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Built in 1766 as a place where the people of Bristol could come together, Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continuously working theatre in the English speaking world. It was built as a symbol of the pride we have in our city and what it can achieve and remains a place of joy, discovery and adventure to this day. Our front of house has recently undergone a multi-million pound redevelopment. Our new building boasts a brand new Studio Theatre, relaxing and fully-accessible front of house space, with a bar and kitchen serving everything from tasty treats with a morning coffee to an evening meal, alongside a new interactive heritage offering – opening up the 250-year-old history of this unique building for everyone to discover and enjoy at their own pace. Our mission is to create pioneering twenty-first-century theatre in partnership with the people of our energetic city; inspired by the history and magical design of the most beautiful playhouse in the country. Come on in.

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Overall rating

(1 review)

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tinahodgkinson

Jul 2018

The Elephant Man - fabulous production and best accessible theatre experience ever

Beautiful Georgian (1700s) theatre with a main theatre seating about 500 people, so relatively small and intimate. It stages a number of different productions each year, which are on for a limited run of a week or two or sometimes one night only. At the time of writing review is in the middle of a re-development which will provide better access.

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Disabled Access Information for Bristol Old Vic

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Our main entrance is at street level of King Street and fully wheelchair accessible with automatic doors to facilitate comfortable access. Our Foyer, 1766 Bar & Kitchen and Box Office are all fully wheelchair accessible. Our Foyer lift enables customers full access to all public areas of our building. Please note that our Foyer lift is currently under repair, so step-free access to all levels is provided by our back of house lift. Just chat to one of our friendly front of house staff and they will ensure you can get around our building comfortably. Tickets can be booked in person at the Box Office, by phone, by text, by email or online. Please visit our Booking Information page to find out more: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/booking-information. To register for online booking you can either call the Box Office on 0117 987 7877, email access@bristololdvic.org.uk or you can register yourself when creating an account with us via our website. This will give you access to any discounts you may be entitled to, including free companion tickets. All access bookings can be done via our website once you are registered. We have two main performance spaces at Bristol Old Vic – The Weston Studio and the Theatre: In the Theatre, there are two allocated wheelchair spaces in the Theatre in the Dress Circle. The Weston Studio is a more flexible space so we can accommodate multiple wheelchair users, on the Balcony level. You can book any of these in advance by phoning 0117 987 7877, letting us know of any other access requirements you may have, so we can ensure your visit is as enjoyable as possible. These are also bookable online if you have registered for online booking. In the Theatre, the Dress Circle is accessed from the Foyer or back of house via lift and there are accessible toilet facilities and step-free access to seats on the Dress Circle level. There is also access to the seating and dining area on the Foyer dais, perfect for interval drinks. Please note that only the Dress Circle in the Theatre has step-free access to seats. All other levels (Pit, Upper Circle and Gallery) have steps in their seating areas. See our Seating Plans for more information including step counts: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/your-visit/booking-information/seating-plans.

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Toilets features at Bristol Old Vic

We have accessible toilet facilities on Levels -1, 0 and 1, accessible via the foyer and back of house lifts. Our toilets on Level -1 are signposted as gender-non-binary welcome. This is to show that customers who do not identify with a binary gender are welcome to use whichever washroom bearing this symbol that they prefer. Those who prefer to use gendered toilets can do so in the washrooms that bear gendered symbols only (on Level 1). We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable using the toilet facilities at Bristol Old Vic. This is why we have signposted the washrooms as simply and clearly as possible. Our policy is to allow all customers to use whichever facility they wish, whilst asking that everyone respect each other, and behave appropriately around other users. Staff will only intervene in washrooms use if they are made aware of inappropriate behaviour, which will not be tolerated. You can download our full inclusive toilet policy here: https://bit.ly/2Lu4f7a.

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