Announcing the Summer Festival 2025 line-up

EIGHT PLAYS/FOUR WEEKS/ONE VENUE: The Summer Festival is back!

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School will be taking over Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio, marking the 19th run of this student-led project. Join us for a celebration of collaboration and creativity, which sees our graduating directors and designers taking the artistic reins across four double bills.

Week 1: Foxfinder & The Effect – Thu 22 May to Sat 24 May [book tickets]

Explore fear, love, and ethical boundaries in this powerful double bill featuring Dawn King’s award-winning dystopian thriller and Lucy Prebble’s moving examination of chemistry and connection.

Week 2: Ballyturk & Wild East – Thu 29 May to Sat 31 May [book tickets]

Dive into the absurd and the unpredictable with Enda Walsh’s darkly comic exploration of friendship and mortality, paired with April De Angelis’ razor-sharp corporate satire.

Week 3: Deposit & Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. – Thu 5 June to Sat 7 June [book tickets]

Confront modern challenges head-on with Matt Hartley’s all-too-relatable look at Generation Rent, alongside Alice Birch’s explosive and darkly funny feminist manifesto.

Week 4: Splendour & This Is Living – Thu 12 June to Sat 14 June [book tickets]

Experience the intimate and profound with Abi Morgan’s tense political drama set during a revolution, and Liam Borrett’s poignant exploration of love beyond death.

From dystopian farms and clinical drug trials, to absurdist friendships and revolutionary politics, we’re presenting a smorgasbord of contemporary brilliance.

Can’t choose which double bill to see? Treat yourself to a festival ticket and see all eight plays for just £40!

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A bit of background on the Summer Festival artwork: A wonderful session between professional photographer Edward J Felton and BOVTS students. We transformed one of our studios into an impromptu photo set, collaborating on the artwork for the Summer Festival promotional materials.

Acting students from various years student brought tremendous energy and professionalism to the shoot as our models; they embraced every creative concept proposed by our MA Drama Directing and MA Performance Design students with enthusiasm and adaptability. The postgrad students worked with our marketing team to develop unique visual approaches for each of the eight plays. Watching these ideas come to life was fascinating!

Special thanks to models Callum, D’Angelo, Ebube, Ellie, Hollie, Lotte, Peter, Tamzin, Tyler and Violet for their patience, creativity and willingness to experiment.

Header images: Edward J Felton