Young Vic the entire faculty resigned from the Old Vic, but in 1969 Frank Dunlop became founder-director of The Young Vic theatre with his free adaptation of Molière's "The Cheats of Scapin", presented at the new venue as a National Theatre production, opening on 11 September 1970 and starring Jim Dale in the title role with designs by Carl Toms (decor) and Maria Bjornson (costumes). Initially part of the National Theatre, the Young Vic Theatre became an independent body in 1974. In the words of Laurence Olivier, then director of the National Theatre: "Here we think to develop plays for young audiences,
The Old Vic to the stage. Since 2015 Matthew Warchus has been Artistic Director of The Old Vic. His debut season opened in September 2015 with Warchus's production of a new play about education, "Future Conditional" by Tamsin Oglesby. On 24 October 2017 The Old Vic announced its bicentenary season. The theatre celebrated its 200th birthday on Friday 11 May 2018 with a free performance of Joe Penhall's Mood Music, featuring Ben Chaplin. Productions with Kevin Spacey as artistic director include: 2011 season 2012 season 2013 season 2014 season 2015 season Productions with Matthew Warchus as artistic director include: 2015-16 season 2016-17 season