Backstage is a new-build extension to the rear of the Grade II* listed theatre in Waterloo. A welcoming destination for the local community and an expansion of working and engagement spaces.

Backstage is a new build six storey extension to the Grade II* listed Old Vic Theatre and marks 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 exceeds these ambitions and is not only a place for creativity, learning and for the community to come together but supports every part of the theatre’s life, from writing and rehearsal to education, outreach and performance.

The building includes a triple-height café and bar, a free-to-access script library, writers’ room, Clore Learning Centre, a flexible 90-seat studio, an event space and roof terrace. The remodelled back-of-house areas provide, for the first time in the Old Vic’s history, a fully accessible stage door, alongside upgraded dressing rooms, green room and staff facilities. Together, these facilities support a wide range of creative, educational, and community activity, bringing programmes that were previously constrained or located elsewhere into the theatre itself.

Sustainability sits at the heart of the building’s ethos, prioritising the use of recycled materials, a low embodied carbon timber structure and passive energy systems.

The primary elevation announces the building’s innovative approach to sustainability, with salvaged theatre barn-door lighting repurposed to create a distinctive brise soleil and red solar chimneys on the roof celebrating passive energy systems. Passive ventilation, efficient environmental systems and fabric first design principles further reduce operational energy demand while supporting the long-term resilience of the building.

More than an extension, Backstage is a statement of the Old Vic’s future. It shows how a historic theatre can continue to evolve, environmentally, socially and artistically, while staying true to its founding principle that great theatre belongs to everyone.