Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
BEST FOR
Ages 3-18
WHERE
Bristol
What it’s like
Watch Bristol Old Vic's next crop of actors take on Shakespeare, or sign your kids up for weekly acting classes.
This is the training ground for Bristol Old Vic's actors, and a couple of things are worth knowing about before you turn up. The third year BA Acting students put on full productions as part of their course, so you're watching people right at the end of their training rather than a school panto. This run includes Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sir Gregory Doran, and a newer piece called Eloise, directed by Tom Brennan.
Romeo and Juliet is proper Shakespeare, full text, full production, and that's a different ask for a nine-year-old than for a teenager who's just started studying it at school. If your kids are younger, this probably isn't the first play you take them to, but for a secondary-age kid who's doing the play in English or just getting into theatre, watching it done properly by students on the edge of professional careers is hard to beat.
Alongside the shows, the school runs weekly acting and theatre courses for children and young people aged 3 to 18. That's a wide bracket, so a session for a three-year-old and one for a seventeen-year-old are clearly not the same class, they'll be split by age group. It's a term-time commitment rather than a one-off.
Because this is a working theatre school rather than a family attraction with a gift shop, don't expect the visit to be padded out with extras. You go for the play or the class, and that's the day.
Need to know
- Best for
- Secondary age and teens for the plays; classes run from age 3 to 18
- These are student productions from the third year BA Acting cohort, not a children's theatre company
- Romeo and Juliet is the unabridged text, so factor in a proper running time for a Shakespeare play
- The acting courses are split by age group across the 3 to 18 range
Plan your visit
What are my kids actually watching?
Currently it's Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sir Gregory Doran, and Eloise, directed by Tom Brennan, both performed by the school's third year BA Acting students.
Is Romeo and Juliet suitable for younger children?
It's the full Shakespeare text performed as a proper production, so it suits secondary age kids and teenagers far better than younger children.
What ages are the acting courses for?
They run weekly for children and young people from 3 up to 18, split into age groups rather than one mixed class.
Is this a one-off session or an ongoing course?
The acting courses run weekly through the term, so it's a regular commitment rather than a single taster session.
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