Young People
‘I love that the Young Vic is
so friendly and inclusive’
Boma, workshop participant
Annual Review
2013-2015
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
PATRICK McKENNA
Looking back on the past two years it is a genuine challenge to whittle down the highlights into a few words.
Of course, there was the incomparable A View from the Bridge - at the Young Vic, in the West End and now on Broadway. We’ve welcomed some of the world’s leading actors to our intimate stage. The amazing Gillian Anderson in A Streetcar Named Desire, another production on its way to New York. The always brilliant Chiwetel Ejiofor in A Season in the Congo. Hattie Morahan’s superb depiction of Nora in A Doll’s House (which also transferred to the West End and played in New York). Juliet Stevenson’s remarkable performance as Winnie in two runs of Happy Days.
Yet the thing about the Young Vic is that for every extraordinary high profile show there is always another gem running in a different space (or a different medium) at the same time. Sizwe Banzi is Dead directed by Matthew Xia, or Birdgang’s brilliant new show Harlem Dream, both in the Maria. Or Belarus Free Theatre’s short film Connection with Jude Law seen by over 100,000 people on various websites. Or the parallel production of The Scottsboro Boys created and performed by 20 local school children. Giving people the chance to try something new is at the heart of what we do and has created some of our most uplifting moments.
Our biggest challenge will be, as it always is, creating as much excitement in the next two years as we have over the past 24 months.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
David Lan
Over the last two years we’ve set off on many new adventures – in search of new artists, new audiences, new ways of making theatre.
All of which means we’re looking for new conversations at the deepest level about what we share, what brings us together - as well as the many things that force us apart, sometimes without too much damage, too often violently.
More and more I feel that the meaning of what happens between an audience and a show on a stage is found in the total experience of a particular moment in a particular place. Yes, of course, the genius of the writer, yes the miracle of great acting, great directing, great design – yes the towering waves of ideas and the tsunami of emotions. But meaning is also in the act of a group of strangers coming together peacefully, in good faith and with high expectations that something will happen that will somehow cause something important to change.
If the Young Vic has a special quality, perhaps it’s that we never give up believing that that, above anything else, is what we’re here for – to clear a terrain on which whatever it is – the temporary community that, night after night, great art creates - can come into being, and then vanish again into the night.
And sometimes it actually happens. Our A Streetcar Named Desire, Happy Days, The Scottsboro Boys, The Cherry Orchard, Golem, The Valley of Astonishment, A Season in the Congo were all game changers in their different ways. And many felt that our A View from the Bridge changed theatre in this country for good. I hope it did.
I also hope you’ll come on many new adventures as we head off into more risk taking conversations about what matters to all who gather here – artists new-found and well-established, all trying their deft hands at something new - and audiences drawn from every part of our city - every class, every background, every age.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Lucy Woollatt
Over the period of this review, the Young Vic has produced a range of shows which, at first glance, would appear to be beyond the possible. With public investment of just less than £1.8m, a 420 seat main house and two smaller studios, our opportunity to produce appears limited.
However, we understand how essential it is for a company like ours to take risks, to challenge and stretch the abilities of our team, to give opportunities to artists that they wouldn't get elsewhere.
We look after our artists well. We provide them with the resources they need to create the best work. At the same time, we are careful with our money, ensuring not a penny is wasted.
What interests us is the relationship between risk and reward, between doing too much and too little. An obsession with trimming cost can result in bad decisions. Our biggest recent show The Scottsboro Boys triggered significant co-production investment, our most expensive set for A Streetcar Named Desire enabled us to install the highest number of seats (520) that our auditorium can contain, our highly ambitious A Season in the Congo gave us our most diverse audience, our risky ‘unknown’ director Ivo Van Hove directing A View From the Bridge with a team brought over from Amsterdam resulted in an extension at the Young Vic, a West End transfer and a season on Broadway (as well as the recreation of our production in French in Paris).
