Bristol Old Vic

What Bristol Old Vic does

Bristol Old Vic is a registered charity (Charity No. 228235, Company No. 756007) operating the oldest continually running theatre in the UK from its King Street venue in Bristol, founded in 1766 and now in its 260th year. The single-site venue operates a main house and the Weston Studio, presenting live theatrical productions spanning plays, musicals, comedy, dance, family shows, and accessibility-led programming (BSL-interpreted, audio-described, captioned, relaxed performances). The organisation runs across three wholly-owned subsidiaries — Bristol Old Vic (Trading) Ltd, Bristol Old Vic Production Company Limited, and Bristol Old Vic Film Limited — covering trading, in-house production, and film activity, alongside a literary programme and forum for artist development.

Revenue is generated through six diversified streams: ticket sales and subscriptions (from £5 club BOV tickets to £126 theatre subscriptions), donations and memberships (Orange, Thunder, Lavender tiers plus Future Fund 260 campaign), corporate partnerships, venue hire for weddings and corporate events with associated production services (scenic, paintshop, CNC), hospitality (1766 Bar & Kitchen café bar), and heritage tours and exhibitions. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through Spektrix-powered online booking, a phone and walk-up Box Office, group and schools coordinators, and a corporate events sales function, supplemented by TicketCo for live-stream and on-demand digital content and the Bloomberg Connects app for heritage audio tours.

The institution is funded by a combination of earned income and public funding from Arts Council England and Bristol City Council, alongside private philanthropy including the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation. It is led by Artistic Director Nancy Medina (appointed 2023) and Executive Director Rebecca Dawson (appointed January 2026), with a board chaired by Bernard Donoghue OBE. The technology stack is built on established SaaS tools (Supercool CMS, Spektrix ticketing, Dot Digital email, SAGE finance, Cloudflare, Google Analytics) and contains no proprietary AI/ML components.

Name

Bristol Old Vic

Legal name

Bristol Old Vic & Theatre Royal Trust Ltd

Website

https://bristololdvic.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1766

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bristol Old Vic is a registered charity operating the UK's oldest continually running theatre (founded 1766) from a single Bristol venue, presenting live productions, education and community programmes, venue hire, and hospitality, funded by tickets, donations, corporate partnerships, and public arts funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theatre & Performing Arts

NAICS

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking) (MPAGABAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Broadway & Commercial Theatre Productions (MPAGABAA), Children’s & Youth Theatre (MPAGABAE)

Keywords

• Live theatre productions
• Performing arts venue
• Arts education programmes
• Heritage theatre tours
• Corporate venue hire

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales and Subscriptions: Primary revenue stream from ticket sales for theatre productions, events, and performances. Season ticket and subscription packages provide discounted multi-show bundles.
2. Donations and Memberships: Charitable donations from individuals and organizations, including Future Fund 260 campaign, legacy giving programs, and membership tiers (Orange, Thunder, Lavender) with associated benefits.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorship and partnership programs where businesses support the theatre in exchange for branding, access, and engagement opportunities.
4. Venue Hire: Hiring of theatre spaces, studios, and facilities for corporate events, weddings, and private functions. Production services including scenic construction, paintshop, and CNC cutting are available for external productions.
5. Hospitality Services: Café Bar and 1766 Bar & Kitchen food and beverage sales. The venue operates its own catering for events and performances.
6. Heritage Tours and Exhibitions: Guided tours of the historic building and revenue from exhibitions throughout the venue. Bloomberg Connects digital guide provides free audio tours.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Bristol Old Vic presents live theatrical productions across its main stage and The Weston Studio, including plays, musicals, dance, comedy, and family shows. It also operates heritage tours, free exhibitions, on-site hospitality (Café Bar and 1766 Bar & Kitchen), venue hire for weddings and corporate events, scenic construction and CNC production services for external clients, and participation programmes (Young Company, Adult Company, Literary Programme, Artists Forum).

