The Old Vic and Laurence Olivier as its stars, performing mainly at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) until the Old Vic was ready to reopen in 1950. In 1946, an offshoot of the company was established in Bristol as the Bristol Old Vic. In 1963, the Old Vic company was dissolved and the new National Theatre Company, under the artistic direction of Lord Olivier, was based at the Old Vic until its own building was opened on the South Bank near Waterloo Bridge in 1976. In July 1974 the Old Vic presented a rock concert for the first time. National
James Houghton (artistic director) James Houghton (artistic director) James Houghton (September 4, 1958 - August 2, 2017) is an American educator, mentor, and arts administrator. He is primarily known for being the former Director of Drama at The Juilliard School and the former artistic director of Signature Theatre Company. James Houghton was born in San Francisco, California to mother Joan Heaney, a preschool teacher and dental assistant, and father Sherrill Houghton, a school administrator. He first found his love of theatre at St. Ignatius Preparatory School, a Jesuit school in the Bay Area. There, he started his own theatre company with friends called Overeasy