It is the special qualities of a so-called ‘not for profit’ business that we will continue to explore. The point about a ‘not for profit’ is simply that it has different priorities from enhancing the profits of share-holders. When our work, supported by public investment, enthusiastic and effective fund raising and past box-office receipts makes a profit, we are of course delighted. The money goes right back into our budget to support the work that we always aim to produce with our artists for our audience at the highest possible level.
Production Highlights
Artists
We invite our artists to attempt with us what they’ve never attempted before, to take a leap in the dark.
GILLIAN ANDERSON
PLAYED BLANCHE DUBOIS IN A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
A Golden Globe winner, she played a powerful and persuasive Blanche under Benedict Andrews' direction.
Photo by Johan Persson
Paul Barritt
designed, animated and filmed for Golem
Paul’s stunningly original animation gave the ground-breaking production an aesthetic magic and won him a Critics’ Circle Award for Best Design.
BENEDICT ANDREWS
DIRECTED A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Visionary director Benedict Andrews returned to the Young Vic following his Critics’ Circle Award-winning Three Sisters.
Mike Bartlett
wrote Bull
Mike is an Olivier award winning playwright. Following his West End hit King Charles III, this was his London premiere of Bull.
IVAN BLACKSTOCK
BirdGang Dance Company – choreographed and directed for A Harlem Dream
Ivan’s daring new show combined twenties Harlem with hip hop and burlesque. It was voted one of the six best shows to see at the London festival of dance.
Photo by Miha Matevzic
Bridget Fiske
CHOREOGRAPHED TRASH CUISINE
A respected dance artist with a history of working across performance, choreography, facilitation and collaboration, Bridget choreographed this Belarus Free Theatre production which challenged capital punishment.
Peter Brook and
Marie-Hélène Estienne
directed The Valley of Astonishment
Returning to the Young Vic after their international hit The Suit, Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne directed this breath-taking play.
Photo by Simon Anand
Mat Fraser
played Beast in Beauty and the Beast
Mat is an Internationally acclaimed and award-winning British disabled actor/writer. Beauty and The Beast explored the naked truths and half-truths told in the name of love.
TINUKE CRAIG
Director of dirty butterfly
Tinuke Craig, our 2014 Genesis Future Directors Award winner, directed this compelling drama about voyeurism, power and guilt.
Photo by David O'Quigley
Nicky Gillibrand
designed the costumes in Public Enemy
The Tony Award nominee and Gold Medal for Costume Design winner designed the costumes for this powerful new version of this Ibsen classic.
KATE HEWITT
directed Far Away
2014 JMK Award winner Kate Hewitt directed Caryl Churchill’s dystopian drama about a world in collapse.
Photo by Rob Logan
Katie Mitchell
directed The Cherry Orchard
Katie returned to the Young Vic with her signature lyricism to direct Anton Chekhov’s last and greatest play.
KATHRYN HUNTER
played Sammy in The Valley of Astonishment
Olivier Award winner Kathryn Hunter plays a woman with an astonishing memory in Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne’s production.
Vicki Mortimer
designed The Way Back Home
Vicki also designed the hit stage adaptation of Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, and the co-production was ENO’s first ever new opera for children.
JULIET STEVENSON
played Winnie in Happy Days
An Olivier Award winning stage and screen actress, Juliet Stevenson took on the role of Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s surreal masterpiece.
SUSAN STROMAN
directed & choreographed The Scottsboro Boys
Five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman directed and choreographed this production that won the Critics’ Circle Best Musical Award 2013.
Ivo van Hove
directed A View from the Bridge
The visionary Ivo van Hove directed this stunning production of Miller’s tragic masterpiece. A View from the Bridge won three Olivier Awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Revival.
Photo by Simon Anand
Magda Willi
designed A Streetcar Named Desire
Magda designed a revolving modern apartment on Elysian Fields inspired by the unique theatre space of the Young Vic.
MATTHEW XIA
directed Sizwe Banzi is Dead
Genesis Future Directors Award winner Matthew Xia directed this momentous, Tony-nominated play which exposes the struggle for freedom and identity in apartheid-era South Africa.
