Author Elizabeth Charlesworth
Published 12/04/2023
As The Old Vic enters its ninth season with Matthew Warchus at the artistic helm, we are delighted and hugely grateful to have our visionary, loyal, and passionate partners, RBC and PwC, alongside us.
The Old Vic is an independent theatre and registered charity that has been a beacon of creativity and daring throughout the last two centuries. The Old Vic receives no regular public subsidy and is reliant on box office receipts, philanthropic donations and support from businesses to sustain its work both on and off the stage. As we continue to rebuild amidst inflation and an ever-increasing competitive fundraising landscape, partnerships such as these are more vital than ever to ensure The Old Vic remains a leading theatrical powerhouse for entertainment and education.
Principal Partner – Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of the largest banks in the world and Canada’s largest company and financial institution by market capitalisation, is The Old Vic’s Principal Partner. RBC’s incredible generosity supports all The Old Vic’s mainstage productions, and thereby enables us to honour the theatre’s long-standing reputation as an adventurous hub of creativity with a strong social mission. Since coming on board in 2015, RBC has enabled The Old Vic to produce 45 productions, 23 of which have been world premieres. RBC’s commitment to promoting world-class excellence in the arts, driven by their belief that creativity plays an important role in building vibrant communities and strong economies, makes them an ideal Principal Partner for The Old Vic.
In 2018, RBC built on their support to become Principal Partner of The Old Vic’s flagship employability programme, Take the Lead. This year we celebrate five extraordinary years of collaboration on this programme. Take the Lead gives 16–18-year-olds from state schools and colleges across London the opportunity to participate in high-quality, creative employability workshops to try and level the playing field with regards to employability and social mobility. This element of our partnership is built on a shared commitment to young people and raising their aspirations to be the leaders of tomorrow and, since the partnership began, we’ve worked with more than 3,500 young people to help them realise their full potential.
During the pandemic, even when our doors were closed, RBC renewed their support as Principal Partner across our productions and Take the Lead, committing to stand by The Old Vic for at least a further three years, until August 2024. This is partnership in the truest sense of the word, and we are indebted to RBC for their truly transformational support.
‘Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is proud of our Principal Partnership with The Old Vic, enabling the theatre to deliver more content, to more people, across more productions than at any time in its 203-year history. Celebrating five years of supporting Take the Lead, and renewing our partnership during the pandemic, were both significant milestones to have celebrated, particularly during a time that has profoundly impacted the arts sector. The Old Vic is an integral and important partner to RBC, promoting world-class excellence in the visual and performing arts whilst enhancing the communities around us.’
Dave Thomas
CEO Europe, RBC Capital Markets and Wealth Management
This partnership reflects RBC’s global commitment to creating vibrant communities through donations, community investments, sponsorship and employee volunteer activities. In 2022, RBC contributed more than C$175 million to causes around the world.
Previews Partner – PwC
PwC, one of the world’s largest professional services networks, has been partnering with The Old Vic since 2012 to promote accessibility and inclusivity in the arts through innovative and affordable ticket schemes. Having celebrated an extraordinary decade of partnership with The Old Vic, PwC has committed to renewing its support until August 2025.
With PwC’s invaluable support, we can offer half the house at £10 for the first five previews of all our productions, available and accessible to anyone and everyone. This scheme is one of the few ticket initiatives within the arts sector with no criteria for access which genuinely inspires a new audience to experience the unique joy and power of theatre. Since its launch, over 125,000 people have enjoyed world-class theatre thanks to PwC, with 37% of those bookers coming through The Old Vic’s doors for the very first time.
PwC’s commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates and ‘doing the right thing’ resonates with The Old Vic’s long-standing social conscience and desire to be a theatre for everyone. We are incredibly proud to partner with PwC to help us fulfil our mission to invigorate, inspire and open doors through world-class theatre for all, so that The Old Vic continues to play an integral role within creative society and its community.
‘We believe in making the arts open to all. I’m proud that through our £10 Previews tickets we have enabled tens of thousands of people to experience the magic of The Old Vic’s fantastic productions, with over a third of those people attending the theatre for the very first time. We hope this initiative continues to make the theatre more accessible to everyone.’
Kevin Ellis
Chair and Senior Partner, PwC