Bristol Old Vic artistic director Nancy Medina aims to bring 'joy'

Nancy Medina said: "It will be a great honour to listen, reflect and engage with the people of Bristol"

The new artistic director of the country's oldest working theatre said she was making her first season one of joy and community.

Nancy Medina said she wanted Bristol Old Vic to have "a real presence" in the city.

"I think Bristol is a city with a lot of rebellious spirit and a good sense of humour," Ms Medina told BBC Points West.

She added that due to the pandemic, she wanted to bring people together.

"I think a lot about what this first season will be, and it is one of joy," she said.

"We need that, I think, with the last three years of the pandemic and how isolated we felt physically, mentally, emotionally.

"Here is an invitation to be a part of a community for an evening: laugh together, feel together, think together, connect."

Ms Medina will direct Choir Boy by writer Tarell Alvin McCraney as her first production for Bristol Old Vic.