Photo by Richard Hubert Smith
Joe Wright
directed A Season in the Congo
Joe is a BAFTA Award winning director (previous work includes Anna Karenina, Atonement, Pride & Prejudice). He directed the UK premiere of this epic retelling of Congo’s turbulent first year of freedom.
Tours
In 2013-15 The Events, My Perfect Mind, The Valley of Astonishment, Oh My Sweet Land, Kafka’s Monkey, The Secret Agent, Trash Cuisine were seen in locations including…
Belfast, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Barcelona, Bremen, Tokyo, Arras, Luxembourg, Piraeus, Paris, Chennai, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Deptford, Plymouth, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Vienna, Drammen, Amsterdam, Shanghai.
Taking Part
Our work with young people and our local communities is a major part of our artistic life. At a deep level, it complements and enhances each of the shows we produce.
All of this work is created by our Taking Part team, who engage with over 10,000 people a year. We offer young people and our neighbours free tickets to all our shows. We run a wide range of projects, from skills based workshops to a chance to perform on one of our stages. We connect with some of the most vulnerable groups in society such as refugees, children and adults with special needs, homeless people and people in recovery. Harriet Harman, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, praised the work of the Taking Part department in her speech at the Roundhouse about young people and the arts:
When I was invited by David Lan to see the excellent student production of a Samuel Beckett play at the Young Vic, I chatted to the woman sitting in front of me. It turns out she lives in my constituency and works as a cleaner. She was bursting with pride seeing her daughter shine on stage. So don’t let anyone think that the aspiration for your children is confined only to middle class parents.
We think if the Young Vic as ‘the home you didn’t know you had’. Taking Part is one of the ways in which we keep our doors wide open.
Highlights of the year in numbers 2013-15
We gave 15,051 free tickets
to young people, schools
and our neighbours.
Worked with 744 pupils during 2014-15 through productions and workshops.
Produced 4 Schools Theatre Productions, 2 with Special Educational Needs schools
Provided 21 in-school and on-stage workshops
Ran 2 bespoke Pupil Referral Unit projects, involving 25 young people
Engaged 751 young people outside of education for workshops and projects
Collaborated with SLaM, working with young people with mental health issues, Bay Tree Centre, working with vulnerable young women, Centrepoint, Tomorrow’s People and Into University.
Created our first film project, Now is the Time to Say Nothing, working with 10 young people and a young Syrian filmmaker
Involved 31 young people in Introduction to Directing and 13 young people in Backstage Pass, offering training for a career in theatre
TWO BOROUGHS - WORK WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS
‘It is a non-judgmental haven
and one that allows incredible
freedom of expression’
Mathilde, workshop participant
Introduced Tea and Tours and Neighbourhoods Watch with over 200 local residents participating
Created 2 full scale community shows – ‘The Sound of Yellow’ involving 49 people in recovery and ‘Turning a Little Further’ involving 30 full time unpaid female carers
Worked with 20 local residents to form a choir to perform in ‘The Events’
Introduced week long workshops, led by directors from our Director’s Program. 58 people have taken part in these Inside… Weeks over the last 2 years.
Emerging Directors
Launched in 2000, our Directors Program is the only scheme of its kind in the UK. Throughout 2013-15 we offered 391 activities, with over 2800 places for emerging directors, from assistant directorships to skills-based workshops to CV clinics – all to help directors develop their craft.
Genesis Fellow
Natalie Abrahami. Photo by Johan Persson
The Genesis Fellow is a two year role that enables its recipients to work closely with artistic director David Lan as they continue to develop their craft as a theatre director. Each year they also have the opportunity to direct their own show either in the Maria Theatre or Main House.
Natalie Abrahami
Happy Days by Samuel Beckett and Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O’Neil
GENESIS FUTURE DIRECTORS AWARD
Tinuke Craig. Photo by David O'Quigley
The Genesis Future Directors Award enables two emerging directors to rehearse and present a play of their choice, as part of the Young Vic’s season.
