The Old Vic series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened. The Old Vic is the crucible of many of the performing arts companies and theatres in London today. It was the name of a repertory company that was based at the theatre and formed (along with the Chichester Festival Theatre) the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963, under Laurence Olivier. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the
Tom Morris (director) Theatre. While at BAC, Morris established the Scratch Programme, The Sam Shepherd Festival, The Critics Up for Review, The British Festival of Visual Theatre, Playing in the Dark (which marked the launch of Vanishing Point and Sound and Fury and included the first scratch version of Complicite’s Mnemonic) and BAC Opera (which produced ). While at BAC he also wrote Ben Hur, Jason and the Argonauts and World Cup Final 1966 all with Carl Heap. In September 2009 Morris took over as Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic theatre, overseeing the theatre's revival with Executive Director Emma Stenning. Morris and