Tour of the National Theatre

On Friday I took a backstage tour of National Theatre with my class. It is a very interesting place. The idea for a national theatre, a focal point for the country's drama scene, had been kicking around since the 1840s, plans finally got rolling in the 1940s, and the building opened in the 1970s (and it shows! the architecture is nothing to call home about).
The theatre complex consists of three theatres: the Olivier, which is the main stage where we saw St. Joan the other day; the Lyttleton, a smaller theatre, and a studio theatre, whose name I forget.

The Olivier is named after Laurence Olivier, who was a driving force behind the idea of a national theatre and was the theatre's first artistic director. It is a circular theatre with 118 degrees of seating around the stage, which is one of only two revolving drum theatres in the world, the other being in Vienna.

The National Theatre is a repertory theatre, meaning that more than one show is shown in each venue at a time, which often requires daily set changes. The Lyttleton theatre was designed with this in mind. Entire sets can be constructed on casters on the right stage or rear stage and then wheeled into place and lowered so as to be flush to stage level. This can allow two sets to be swaped easily, and they often have a third set that is easily taken apart and moved around the other sets.

The studio theater is incredibly flexible. It is a rectangular room with two levels of balconies ringing three sides of the room and reconfigurable seating on the floor. Plays have been held on the long transverse of the room, the short transverse, and there have even been plays held in the balconies with the audience in the middle of the room.

The theatre makes most of their sets and props in-house. We went through the workshops and saw the giant canvas frame and three movable bridges they use to paint the backdrops, as well as some of the more interesting props they've made recently. We also saw in-progress models of the horse puppets they will be using for an upcoming production called 'War Horse', about WWI seen through the eyes of a horse. Some of the horses will have three people inside: one in back, one in front, and one for the head, which will have many points of articulation. Some models will have a saddle and rider on 'horse'-back.

It was interesting to go on this tour and see how much work goes into putting on these performances. The theatre has approximately 150-200 fulltime employees, and is funded through box-office sales, sponsorships, and government backing. I am considering returning there to catch another play in the near future.

UPDATE: the dear mother found virtual tours of the National Theatre. Enjoy!