Tinuke Craig
Directed dirty butterfly by debbie tucker green
FINN BEAMES
Directed Man a selection of short plays by Tennessee Williams
Genesis Network supported by the Genesis Foundation
Our web-based network helps directors to discuss theatre, form groups and organise skills sharing, as well as to find information about current activities, opportunities and special ticket offers. Directing can be lonely – particularly in the early stages of a career – and the network encourages a sense of community and peer support. We now have nearly 1,000 members.
These schemes are generously supported by Genesis Foundation
JMK Award
Kate Hewitt. Photo by Rob Logan
Each year the JMK Award enables a young director to stage their production of a classic, hosted in our Clare theatre.
ALEX BROWN
The Island by Athol Fugard
KATE HEWITT
Far and Away by Carol Churchill
JERWOOD ASSISTANT DIRECTORS SCHEME
‘Becoming a Jerwood Assistant director has opened many doors to me and the past six months have held some of the most enlightening and exciting experiences of my career so far.’
Anna Girvan – Happy Days (2015)
Anna Girvan
Learning from experienced directors by assisting and spending sustained time in a theatre are vital for a director’s development. Each year the Jerwood Charitable Foundation supports us in providing assistant directorships which include a residency at the Young Vic, an attachment to a production, an international trip to see work and meet artists and the opportunity to develop and direct a short play with a writer.
Laura Farnworth
Public Enemy - Richard Jones
Elayce Ismail
A Season in the Congo - Joe Wright
Jonathan O'Boyle
The Scottsboro Boys - Susan Stroman
Caroline Williams
Beauty and the Beast - Phelim McDermott
Alice Knight
Happy Days (2014) - Natalie Abrahami
Jeff James
A View from a Bridge - Ivo van Hove
Natasha Nixon
A Streetcar Named Desire - Benedict Andrews
Caitriona Shoobridge
The Cherry Orchard - Katie Mitchell
Anna Girvan
Happy Days (2015) - Natalie Abrahami
Craig Gilbert
Ah, Wilderness! - Natalie Abrahami
Nel Crouch
The Trial - Richard Jones
This scheme is generously supported by Jerwood Chartable Foundation
BORIS KARLOFF TRAINEE ASSISTANT DIRECTORS SCHEME
‘This was such a wonderful and practical experience for me to have had; to propel me into directing, I feel so much more confident in my abilities and I couldn’t have asked to work with a better director, at this stage in my career.’
Emerald Crankson – The Island
Emerald Crankson. Photo by Helen Murray
With the support of the Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation we seek to diversify our talent pool and find the most exciting talent. The scheme bridges the gap between training or engaging with our Taking Part department and embarking on a professional career. Many of the participants have not been through formal higher education and are from black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.
Roy Alexander Weise
Public Enemy - Richard Jones
Andrea Ling
A Season in the Congo - Joe Wright
Taio Lawson
Sizwe Banzi is Dead - Matthew Xia
Emerald Crankson
The Island - Alex Brown
Tamara Camacho
A View from the Bridge - Ivo Van Hove
Josh Hines
Dirty Butterfly - Tinuke Craig
Mona Khalili
Far Away - Kate Hewitt
Emerald Crankson
The Web Research & Development - Matthew Xia
Rachel Nanyonjo
The Web Research & Development - Justin Audibert
Ibrahim Shote
The Web Research & Development - Gbolahan Obisesan
Madi Kludje
The Web Research & Development - Ria Parry
Mona Khalili
Ah, Wilderness! - Natalie Abrahami
Rob Awosusi
The Trial - Richard Jones
Highlights
IN THE PRESS
'BEST THEATRE IN LONDON'
The Telegraph, 2014
LONDON THEATRE OF THE YEAR
Stage Awards, 2014
Young Vic Films
Over the last two years we have produced four short films sponsored by Bloomberg and in partnership with The Guardian. These films are inspired by our productions and have been watched by over half a million people.
Finances
Our Shows
The teams who create, produce, manage, build and sell our shows are talented and highly motivated. Our actors, writers, directors and designers are among the best in the world.
