Old Vic Theatre Review

Beautiful theatre, lovely coffee shop and vat downstairs.

First time at the Old Vic this evening to watch A Christmas Carol and it was amazing! One of the best shows ever the cast were amazing audience participation the snow in the theatre twice the carols using the bells the dance and music at the start the free mince pies and oranges I could go on! A perfect end to the school xmas holidays will never forget this amazing show and experience! Thank you very much The Old Vic we will most definitely be back !!

Wonderful performance and a lovely modern location in a beautiful Victorian theatre.

Great show, but no photos allowed even before the show starts

Not the most comfortable seats, lots of steps and loos temporarily outside.

The proximity between the stage and the audience makes the experience more personal and pleasurable.

Wonderful theatre, will be even better after renovation work is finished!

What a wonderful theater and as for the show (Christmas Carol) it was amazing will definitely be back.

Lovely place and excellent performance of the Christmas Carol 2018!

Lovely old theatre fabulously restored. Show "Wise Children" was amazing.

One of the best theatres in London, delivering critically acclaimed serious theatre

Great venue over 3 floors, plenty of toilets and bars. Seats are comfy and well tiered so good views all round.

Marvellous production of girl from the north country
Nothing to criticize, lots to love

The American Clock was excellent. Wonderful talented actors. As always the theatre staff were helpful.

One of the best theartes in London. Most of the plays are worth watching and tickets are reasonably priced too

After seeing kiss me kate here (and freezing) we finally tried again as the whole theatre has been redone and front of house has also been refurbed. The spangling new doors and vestibule area keep the swirling winds out. The old seating covers has been repurposed as a curtain behind the ticket office, give it a stroke as it's so tactile and try to imagine who sat there and what shows were on. We saw the production of a Christmas Carol and it was absolutely magical, imaginatively staged, great cast and superbly produced/lit. Thoroughly recommend and will visit again soon to see another show.

Great historical theatre set up next to Waterloo station.

Summary based on two plays:
-avoid seats near the top. Sight lines are ok, but audio isn't great. (I would have paid more, but tkts didn't have a better option.)
-easy walk from Waterloo
-several decent post theatre restaurants nearby

We went to see A Christmas Carol here and it was wonderful. The perfect venue. Small, intimate and atmospheric. I would recommend it, but I understand it's not great for wheelchair user's (yet) so something to bare in mind

Great theatre but busy bars and loos, particularly ladies'.

We had a wonderful evening watching A Monster Calls. However ridiculously long queues for bars and ladies toilet in the interval.

One of the best theatres in London. Always something interesting going on and generally very well-priced tickets.

Modern theater with an old name. Pre-theater food options limited.

Absolutely stunning little Artisan cafe underneath The Old Vic theatre. Very reasonably priced, well mannered and smiley staff and a relaxing atmosphere. Very glad to have ventured in before my matinee showing of A Monster Calls

American Clock was great. Excellent performances from all. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Seating was great too. I would say great views from any seat. I have one negative comment however. I appreciate that the theatre is being renovated, and I live in Central London so I'm used to the normal state of the roads etc, but as I exited out onto Waterloo Rd the smell of old urine or rotten fish heads (not sure which) that hit was absolutely overwhelming. Im sure it is not the theatres, fault but think you should try and resolve this problem. I'm sure I'm not the only patron who caught a choking whiff! Thank you

One of the oldest theatres in London known for its award-winning productions. The cafe downstairs is fun and buzzy. The wide variety of shows they produce is of the highest quality!

This is a great place to visit especially if you have an event you enjoy..

Always great theatre, easy access and perfect location - with Waterloo station just a minute away.

At the 2018 production of a Christmas Carol. Truly wonderful!

I came to this venue for the first time for Endgame in February and I was so impressed, we had 'cheap seats' but the view was fantastic! The venue itself was really nice too. Was looking forward to coming back at the end of this month for similar seats for a comedy show but postponed due to Covid lockdown, hopefully will be back soon!

Fabulous
Sat right next to stage in touching distance of actors
Great show

Though the Old Vic is a very beautiful location and the view to the stage is quite good from all angles, the quality of the seating is quite poor. I sat in the Lilian Baylis Circle seating and the amount of space each person gets on the seats themselves are less than you would get sitting on a bus. This makes for a very uncomfortable and painful viewing experience, no matter how good the view is.
The Old Vic should consider changing their seating set up and/or getting new seats.

One of my Fave London Theatres Groundbreaking 5 Star Experience.

Over the years lost count of how many terrific productions seen here.

1999 the pure joy of Peter O Toole in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, his final theatre production before departing this life this was one of my earliest Old Vic experiences and to this day one of the most treasured memories. Will never forget the 100% standing ovation.

2000 was my first Matthew Bourne experience ( not the last! ) for the London premiere of Adventures in Motion Pictures The Car Man.

Kevin Spacey Old Vic Hero so many productions I enjoyed top of my list of course Richard 111

I loved how Kevin invested and sacrificed so much ( lucrative film offers ) to leap frog The Old Vic to superstardom some of the staging changes with the entire audience circling the stage was breathtaking and will never forget Kevin going right into the audience ( Clarence Darrow ).

Quite recently: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead 'Daniel Radcliffe and Joshua McGuire star in this revival of Tom Stoppard s play' BRILLIANT, a wow for King Lear Glenda Jackson.

Love this venue on EVERY level and it has pun intended Many Levels.
Well I have saved the best encounter for the finale!

Right Place Right Time: John Boyega Woyzeck FIRST NIGHT brilliant production, at the curtain call John looked mentally exploded you gave beyond 100%.

