The new artistic director for Britain’s longest continuously running theatre has been named - and she said she feels ‘a great sense of awe and excitement’ to take on the role.
Nancy Medina is the first woman, and the first black Latinx woman, to take up the prestigious role as theatre director for the Bristol Old Vic, and will join the theatre full-time in the spring of 2023. She follows Tom Morris, who is stepping down after 12 years in the role.
As a theatre director Nancy Medina’s credits include Trouble in Mind at the National Theatre and Strange Fruit at the Bush Theatre. She’s currently directing a world premiere production of The Darkest Part of the Night by Zodwa Nyoni at the Kiln Theatre in north London. She has lived in Bristol for 14 years, and said it will be a great honour to run the oldest working theatre in Britain.
Read more: Anger as city council blocks multi-million pound youth project
“I feel a great sense of awe and excitement to be embarking on a journey that will contribute to the great legacy of leading England’s oldest working theatre,” she said. “I feel gratitude to be joining the amazing team at Bristol Old Vic and to further the outstanding work that Tom and Charlotte have initiated for excellence in creativity, innovation, artist development and engagement with the wider city of Bristol.
“I have lived in Bristol for 14 years, have grown as a person, as an artist, and I am happily raising my children here. It will be a great honour to listen, reflect, and engage with the people of Bristol and together imagine what the future of theatre and the arts can be in this shining city of the South West,” she added.
The chair of the Bristol Old Vic theatre described Nancy Medina as an ‘inspiring visionary’, and confirmed she would also be appointed as the Old Vic’s joint CEO at the same time.
“I am absolutely delighted that Nancy Medina will be joining Bristol Old Vic as our next Artistic Director and Joint CEO,” said Bernard O’Donoghue. “We were humbled to have had an astonishing calibre of candidates apply for this role, which reflects the strength of Bristol Old Vic, its place in UK and international theatre, and the legacy and achievements of Tom Morris over the last 12 years.
“Nancy is an inspiring visionary, a highly accomplished and award-winning director, and a passionate advocate for Bristol. Her commitment to our ambitions for Bristol Old Vic to be a producing powerhouse, an important civic space for Bristol and the region, and being an accomplice in the work on social justice, diversity, inclusion and equality is clear in everything she does.
“The Board, the executive team, our partners, stakeholders and I look forward to working with her in this next exciting chapter of the theatre's life,” he added.
Outgoing artistic director Tom Morris recently announced he would be stepping down next year. Mr Morris has led the Old Vic for 12 years, with an emphasis on greater engagement with the different communities in Bristol and outreach work to places that normally wouldn’t get involved with the theatre, as well as overseeing a multi-million pound refurbishment of the theatre that created a new front of house area on King Street.
He said Nancy Medina was a ‘landmark director at the height of her powers’. “This is a brilliant appointment made by an outstanding board through a groundbreaking and incisive process,” he said. “Nancy is a landmark director at the height of her powers and a visionary creative leader.
“Through her own rehearsal rooms and the extraordinary achievement of setting up the Bristol School of Acting, she has established an unmatched reputation in combining radical change with artistic excellence. This combination is precious and rare.
“To survive and flourish over the next decades, British theatre is going to have to change and that will need outstanding leadership. Through this appointment, Bristol Old Vic has put itself in the best possible position to be in the vanguard of that process,” he added.
The vice chair of the Bristol Old Vic, Sado Jirde, said the appointment was a 'significant moment' in the story of the Bristol Old Vic. “I am delighted that we have appointed Nancy to the role of Artistic Director at Bristol Old Vic," she said. "She has worked nationally and internationally to produce plays that engage and enthral audiences from all walks of society. She is passionate about producing accessible and truthful theatre and we are extremely excited to be working with her.
“At a time in which institutions across the country are looking at the challenging legacies of our history, for Bristol Old Vic to appoint a highly talented Black Latinx woman as Artistic Director provides a real opportunity to effect real change in how we express the multiplicity of British identities, experiences, and histories. This is a significant moment in the story of the organisation and of Bristol’s cultural sector and Bristol Old Vic is delighted to be at the forefront of this work," she added.
Want our best stories with fewer ads and alerts when the biggest news stories drop? Download our app on iPhone or Android