Producing our ambitious and innovative work is expensive and involves risk. Each risk we take is calculated and strategic, designed to produce long term benefit to ourselves as well as to the wider artistic world. Each show needs to work in its own right and, at the same time, R&D for the shows that come after. In other words, we respond to existing markets but also create new ones. The cost of this approach, sustained over time (we produce up to 18 shows per year with 5 or more additional shows with the community) cannot be met by ticket sales alone.
From 2013-15 our ticket prices ranged from £10 to £35 with a range of concessions available. At least 50% of the audience at each performance pay less than £20.
As we play to consistently full houses, the only way we can increase box office income is by raising prices, by abandoning concessions or by withdrawing our funded ticket schemes. For reasons outlined throughout the review, to take any of these steps would damage the benign circle “great art, low prices, diverse audience” that we have imagined, created, and sustained over the past decade.
Consequently, the balance of finance each show and each season requires can only be sought from further government investment or by raising our fundraising target to ever higher levels.
We are now celebrated as one of Britain’s great producing theatres. In these difficult times, without persistent and imaginative fundraising, the artistic and social value we so successfully create will be threatened.
EXPENDITURE
Each year more than 90% of our total resource goes towards the shows you see on our three stages, our ‘taking part’ activities and our flagship directors programme. Less than 10% is spent on overheads.
Of the 90%, one quarter goes on the salaries of our permanent staff – producers, heads of lighting, sound and stage, marketeers, production accountants and theatre managers. The other three quarters goes on the direct costs of our productions – the actors, the director, the designer, the set and costumes and so on.
YOUNG VIC PRODUCTIONS
& ACTIVITIES 90%
OVERHEADS 10%
INCOME
Our income comes from the sale of our tickets, our fundraising, our co-producers and our grant from Arts Council England. During 2013-2015 when our productions of A Doll’s House and A View from the Bridge played in the West End for a total of 21 weeks, our grant made up only a quarter of our income. We generated the other three quarters by the careful marketing and pricing of our tickets (over the last two years we have played to 95% capacity) and by regular and close engagement with the co-producers, individuals, trust and corporates that support us. In addition, we raise substantial sums by co-producing with other theatres in the UK and abroad.
BOX OFFICE YOUNG VIC 29%
BOX OFFICE WEST END* 19%
*A DOLL'S HOUSE AND A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
ACE 25%
FUNDRAISING 17%
OTHER (INC. CO-PRODUCTION) 10%
Current Supporters
The Young Vic is generously supported by
Funders
Corporate Supporters
‘MARKIT IS A HUGE SUPPORTER OF THE YOUNG VIC’S WORK IN MAKING THEATRE AVAILABLE TO ALL. THE FUNDED TICKET SCHEME, WHICH GIVES AWAY 10% OF ALL YOUNG VIC TICKETS, HAS AN ENORMOUS POSITIVE IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND OPENS DOORS TO NEW EXPERIENCES AND OPPORTUNITIES.’
Markit
- aka
- Barclays
- Berkeley Group
- Bloomberg
- Bloomberg
- Clifford Chance LLP
- Edelman
- Ingenious Media Plc
- Latham & Watkins
- Markit
- Memery Crystal
- Mishcon de Reya
- Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest
- Taylor Wessing LLP
- Wahaca
- Wisdom Council
Trust Supporters
‘I’M PROUD OF WHAT WE’VE DEVELOPED WITH THE YOUNG VIC. IT SHOWS THE VALUE OF SUSTAINED GIVING ON A PARTNERSHIP LEVEL. THE YOUNG VIC UNDERSTANDS THE GENESIS FOUNDATION, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REAL PARTNER AND IT HAS REALLY DELIVERED INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMES WITH US.’
