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.
Old Vic New Voices battle in which the British Army lost 58,000 troops, and included a cameo appearance by the Old Vic’s artistic director Kevin Spacey as the voice of King George V. Somme Theatre was funded by a £46,100 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project was named the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded heritage project at The National Lottery Awards in 2007; the awards were chosen by the public. Old Vic New Voices Old Vic New Voices (OVNV) is The Old Vic’s Education, Community and Emerging Talent programme. Old Vic New Voices aims to nurture talent, inspire young people and open up the