Theatre of the United Kingdom rise of satire in 1960s Britain. The Chichester Festival Theatre was Britain's first modern thrust stage theatre. It was inspired by the Festival Theatre of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival launched by Tyrone Guthrie in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario. The inaugural Artistic Director of the Chichester Festival was Sir Laurence Olivier, and it was at Chichester that the first National Theatre company was formed. Chichester's productions would transfer to the National Theatre's base at the Old Vic in London. The Theatres Act 1968 abolished the system of censorship of the stage that had existed in Great Britain since 1737.
The Old Vic Tunnels The Old Vic Tunnels The Old Vic Tunnels was an underground arts venue and performance space beneath London Waterloo railway station. The space consisted of almost 30,000 square feet of unused railway tunnels. It officially opened its doors for the first time in 2009 and closed in March 2013. In 2010 The Old Vic acquired Tunnels 228-232 from BRB (Residuary) and transformed it into a performance venue. It hosted numerous events including Banksy's UK Premiere of his documentary "Exit through the Gift Shop" and U.S. President Bill Clinton's latest fundraiser with the Reuben Foundation in May 2012. In February 2013