Product overview

Bristol Old Vic is a single-venue theatre presenting live theatrical productions as its core offering. The organisation operates across two performance spaces: the main Theatre (main stage) and The Weston Studio. Supporting products and services include live broadcasts and on demand video streaming via TicketCo, a Bloomberg Connects digital guide, heritage tours, free exhibitions, youth and adult theatre participation programmes (Young Company, Adult Company), a Literary Programme and Artists Forum for writer/artist development, restaurant and bar services, wedding and corporate events hire, and production services for external hire. The theatre also offers a membership programme with tiered benefits and dedicated access performances (Audio Described, BSL/Signed, Captioned, Relaxed) for disabled audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Theatre Productions

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Polka TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnlimited and Polka Theatre Partnership Commission for The Colour of Dinosaurs. Co-production partner for The Snowy Day dance adaptation for young audiences.
• Can't Sit StillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for The Snowy Day, a dance adaptation of Ezra Jack Keats' book for 1-5 year olds.
• UnlimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioning partner for The Colour of Dinosaurs and What's The F**king Point?, supporting disabled artists and high-quality commissions.
• Lost DogcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDance theatre company whose production Juliet & Romeo was co-commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre and The Place, with Arts Council England funding.
• Myrtle Theatre CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDisability-led theatre company in co-production with Wiltshire Creative for Up Down Big Man at Bristol Old Vic.
• Wiltshire CreativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producer of Up Down Big Man with Myrtle Theatre Company at Bristol Old Vic.
• Firebird TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany of Learning Disabled artists based in Bristol, supported by Bristol Old Vic for over 30 years. Produces ensemble performances including The Tempest.
• Spektrix LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationBox Office ticketing system provider for booking tickets, managing customer accounts, and processing donations.
• TicketCocoreTechnology or IntegrationProcesses bookings for live stream and on-demand digital content, broadcasts content, and checks eligibility to watch.
• Roald Dahl Story CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensor for The Enormous Crocodile The Musical produced in association with PW Productions.
• PW ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProducer of The Enormous Crocodile The Musical in co-production with Roald Dahl Story Company at Bristol Old Vic.
• Theatre Royal PlymouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producer of Badgers with Bristol Old Vic.
• Theatre CollectionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Bristol Old Vic for heritage and archival activities, exploring theatrical history.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kiln Theatre: A producing theatre with similar scale, comparable commitment to diverse programming and emerging directors, and where Bristol Old Vic's Artistic Director Nancy Medina previously directed as a freelance.
• Manchester Royal Exchange: A major producing theatre housed in a heritage building (former cotton exchange) with a comparable in-the-round production model, regional scope, and public-funding-supported operating model.
• Leeds Playhouse: A major regional producing theatre in the North of England with a similar producing/receiving mix, education and young company programmes, and reliance on Arts Council England funding.
• Sheffield Theatres: A large UK regional producing theatre operating multiple spaces with a similar combination of in-house productions, co-productions, and community participation programmes, serving a comparable regional population size.
• Young Vic: A London-based producing theatre known for bold new writing, international co-productions, and a comparable scale of operation, audience development programmes, and disability-led programming.
• Tobacco Factory Theatres: A Bristol-based producing theatre with a comparable intimate-scale repertoire, similar artist-development programmes, and overlapping local audience. Operates in the same city as Bristol Old Vic and shares the South West catchment.
• Theatre Royal Plymouth: A major South West producing and receiving theatre with comparable programming mix, audience size, and regional scope. Explicitly co-produces with Bristol Old Vic (e.g., 'Badgers'), making it the closest operating peer.

Broad incumbents

• National Theatre: The UK's flagship producing theatre and a major funder/commissioner of regional theatre work (including the Peter Hall Bursary awarded to Bristol Old Vic's Artistic Director). Provides a comparable template for producing, learning, and digital distribution (National Theatre at Home).
• Royal Court Theatre: A London producing theatre with overlapping co-production relationships (e.g., Bristol Old Vic's 'A Good House' co-production). Comparable focus on new writing, commissioning programmes, and global storytelling.
• Royal Shakespeare Company: A national-scale producing theatre with substantially larger resources but overlapping mission (commissioning new work, education programmes, co-productions). Comparable in artistic ambition and donor/corporate partnership model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bristololdvic
• YouTubeyoutube.com/bristololdvictheatre?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/bristololdvic
• Instagraminstagram.com/bristololdvic1766

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bristol Old Vic