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Nancy Medina is an award-winning theatre director and the artistic director of Bristol Old Vic.
Originally from Brooklyn in New York, Nancy has lived in Bristol for the past 18 years and is known for her strong commitment to inclusive, community-focused theatre.
She is the latest in the 10 Questions hot seat.
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Nancy Medina discusses arts funding, her vision for the theatre and more – photo: Rob Browne
1. What is your personal artistic mission for the theatre, and how does it differ from previous leadership?
“To truly bring back a love and value for playwriting and writing. To make a home for writers, and to make sure we’re nurturing and developing the talent of the future and getting it onto our stages.
“With previous leadership, there was a lot of focus on the huge and costly renovation of the Old Vic and making sure that the theatre was connected to King Street again, which has been a wonderful success.
“Taking on that baton, I’ve got to make sure that we are welcoming and inclusive, and that people do want to spend time with us and create family and friendship experiences and memories here.”
You were a freelancer for over 20 years before taking on this role. How are you finding this change?
“ I still have a freelancer’s brain, so I take the time to hear concerns from freelancers, a group that makes up 70 per cent of our industry. With our visiting shows and our own shows, we’re hiring lots of freelance staff, so it’s about making sure working conditions feel appropriate, ensuring proper pay and doing our best to represent South West talent as much as possible.
“Yes, I’m part of an organisation now, but an organisation is just made of people, and at the heart of it, we’re still trying to figure out what’s best for our employees and the many practitioners we hire. Our goal is to make sure we’re doing right by what feels like a very difficult time for everyone in theatre.”
3. What are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your job?
“The most challenging is the financial situation. To do anything well and to truly make an impact, you need to be well-resourced. I think that we’ve done a great job of creating opportunities here, but I wish I could do more.”
“The most rewarding thing, and the thing I’m proud of, is creating the five-year commitment programme. We are taking four writers, Winsome Pinnock, Hannah Khalil, Sam Parker and Muneera Pilgrim, on a journey. We think about the sustainability of their careers, make sure they’ve got space to experiment and fail, and that they feel heard. I truly believe that an artist is only able to succeed when you invest in them time and time again.”
4. The arts landscape faces significant financial challenges, including funding cuts. How is Bristol Old Vic navigating this climate?
“ As best as we can, by thinking about income generation throughout the whole organisation. A different way of looking at it is also our relationship to the city and other cuts happening there.
“This year, for our 260th anniversary, we’re changing the format of our Made in Bristol training programme to a Theatre in Education course. We’re making sure that we’re addressing the fact that schools have very little arts provisions at the moment, and there is very little opportunity for young people to come to the theatre.
“ If they do, it’s once a year, and it’s normally something like a big Shakespeare play or a title that’s in the curriculum. That’s wonderful, but there’s so much new work that’s coming through at the moment and voices that young people need to be exposed to.”
Bristol Old Vic is lauded as the oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world – photo: Betty Woolerton
5. How do you balance programming new writing with established works and touring productions?
“It has to be a balance because we want to create a diverse offering to attract different audiences from across the city. One of the key things we’ve done in the last few months is learn what does well at certain times of the year.
“We’re obviously interested in the classics of the heritage building. Adaptations of novels are also great because it means there’s title recognition, and then peppering things with new quirky musicals and writings to make sure people have a wide range of things to see, as well as our family work. We’re also interested in other interdisciplinary works of art which we haven’t traditionally done as much of. All audiences need different types of work to inspire them, or just to have a moment of entertainment.”
6. How do you navigate the historical legacy of Bristol Old Vic while also pursuing a decolonised agenda?
“When I first started, I was amazed to learn that when this theatre opened, it was technically illegal because it didn’t have a Royal Licence, which was required by law to stage plays. It was a place where a riot could happen at any moment because of how close and intimate the audience was to the performers.
“I love that sense of how the theatre started with rebellious spirits, and I want to carry that into our programming. We’re doing quite a few heritage projects around representation, so we understand where we’ve been and where we want to go.”
7. What changes have you implemented to break down barriers to the arts?
“We have an early-career writers programme, which is run by Ross Willis. We had our first cohort graduate in September, and now we have a new one starting in the winter. It’s been important because that’s a free course. It was also important for me to create an introduction to playwriting with no age limits, because in this country, you cannot get a BA in playwriting, only a master’s, which creates so many barriers.
“There is an assumption that one has to have a certain level of education to be able to even begin writing – and I just don’t believe that. I didn’t study theatre; I’ve just learned it through experience.”
8. What advice do you have for aspiring directors and artistic leaders today?
“This generation feels they have to fit into a mould to succeed in this industry. But I think you have to be your own mould. Spend more time reflecting on your own process, learning and thinking rather than taking advice from others.
“Actors are the only people I know who hear ‘no’ every day for a living. So, how do you motivate yourself to continue on your path in life? It might mean creating a support network for yourself and continuing to inspire yourself through different forms of art, classes and courses.
“Taking jobs in proximity to art is what I did with teaching, and it fulfilled me so much, because I love young people, and I could do it while building my freelance directing career. I even worked at the Old Vic in the bar from 2009 to 2011, before the renovation.
“There are many ways to build resilience. But don’t wait around for anyone to give you that resilience. It has to be you.”
‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ comes to the Old Vic in spring – photo: Bristol Old Vic
9. What production are you most looking forward to watching in 2026?
“The Boy at the Back of the Class based on the book by Onjali Q. Raúf and directed by Monique Touko. Monique, as a director, got the energy absolutely right and it’s so wonderful given the context we’re living in at the moment. To be able to show young people a story about empathy and to truly be humane to each other is just gorgeous.”
10. What play, that you haven’t directed yet, is at the top of your wish list, and what would your dream cast and production look like?
“One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. This has been on my wishlist forever, even though I sadly don’t have the rights. The novel is epic, and so my production would be durational, covering as much of the novel as possible.”
This article appears in Bristol24/7’s January/February 2026 magazine
Main photo: Rob Browne
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