Come this way.
– Follow us up to the rehearsal room. – Yeah.
– And here's the rehearsal room. – This is the rehearsal room.
It's been the rehearsal room, I'm pretty sure, for the entire time
this theatre has been here.
There's a lot of history here
and a lot of pictures in the green room,
with Olivier in here...
– And Gielgud. – Yeah, it's got a lot of history.
So this is where we started our rehearsals
and for six weeks, really, this was our home.
Yeah, and it was very, very good fun.
It was slightly, I think, intimidating for the first couple of weeks
because we had to get over the existential crisis of performing Tom Stoppard's words
in front of Tom Stoppard!
– Tom Stoppard would sit here. – Yeah.
– If you can imagine that. – Yeah. With some sweets.
– He loves sweets, so we got on! – Yeah!
What's great about rehearsing here
is that you're rehearsing in the theatre, which isn't always the case.
You get to know everyone here, so you become part of the team, really.
The Old Vic, I guess, where it's situated, it's kind of...
It's unmissable, so I've always kind of eyed it with a certain amount of, er...
salivation, if you like,
as a place I'd love to work in.
It's so seeped in history,
so seeped in quality
and so seeped in a kind of mischief as well,
which really appeals to me.
It's done 200 years of, basically, being one of the best theatres in London.
That is an incredible run and the perfect counterpoint to that
is that it's so "now", it's so contemporary.
Every bit of work that goes on here
has some kind of resonance
with what is going on today.
Whether that's literal or metaphorical,
it's always there.
There can't be many spaces in this country
that have such a diverse ambition.
Working under that roof with people in every corridor, cupboard, office,
going full-throttle to be able to create energetic, diverse and exciting work
is absolutely exhilarating.
– OK, here we are! – This is backstage.
This is backstage at the Old Vic.
– These are the very large wings. – They, normally, I suppose...
– Before you. – Oh, thanks.
Normally, I suppose, this would all be backstage as well.
Except, for our show, they let us take up all of that space,
so that we two already little people look even littler in this enormous space!
They've also pushed the stage past the proscenium as well, over here.
It would normally stop here at this lovely proscenium arch
and where our iron is up there, but they pushed it out into the auditorium
and taken some seats out as well, to allow that to happen.
– That's a ladder. – (LAUGHS)
– That is also in the show. – I think we, in a way, get the best view.
Hopefully, they enjoy watching this as well.
– But we get to see this. – Yeah.
I think, sitting up there, you get a sense of the scale of it.
But here, I think it feels pretty intimate, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
DREW: The Old Vic provided me an extraordinary opportunity
to develop my first full-length dance piece.
The very fact that somewhere like the Old Vic
programmed a full-length, two-act, essentially ballet,
was utterly thrilling and really bold and really daring.
That kind of aspiration, ambition from the theatre
was seen through right till opening night.
Nothing was said no to – it was all about going further,
being bolder, being braver and continuing to be daring.
I think the programming at the Vic has been very eclectic.
The reason for that is to encourage
new audiences to come through.
So, musicals might not be your thing,
but you might like the traditional,
old revivals or you might like...
a dance number or whatever, so there's something for everyone.
I got involved in the Old Vic in 2013.
That was with the Old Vic Community Company.
They help out residents from all boroughs,
just to do with performing, backstage work, community shows.
There's also the Frontline Scheme, which I took part in as well.
That's to help 16 to 20-year-olds in work experience,
getting to know how front of house works, how the bar works,
how a duty manager operates and a supervisor.
Once I did come into the Old Vic, my life did change and I haven't left since.
So, obviously, it's been a brilliant pleasure to be a part of it.
Now we're going into front of house.
This is where everyone will be arriving shortly to watch us do our play.
– This play, specifically. – Yeah. Or any play.
– We might do a different one, who knows? – Yeah. So, this is the box office area.
And, er... There's the neon above the entrance – "Dare, always dare",
which, I believe, was Lilian Baylis and is kind of the motto of the place.
It's just one of those essential London theatres that exists to do interesting work
and champion that, you know.
I feel that comes across in the ethos of everybody that works here.
They're of that mindset, which is very exciting to be in the middle of.
Human nature is immutable. I think the Vic has a reputation which is equally immutable.
Not only because of its past, but what it's done in the recent past
and now in the future.
That idea of attracting to it people
who would not automatically think of going to the theatre is vital.
Because there isn't going to be any theatre in the future,
if we don't create that wanting to go
and letting people see
that it can be a unique experience.
I mean, it is extraordinary, is it not,
that a group of strangers comes in quite by chance, sits down in the dark
and another group of strangers to them come on in the light.
And somehow, there is an energy that goes from the light to the dark
and that is reinforced and is sent back.
And during an evening, hopefully, that kind of perfect circle is created.
There's nowhere else like it in the world.