Sir Laurence Olivier, one of Britain’s finest actors of the 20th century, served as The National Theatre Company’s first director from 1963-1973. When the company’s first production opened on 22 October 1963, it was directed by Olivier and starred Peter O’Toole in the leading role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Since its inception, the National Theatre has produced over 600 plays with over twenty new productions, and it has run over 1,000 performances every year for over 600,000 audience members. The first suggestion of a national theatre company came about in 1848, and it took over hundred years until the ‘National Theatre Bill’ was passed through Parliament in 1949. An actual plan and location for the theatre was not settled on until 1967. The theatre’s new building was designed by Denys Lasdun and includes three very different, intimate auditoriums: The Olivier, modelled on classical Greek theatres; The Lyttelton, based on proscenium-arch theatres; and The Cottesloe, a small studio theatre styled after traditional Tudor inn-yards. The Queen officially opened the National Theatre on 26 October 1976, and upon its opening The Times reported, ‘Britain now has the finest national theatre in the world…now, at last, we have not only a national theatre company, but a home worthy of it’. The National has achieved its status as ‘one of the greatest theatres in the world’, and in addition to its quality main productions, visitors may also view the theatre’s permanent exhibition called Stage by Stage, attend short early-evening Platform Perfomances, listen to live music before performances, attend outdoor events, join a backstage tour, or browse through the one of the world’s best-stocked theatre bookshops.
- National Theatre
- South Bank, London, SE1 9PX
- www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
- Underground: Waterloo or Embankment