx. 1 hour
The Children's Bookshow returns to The Old Vic this September with another fabulous schools event: author and illustrator Neal Layton (Mammoth Academy, Emily Brown) will be sharing his creative process, reading from his picture books, drawing live on stage and taking questions from the audience. It promises to be a fun, entertaining and interactive event.
The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 8NB
Tickets go on priority sale from 10am on Fri 14 Jun
Fri 14 Jun, 10am: Patron, Benefactor, Producers’ Circle and Artistic Director’s Circle
Mon 17 Jun, 12 noon: Associates
Wed 19 Jun, 12 noon: Friends
Fri 21 Jun, 12 noon: General on sale
SEASON LISTINGS
PRESENT LAUGHTER
By Noёl Coward
Directed by Matthew Warchus
Starring Andrew Scott
Mon 17 Jun–Sat 10 Aug
Mon–Sat: 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Press Night: Tue 25 June 7pm
Audio Described Performance: Mon 05 Aug 7:30pm (touch tour at 6pm)
Captioned Performance: Thu 08 Aug 7:30pm
Recommended age 11+
TICKETS: £12, £16, £21, £30, £55, £65
A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON
A play by Lucy Prebble
Based on the book by Luke Harding
Directed by John Crowley
Tue 20 Aug–Sat 05 Oct 2019
Mon–Sat: 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Press night: Tue 05 Sep 2019 7pm
Audio Described Performance: Mon 30 Sep 2019 7:30pm (touch tour at 6pm)
Captioned Performance: Fri 27 Sep 2019 7:30pm
Recommended age 14+
TICKETS: £12, £20, £30, £40, £55, £65
LUNGS
By Duncan Macmillan
Directed by Matthew Warchus
Starring Claire Foy and Matt Smith
Mon 14 Oct–Sat 09 Nov
Mon–Sat: 7.30pm; Wed 23, Sat 26, Wed 30 Oct, Sat 02, Tue 05, Thu 07 & Sat 09 Nov: 2.30pm
Press Night: To be announced.
Audio Described Performance: Mon 04 Nov, 7.30pm
Captioned Performance: Fri 08 Nov, 7.30pm
Recommended age 12+
TICKETS: £12, £20, £30, £40, £55, £65
Priority booking: Wed 12 Jun 2019
General public booking: Tue 25 Jun 2019
Please see our website for more information on how to become a member and access priority booking
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
A version by Jack Thorne
Directed by Matthew Warchus
Sat 23 Nov 2019–Sat 18 Jan 2020
Mon–Sat: 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Press night: Wed 04 Dec 2019 7pm
Audio Described Performance: Mon 06 Jan 2020 (touch tour at 6pm)
Captioned Performance: Fri 10 Jan 2020
Relaxed Performance: Sat 11 Jan 2020
Recommended age 8+
TICKETS: £12, £20, £30/£35, £40/£45, £55/£57.50, £65/£67.50
ENDGAME (in a double bill with ROUGH FOR THEATRE II)
By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Richard Jones
Starring Alan Cumming and Daniel Radcliffe
Mon 27 Jan–Sat 28 Mar 2020
Mon–Sat: 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Press night: Tue 04 Feb 2020, 7pm
Audio Described Performance: Mon 16 Mar 2020 (touch tour at 6pm)
Captioned Performance: Fri 20 Mar 2020
Recommended age 14+
TICKETS: £12, £20, £30, £40, £55, £65
LOCAL HERO
Book by Bill Forsyth and David Greig
Music and lyrics by Mark Knopfler
Directed by John Crowley
Based on the Bill Forsyth film
A Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh & Old Vic production
Mon 19 Aug–Sat 05 Oct 2020
Mon–Sat: 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Press night: Tue 30 June 2020, 7pm
Audio Described Performance: Mon 10 Aug 2020 (touch tour at 6pm)
Captioned Performance: Fri 14 Aug 2020
Recommended age 11+
TICKETS: £12, £20, £30, £40, £55, £65
