Under the leadership of founding Director, the late Peter Cheeseman, the Vic company earned an international reputation through its pioneering work in creating verbatim, musical documentaries.

Productions such as The Jolly Potters (1964), Fight for Shelton Bar! (1974), Miner Dig the Coal (1981) and Nice Girls (1993) reflected the experiences and preoccupations of the communities of North Staffordshire, with its economy based on ceramics, coal and steel.