Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England that provides training in acting for film, television and theatre. It is one of the most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom, founded by Laurence Olivier in 1946. The Old Vic Theatre School is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. Its higher education awards are validated by the University of the West of England, and its students graduate alongside members of UWE Bristol's Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries and Education. The School began life in October 1946, only
The Old Vic Theatre director Sir Peter Hall arranged for the progressive folk-rock band Gryphon to première "Midnight Mushrumps", the fantasia inspired by Hall's own 1974 Old Vic production of "The Tempest" starring John Gielgud for which Gryphon had supplied the music. For two years prior to the departure of the National Theatre company, Toby Robertson, director of the Prospect Theatre Company, sustained a campaign that the Old Vic should make Prospect its resident company. For the Old Vic, Robertson's overtures proved increasingly hard to resist in the face of poor box office returns achieved by productions staged by other visiting companies; against