The Bristol Old Vic has announced that Nancy Medina will succeed Tom Morris as the company's new artistic director in the spring of 2023. Morris is stepping down following twelve years. 

Said Medina “I feel a great sense of awe and excitement to be embarking on a journey that will contribute to the great legacy of leading England’s oldest working theatre. I feel gratitude to be joining the amazing team at Bristol Old Vic and to further the outstanding work that Tom and Charlotte have initiated for excellence in creativity, innovation, artist development and engagement with the wider city of Bristol.

Medina is currently the visiting director at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Joint Artistic Director of the Bristol School of Acting.

“I have lived in Bristol for 14 years, have grown as a person, as an artist, and I am happily raising my children here. It will be a great honour to listen, reflect, and engage with the people of Bristol and together imagine what the future of theatre and the arts can be in this shining city of the South West.”

Tom Morris, the outgoing artistic director, stated, “This is a brilliant appointment made by an outstanding board through a groundbreaking and incisive process. Nancy is a landmark director at the height of her powers and a visionary creative leader. Through her own rehearsal rooms and the extraordinary achievement of setting up the Bristol School of Acting, she has established an unmatched reputation in combining radical change with artistic excellence. This combination is precious and rare. To survive and flourish over the next decades, British theatre is going to have to change and that will need outstanding leadership. Through this appointment, Bristol Old Vic has put itself in the best possible position to be in the vanguard of that process.”

Sado Jirde, Vice Chair, added, “I am delighted that we have appointed Nancy to the role of Artistic Director at Bristol Old Vic. She has worked nationally and internationally to produce plays that engage and enthral audiences from all walks of society. She is passionate about producing accessible and truthful theatre and we are extremely excited to be working with her.

"At a time in which institutions across the country are looking at the challenging legacies of our history, for Bristol Old Vic to appoint a highly talented Black Latinx woman as Artistic Director provides a real opportunity to effect real change in how we express the multiplicity of British identities, experiences, and histories. This is a significant moment in the story of the organization and of Bristol’s cultural sector and Bristol Old Vic is delighted to be at the forefront of this work.”