No big deal so far? I rarely these days do the stage door thing so resigned myself to the inevitability that John Boyzeck would not be popping down to the basement bar. I repeated my usual routine and bought my usual large glass of white wine hoping that maybe some of the cast would descend, just one cast member briefly popped in, the bar was unusually empty. Then I soon became aware of lots of voices and soon realized it was all happening in the Grand Circle Bar, briefly I thought well even if this is a special party the chances of John Boyega being there would be remote.

OK The Old Vic will now seriously tell me off I thought go for it! Went up the stairs and there was the inevitable security blocking my way, greeted by sorry this is a party for cast members and friends only.

Crestfallen I returned to the empty bar, but hey no big deal. A few minutes later the same security guy passed through the basement bar and went up to the street door. I then realized in a moment that the stairs would now be unprotected with low expectations I walked right into the party and the first person I noticed was OMG John Boyega, Within minutes I had my first encounter as I caught Johns attention his face suddenly beamed Wow look at the man this was a reference to my attire, the usual quite low key affair. I complimented John and confirmed on his Old Vic First night debut and then we shared a hug.

I stood back with my trusty Panasonic DMX and soon realized that John was getting ready to leave, I then thought it was now or never, at the stairs I managed to again catch his attention and asked politely if I could have a photo. YES! I later discovered that the lovely lady that took two photos now John we need one more with you on the other side was no less than Lupita Nyong o 12 Years a Slave one of my top five fims.

I could not stop smiling, just minutes later security asked me to leave, that was inevitable but hey Right Place Right Time and having BALLS got me this now or never moment which I will treasure as just one of so many of this fabulous theatre.

Saw Groundhog Day. What a beautiful theatre and at least in the dress circle, the seats were comfortable and legroom great.

Present Laughter with Andrew Scott in the lead role was absolutely hilarious!

Great place to go the shows I have seen their are absolutely brilliant

I saw an amazing production of Fanny and Alexander.

The fantastic show, the boys from the bar below a charm, the lady on the 2nd floor is rude to say nothing stronger, the Giris are delighted to visit the city. Thanks for the show

A beautiful theatre and one I look forward to visiting again

Cool bar under theatre definitely a secret part of london

Great selection of plays with top acting and directing talent!

A nice theatre in pleasant part of London. The circle seating is too small and very uncomfortable for a two hour play. It's very hot in the top circle. Having said all that, the performance and staging was outstanding.

Great landmark theatre in London. Great stage and beautiful venue.

Amazing theatre. But unfortunate toilet situation whilst I was there. Will be fixed soon though so probably worthy of 5 stars.

We ve watched some classics at the Old Vic, with The Death of a Salesman as the epitome. Definitely worth checking what productions are on.

Saw last production of A Monster Calls. Loved this place, great little theatre.

Beautiful theatre which made the production of All My Sons even more enjoyable.

I loved this theatre, with its unique stage setup and how the audience sits around 360 degrees centre stage. Great actor /audience participation in the Christmas production of A Christmas Carol. Wonderful and memorable.

Great Venue. A Christmas Carol featuring Rhys Ifans was SUPERB!

Quite cramped in the lobby. The stalls only have aisles down the sides so it is a struggle to get to seats in the middle. The play looked and sounded excellent on its beautiful stage.

Incredible show. Fantastically laid out. (A Christmas Carol)

A monster calls, catch it before it ends, take tissues!

Excellent show, but they really need to sort the unnecessary queues for the temporary loos.

Went to a production of All My Sons, have been studying it for a while. The performance was stunning and the building and staff where wonderful and helpful respectively .

Went to see The American clock and ,as usual ,left me sitting there in amazement. The theatre it self is very nice place , people are very friendly. Always have a great time.

Now I'm a tall chap, and when I say tall, I mean large, I'm talking 6,5 , 110kg of Great British beef. Now when I arrive at The Old Vic I see two certainties: my legs aching after the first hour, and bags being checked insufficiently.

The former of these I will address (due to the latter being self explanatory); 'All My Sons' written by Arthur Miller, is considered to be one of the greatest plays of all time, and, being an A level English student studying for one of the most important tests I will ever sit, I find it important to be able to not only watch the play, but enjoy it as well. However , this was not to be the case, after the first 30 minutes of watching the play my calves and thighs began to tighten, alas I was cramping up, instinct took over as I began to straighten my leg, the chair Infront refused my offer and sent my leg to the side where the lower limbs of my neighbour gave a similar greeting. I was stuck and struggling. For the next hour I was sweating a vulgar amount fantasising about removing myself from this hell. Suddenly the lights shut down, an chiascuro image related to negativity although this time it invited relief, at long last I was released from this eternal suffering and torment.

Ultimately, I'm a man of few words, so to keep to this trait: I will not be returning.

The Old Vic never disappoints ! We saw ' A Christmas Carol ' there on the last night it was performed. It was an amazing and original production of this well known story; highly recommend this theatre.

Very nice theater with great productions. Good bars on every floor

Excellent theatre that has shows about current events. The productions are creative and very enjoyable. Food and drink selection is also better than other theatres, with a nice range of tea and snacks.

Grand Old Theater near Waterloo Station. Going through renovation at the moment so toilets are on the outside of the building. Great repertoire and fairly priced drinks.

A London institution on the Southbank - always worth checking out what s on - Easy to reach via Waterloo station.

Wonderful theatre headed by the glamorous Mr. Spacey. What's not to like?

Lovely building. Came to The Old Vic for a workshop and all the staff were friendly and helpful. A welcoming warm atmosphere!

Gorgeous building, comfortable seats and amazing productions, what more could you want?

Awesome theatre, WISE CHILDREN is AMAZING, no exaggeration. Go.