The Old Vic today announces new talks in its Voices Off series. Please find the full list of upcoming events below. Priority booking for Voices Off events for Present Laughter, A Very Expensive Poison and A Christmas Carol opens on Fri 14 Jun at 10am.
Voices Off is a series of talks, conversations, debates and workshops which explore the themes raised by the productions on the main stage.
Setting the Stage
Fri 21 Jun, 1.30 5.30pm, Rehearsal Room
Tickets: 10
Join us for another gathering of theatre practitioners this time specialising in stage design: set design, scene painting, prop making and installation. This one-off symposium will bring together established and emerging artists, as well as those who engage with the business of design, such as agents.
Whether you're already working in this area of theatre, or want to find out more about the world of theatre set design, the symposium will include panel discussions and debates from experts, the chance to ask your own questions and don't miss the opportunity to network with the panellists and other attendees. Previous events in this series, Composing the Stage and Shaping the Stage, sold out, so get your tickets now.
The event will be chaired by Gary Yershon (Associate Artist of The Old Vic and RSC).
The panel includes:
Vicki Hallam (Props & Mask Maker)
Luke Halls (Video Designer)
Rob Howell (Set Designer)
Sacha Milroy (Production Manager)
Vicki Mortimer (Set Designer)
Davina Shah (Agent)
In partnership with Connect, a network for theatre-makers who have participated an Old Vic project and are invited back to The Old Vic for support in making the next step.
Supported by the No l Coward Foundation
Thu 25 Jul, post show, Auditorium
Tickets 6
'For me, it's important that you see the human being behind the celebrity' Andrew Scott
After playing Leo in No l Coward's dark romantic comedy Design for Living in 2010, and more recently performing Simon Stephens' devastating monologue Sea Wall in 2018, Andrew Scott returns to The Old Vic stage for a third time to play Garry Essendine in Coward's provocative comedy, Present Laughter.
Join us after the performance on Thu 25 Jul for a Voices Off Q&A with Andrew, who will be discussing what it's like to play the complex and much-coveted role of Garry the star actor in the midst of an identity crisis, about to embark on an overseas tour. Get the opportunity to ask Andrew your own questions about the play and the relevance of Coward's writing today.
If you would like to attend the performance of Present Laughter before the Q&A, tickets are still available here. The Q&A is also open to anyone not attending the performance on this day.
Marina Litvinenko and Luke Harding In Conversation
Tue 10 Sep, 5pm, Auditorium
Tickets 6
The world premiere of Lucy Prebble's A Very Expensive Poison, based on Luke Harding's jaw-dropping expos of the events behind the notorious death of ex-FSB Officer Alexander Litvinenko comes to The Old Vic stage from Tue 20 Aug.
Join Marina Litvinenko and Luke Harding before the show on Tue 10 Sep, for a discussion of the real-life events the play is based on, their political legacy on the world stage, and what it's like seeing the story translated into drama.
Luke Harding is a British journalist and a foreign correspondent for The Guardian. His book A Very Expensive Poison: The Definitive Story of the Murder of Litvinenko was published in 2016.
Marina Litvinenko is the widow of Alexander Litvinenko. In 2007, she co-wrote Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB with Alexander Goldfarb.
Thu 26 Sep, 5pm Auditorium
Tickets 6
Join us before the performance of A Very Expensive Poison on Thu 26 Sep for an In Conversation with playwright Lucy Prebble (The Effect, ENRON) and director John Crowley (The Goldfinch, Local Hero). Find out more about the process of putting this brand new play, based on the shocking expose of the events behind the notorious death of ex-FSB Officer Alexander Litvinenko, on to the stage.
How to Save the World
Coming soon
The climate crisis is arguably the most urgent crisis that humanity has faced in our history and the biggest threat to civilisation as we know it. We are already living with its effects including extreme weather, famine, and species extinction and it is estimated that it will be responsible for the deaths of over a quarter of a million people per year in the coming decades.
Public opinion is changing, with public concern for the environment at a record high this year, but are we going far enough to avert climate disaster?
Inspired by our production of Lungs, in which a couple weigh up whether or not to bring a baby into this over-polluted world, The Old Vic will hold a series of talks to address some of the burning questions around the climate crisis: is the responsibility personal or governmental? What is the role of big business? Does direct action protest work? Is a Green New Deal the only answer? And what do we need to do to save the world?
Includes one Voices Off talk to be kindly supported by Mishcon De Reya LLP.
Christmas Storytelling with Michael Rosen
Sat 14 Dec, 10am, Auditorium
Tickets 12 adults, 6 children
With the auditorium transformed for this year's A Christmas Carol, gather round The Old Vic stage for a morning of festive storytelling magic.
Much-loved children's author and poet Michael Rosen returns to The Old Vic to read from some of his own favourites for children aged 8+.
The Children's Bookshow presents Neal Layton
Fri 20 Sep, 11am, Auditorium
Tickets: Children 6, accompanying adults free
Suitable for children in Years 1, 2 and 3
Running time approx. 1 hour
The Children's Bookshow returns to The Old Vic this September with another fabulous schools event: author and illustrator Neal Layton (Mammoth Academy, Emily Brown) will be sharing his creative process, reading from his picture books, drawing live on stage and taking questions from the audience. It promises to be a fun, entertaining and interactive event.
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