“All art is activism,” according to the new artistic director of Bristol Old Vic, Nancy Medina, who has set out a vision for England’s oldest continuously working theatre that centres on themes of community, belonging and a celebration of culture.
The New Yorker, a longtime theatre director and former artistic director of Bristol School of Acting, took over from Tom Morris this spring.
“Everything that we do in theatre is about provoking a conversation or a sense of reflection,” said Medina before tickets went on sale for her first season. “What we always hope as artists is that after somebody leaves a theatre, they’re going to do something about whatever it was that they experienced and witnessed.”
For this reason, Medina added, it was important that “every story that we’re putting on the stage has true relevance to what our context and society is now”. Her first season includes plays with “heavy-duty relevant themes” but presented “in a very joyous, humorous and digestible format”.
The lineup includes Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy, directed by Medina herself; the world premiere of musical Starter for Ten, based on David Nicholls’ book; Nkenna Akunna’s cheeky little brown; the Edinburgh fringe transfer Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!; and Sonali Bhattacharyya’s Arabian Nights – which tells the classic story from a feminist perspective.
Each of the productions is about the power in belonging – of isolated groups trying to find meaning and purpose. Whether that’s Starter for Ten’s Brian, a working-class boy trying to figure out if where he comes from is good enough, or the young queer black student in Choir Boy who leads a gospel choir at his elite all-boys prep school.
“When you talk about belonging, you have to be inclusive. What does it mean to belong and what do I want to belong to? That theme was the glue for all of the different pieces we put together,” Medina said.
Part of the reason she is directing Choir Boy is because she has young boys of her own, and “there’s often a view of black childhood where we don’t actually get to have a childhood. We’re already seen and treated as adults. And this is the opportunity for us to see these boys as boys. As beautiful, loving and warm as they are. Not marred with violence and very heavy circumstances.”
Medina, whose family are from the Dominican Republic, said she ascribed to the Dominican perspective that “we are all culture”. She added: “I think as cultural organisations we have a certain arrogance to us. We’re saying, come to our doors, we’re offering you art and culture. But actually, we are all culture. So how can I offer you something that you already are? I can only invite you to make it with me.”
In this vein, Bristol Old Vic has been asking “what is our civic duty as a cultural organisation”, especially as school curriculums are being culled of “more and more” art. The theatre is focusing on engagement projects embedded into each major production to make the theatre more welcoming for a wider and more diverse number of people.
“We want to inspire young people to love the theatre and be a part of the theatre. But we’re also thinking about what it means to create a relationship for the next few years.”
Medina has previously directed plays including Trouble in Mind at the National Theatre, Strange Fruit at the Bush, a revival of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton with English Touring Theatre, and The Darkest Part of Night at the Kiln theatre in London. Tickets for her new season go on sale on Thursday.
