Backstage at the Old Vic – A new building for creativity, learning and community 17.11.25

Haworth Tompkins has completed Backstage at the Old Vic, a new build six storey extension to the Grade II* listed Old Vic Theatre, in London’s Waterloo marking a bold new chapter in the theatre’s remarkable 200-year story. The brief called for a building that would be a welcoming destination for the local community, house the theatre’s extensive outreach programme and include expansion of the theatre’s working spaces.

The resulting building is a place for creativity, learning and for the community to come together and supports every part of the theatre’s life, from writing and rehearsal to education, outreach and performance. Spaces include a triple height café and script library, a writer's room, a Clore Learning Centre, a new green room and a rooftop event space. The works also involved remodelling the existing back of house spaces to achieve (for the first time in the theatre’s history), a fully accessible stage door, improved dressing rooms and staff offices and the refurbishment of the existing rehearsal room to include a studio theatre space.

Sustainability sits at the heart of the building’s ethos, prioritising the use of recycled materials, a low embodied carbon structure and passive energy systems. Working closely with the theatre’s team has been a privilege, their vision and purpose shaped every detail and every decision reflects The Old Vic’s commitment to be welcoming, creative, accessible and forward-looking with a building built to serve artists, audiences and the community for generations to come.

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