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 of innovative and surprising arts events. In 2010 the Old Vic Tunnels opened with the Lambeth Palace, an underground cinema built to screen the UK premiere of Banksy’s film "Exit through the Gift Shop", followed by the first major theatre production in the space – "Ditch", by Beth Steel, a High Tide and the Old Vic Tunnels co-production. The Old Vic Tunnels was home to the British premiere of "Scorched", a Dialogue and the Old Vic co-production by award-winning playwright Wajdi Mouawad. The Old Vic Tunnels was presented the Big Society Award by David Cameron in 2011. The last professional