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Mutton Dressed as Youth

I went to a production of King Lear at the Young Vic as an A-Level student and we were practically sitting on the rickety stage. As Gloucester's eyes were gauged out and two bouncy grapes scattered between our feet, we weren't sure to fall about laughing or call the police. Side-splitting hilarity, inevitably, won.

The Young Vic's remit when it launched in the giddy, iconoclastic days of the 1970s was to put on theatrical productions that would provoke and excite, and most importantly engage young people who didn't feel the theatre was for them. It's been packing in youngsters from local schools and colleges with a roster of out-reach, educational and behind-the-scenes programmes ever since.

The only problem, the original building, built onto the back of a butcher's shop, was only meant to last a year or two. Fast forward to the naughties and it was a crumbling wreck. Today it's a glittering, three-venue space, winning the prestigious RIBA London Building of the Year award for 2007.

With The Brothers Size currently getting rave notices on the main stage - award-winning young black US writer Torell Avlin McCraney's story of sculduggery and misshap in deepest Louisiana - the Young Vic's remit for youth-engaging, new work has never been bettered. Oh, and not forgetting the great new bar and restaurant, too.

The Young Vic
66 The Cut, SE1 - 020 7922 2922

by DW
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