Kenneth Tynan theatre critic until mid-1963 when he joined the National Theatre. In 1963, Laurence Olivier became the British National Theatre Company's first artistic director. Tynan had been highly dismissive of Olivier's achievements as artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre, which had opened in 1962, but he recommended himself for the role of literary manager. Olivier was initially outraged by Tynan's presumption but Olivier's wife, Joan Plowright, convinced him that Tynan would be an asset at the National Theatre Company, then based at the Old Vic theatre. When he became the National Theatre's literary manager, Tynan ceased to be the theatre
Bristol Old Vic "new bristol old vic". In 2005 Reade became the sole artistic director. Artistic highlights during these times included the production of A. C. H. Smith’s "Up The Feeder, Down the Mouth and Back Again" during Andy Hay’s tenure, and some well-received Shakespeare productions under David Farr and Simon Reade. In July 2007, the board of trustees took the controversial decision to close the theatre for refurbishment. Many members of the theatre profession feared for the future of the Old Vic. Following several public meetings in the winter of 2007/2008 a newly formed board of trustees appointed Dick Penny, the director