1. The National Theatre

2. The National Theatre
History
 In 1949 the National Theatre Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament. It was left to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
decide whether the theatre should be built.
 The site itself was changed around 3-4 times. The first foundation stone was laid by the Queen Mother in 1951 next to the
Festival Hall. Work on the site where the National Theatre actually stands started on 3 November 1969, and was inaugurated
by Jennie Lee (made Baroness 1970), then Minister for the Arts.
 When the National Theatre Company was founded, it was decided in July 1962 that with the pending completion of the new
building, the Old Vic Theatre was to become the temporary home of the specially created National Theatre Company.
 The company's first ever performance was at the Old Vic on 22 October 1963. Before the move to the South Bank, they
played at the Old Vic for twelve and a half very successful years, ten of them under the directorship of Laurence Olivier.
 Out of the 3 theatres the Lyttelton opened first, in March 1976; the Olivier next in October 1976; and the Cottesloe staged its
first public performances in March 1977.
 The Queen officially opened the building on 25 October 1976.
 Saturday 1st March 1977 was the first night on which all three theatres were playing.
 In October 1988, to celebrate the National Theatres 25th anniversary, the National was granted the title ‘Royal,’ and HM The
Queen unveiled a plaque in the foyer commemorating the event.
 the National Theatre has produced over 700 plays.
 Years since, the National has staged over twenty new productions. Several different productions can be seen in any one week
and there are over 1,000 performances every year, given by a company of 150 actors to over 600,000 people.
 Since the opening night of, ‘Hamletstarring’ - Peter O'Toole, on the 22nd October 1963, the National Theatre has produced
over 700 plays
 An exhibition about the history of the National Theatre is on permanent display in the Theatre's Olivier Circle Gallery.

3. The National Theatre
Quotes
'…the National Theatre must be its own advertisement - must impose itself on
public notice, not by posters or column advertisements in the newspapers, but by
the very fact of its ample, dignified, and liberal existence. It must bulk large in
the social and intellectual life of London...It must not even have the air of
appealing to a specially literary and cultured class. It must be visibly and
unmistakably a popular institution, making a large appeal to the whole
community…It will be seen that the Theatre we propose would be a National
Theatre in this sense, that it would be from the first conditionally – and, in the
event of success, would become absolutely – the property of the nation.‘
Preface (1904) to A National Theatre: Scheme and Estimates by William Archer
and H. Granville Barker, London 1907.

4. Continued…
'It's a great time to be a national theatre, and to rise to the challenge of living up
to our name. We want to tell the stories that chart the way the nation is
changing. We want to bring front-line reports from new communities and
generations, and we want to see the present redefined in the context of the
past,‘
- Nicholas Hytner, Director of the National Theatre.

5. The National Theatre
Aims
 The National Theatre is central to the creative life of the country. In its three
theatres on the South Bank in London, it presents an eclectic mix of new
plays and classics, with seven or eight productions in repertory at any one
time.
 The National Theatre aims constantly to re-energise the great traditions of
the British stage and to expand the horizons of audiences and artists alike.
 The National Theatre aspires to reflect in its repertoire the diversity of the
nation's culture.
 At its Studio, the National offers a space for research and development for
the National Theatre’s stages and the theatre as a whole.
 Through the National Theatre Education Department, tomorrow's audiences
are addressed.
 Through an extensive programme of Platform performances, backstage tours,
foyer music, exhibitions, and free outdoor entertainment it recognises that
the theatre doesn't begin and end with the rise and fall of the curtain.
 And finally, by touring the National Theatre shares its work with audiences in
the UK and abroad.

6. The National Theatre
What’s On
Showing Now:
 People
 The Effect
 The Magistrate
 Hymn
Forthcoming:
 This House
 Children of the Sun
 Othello

7. Sources
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
By Hayden Simmons and Alexander Sanders