John Studzinski, Genesis Foundation
- 95.8 Capital FM’s Help a Capital Child
- Andor Charitable Trust
- Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust
- BBC Children in Need
- Backstage Trust
- Boris Karloff Foundation
- Boshier Hinton Foundation
- The City Bridge Trust
- The Cleopatra Trust
- Clifford Chance Foundation
- Clore Duffield Foundation
- Cockayne – Grants for the Arts
- John S Cohen Foundation
- The Co-operative Membership Community Fund
- David Laing Foundation
- The Dr. Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation
- D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
- Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Equitable Charitable Trust
- The Eranda Foundation
- Ernest Cook Trust
- The Foyle Foundation
- Garfield Weston Foundation
- Garrick Charitable Trust
- Genesis Foundation
- Golden Bottle Trust
- Golsoncott Foundation
- H&M Foundation
- The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
- Jerwood Charitable Foundation
- Joanies Fund
- John Ellerman Foundation
- John Thaw Foundation
- J. Paul Getty Jnr. Charitable Trust
- The Kidron and Hall Family
- The Limbourne Trust
- The London Community Foundation
- The Mackintosh Foundation
- Martin Bowley Charitable Trust
- Mrs Margaret Guido's Charitable Trust
- Newcomen Collett Foundation
- The Noel Coward Foundation
- The Nomura Charitable Trust
- The Portrack Charitable Trust
- The Rayne Trust
- The Red Hill Trust
- Richard Radcliffe Charitable Trust
- The Richenthal Foundation
- Royal Norwegian Embassy
- The Sackler Trust
- Unity Theatre Trust
- Sir Walter St John’s Educational Charity
- The Wolfson Foundation
Individual Supporters
‘BEING A MEMBER OF THE YOUNG VIC’S ‘UPPER CIRCLE’ HAS GIVEN ME A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE EXCEPTIONAL WORK DONE ON STAGE AND IN THE COMMUNITY. I AM PROUD TO BELONG TO A THEATRE THAT IS PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR WORK AND COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARTISTS.’
Soul Mate
- Partners & Upper Circle
- David and Corinne Abbott
- Tony & Gisela Bloom
- Patrick Handley
- Jack & Linda Keenan
- Chris & Jane Lucas
- Patrick McKenna
- Simon & Midge Palley
- Karl-Johan Persson
- Jon & NoraLee Sedmak
- Dasha Shenkman
- Rita & Paul Skinner
- Bruno Wang
- Anda & Bill Winters
- Soul Mates
- Guy America & Dominique Bellec
- Jane Attias
- Lisa Bartfield & Bill Updegraff
- Chris & Frances Bates
- Anthony & Karen Beare
- Joanne Beckett
- Royce & Rotha Bell
- The Bickertons
- Sarah Billinghurst Solomon
- Beatrice Bondy
- Katie Bradford
- CJ & LM Braithwaite
- Sandra Carlisle
- Tim & Caroline Clark
- Kay Ellen Consolver
- Caroline & Ian Cormack
- Felicia Crystal
- Miel de Botton
- Lucy & Spencer de Grey
- Robyn Durie
- Sean Egan
- Don Ellwood & Sandra Johnigan
- Jennifer & Jeff Elredge
- Gillian Frumkin
- Paul Gambaccini
- Sarah Gay Fletcher
- Beth & Gary Glynn
- Jill and Jack Gerber
- Rory Godson
- Annika Goodwille
- Manfred and Lydia Gorvy
- Sarah Hall
- Caroline Hansberry
- Richard Hardman & Family
- Madeleine Hodgkin
- Nik Holttum & Helen Brannigan
- Jane Horrocks
- Miss Lottie Hughes
- Maxine Isaacs
- Clive Jones
- Tom Keatinge
- John Kinder & Gerry Downey
- Carol Lake
- Jude Law
- Tony Mackintosh
- James & Sue Macmillan
- Jill & Justin Manson
- Karen Mchugh
- Ian McKellen
- Barbara Minto
- Miles Morland
- Ann & Gavin Neath CBE
- Rob & Lesley O’Rahilly
- Georgia Oetker
- Powerscourt
- Lady Rayne Lacey
- Barbara Reeves
- Anthony & Sally Salz
- Catherine Schreiber
- Justin Shinebourne
- Olga Slater
- Nicola Stanhope
- Sir Patrick Stewart
- Jan & Michael Topham
- Totally Theatre Productions
- The Ulrich Family
- The Ury Trust
- Donna & Richard Vinter
- Jimmy & Carol Walker
- Rob Wallace
- Edgar & Judith Wallner