THE STAGE THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND STARS ; A piece of dramatic history ++ Bristol 's Old Vic is Britain's oldest working theatre, where many of our f inest ac tors have per formed. Hence the outcr y as doubts about its sur vival g row. Ian Herbert reports

From: The Independent - London | Date: July 31, 2007| Author: Ian Herbert | Copyright information

Pete Postlethwaite describes it as his alma mater; Emma Thompson adores its atmosphere and Jeremy Irons has spearheaded fund-raising efforts to help its next generations of talent. But Bristol's exquisite Old Vic, the oldest continually operating theatre in Britain, closes down for 18 months from today with its future uncertain and some of its most celebrated stars demanding its survival.

Sir Ian McKellen, Miranda Richardson and Dame Judi Dench, as well as Thompson and Irons, are amon...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

Letters to theatre fail to support arts council's claims over funding warning
Express & Echo (Exeter UK) ; Further evidence has emerged to back up claims Exeter Northcott bosses were given little warning before being told their vital funding would be cut, according to documents obtained by the Echo. Arts Council bosses heap praise on the theatre in a letter which they have previously said outlined
Theatregoers backing northcott campaign for arts council cash
Express & Echo (Exeter UK) ; More than 1,000 theatregoers have pledged their support to the Save Exeter Northcott campaign launched just before Christmas, organisers have revealed. The Arts Council announced the theatre would no longer be receiving more than pounds500,000 annually on the same day it reopened following a
Arts council pouring cold water on reports that theatre is saved
Express & Echo (Exeter UK) ; The future of the Exeter Northcott will be kept secret until Friday, despite speculation that the theatre has been granted a last- minute reprieve, its bosses say. Reports that Exeter's only professional theatre had been saved from funding cuts which could force it to close have been given short
Arts council misled us, claim theatre backers
Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK) ; Organisations which pumped hundreds of thousands of pounds into a theatre now faced with closure are threatening legal action against the funding body which they claim "misled" them. The University of Exeter, Devon County Council and Exeter City Council are fuming after they sank a combined total
Don't expect logic from the Arts Council
The Independent - London ; The tale of the Northcott Theatre in Exeter is, really, quite hard to beat. It closed recently for a 2.1m refit. Most of the money was found by Exeter University, where I teach, and by the local authority. A helpful 100,000 was supplied, too, by the Arts Council, which normally funds the theatre to