Running a theatre is a fickle business since even if a play is critically successful there is no guarantee that audiences will flock to see it, nor is one box office hit necessarily followed by another. David Farr and Simon Reade share the
responsibilities of artistic director at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, the primary one being to their audience, David tells us. Ultimately theatre stands or falls by its ability to put on plays that people want to see as well as introducing them to productions they may not initially know they want to see, like
Beasts and Beauties . The artistic directors also have contractual and legal responsibilities to the theatre's Board of Governors, who must be satisfied with their artistic and financial decisions. The directors and ultimately, the Board, are publicly accountable for their actions since much of what the Bristol Old Vic does is funded by public money.
David Farr says that a big challenge of
being the artistic director is to make the theatre accessible to the community by breaking down the Bristol Old Vic's imposing and somewhat intimidating physical presence and making it appear a warm and welcoming place. To run a successful theatre takes good "people skills", as he must deal with many who aren't necessarily familiar with how theatre works, such as politicians, members of funding bodies, and the wider community. Money management is also important since decisions must be made about how and where to spend while
working within the production budget. The
idea for Beasts and Beauties to be staged at the Bristol Old Vic came from Simon Reade, who had previously worked with director and designer Melly Still and her working partner, Tim Supple. He knew that they were putting on a production of European folk tales in Norway, and asked if they were interested in reinventing it at the Bristol Old Vic. Melly was very enthusiastic, but she stressed that she wouldn't do it without Norwegian percussionist Terje Insungset!