National Theatre
Venue Information
- How to book (Phone)
- 020 7452 3961
- [email protected]
- Guide dogs
- Access dogs are allowed inside the auditorium. Staff can also dog-sit, returning them to the owner during the interval and at the end of the performance.
- Wheelchairs
- Spaces available in Stalls: 5 situated in Olivier, 4 situated in Lyttelton, 2 situated in Dorfman.
- Sound amplification
- Sennheisher Infrared
- Street to foyer
- Level access
- Foyer to seat
- 1 step to back of Olivier. 0 steps to back of Lyttelton and Dorfman. All have steps leading down towards the front.
- Level access
- Lyttelton & Dorfman
- Lift / stair lift / ramp
- Lifts
- Bars
- 6 licensed bars throughout the building; "The Understudy" (craft beer pub) and "Espresso Bar" (coffees and cakes) on the ground floor. Some bars' opening hours dependent on matinee performances times. For more information, please visit website.
- Food
- All-day café, "Kitchen", situated on ground floor with indoor and outdoor seating areas. Olivier Café on level 2 and level 3 opens one and half hours before show commences in the Olivier Theatre.
- Toilets
- Mens and Womens throughout. Nine accessible toilets including in Understudy Bar.
- Parking
Car Park beneath theatre. Spaces reserved for disabled customers near lifts - contact box office.
- Air conditioning
- Yes
- Accepts Theatre Tokens
- Yes
The National Theatre is one of the United Kingdom’s foremost publicly funded performing arts venues, internationally known as the National Theatre of Great Britain.
Founded in 1963, the National Theatre company was initially based at The Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo, before its main building was opened in 1976. The building is located next to the Thames in the South Bank area of central London.
Inside its current uber-cool exterior are, in fact, three different theatres: The Olivier (named after Sir Lawrence Olivier, the National Theatre’s first artistic director and one of the theatre’s founding fathers), The Lyttelton, and The Dorfman. Each auditorium can run up to three shows in repertoire, meaning the National can be hosting a large number of shows at any one point, anything up to 20 productions each year.
The National Theatre has produced mega hits such as The History Boys, War Horse, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, People, Places And Things, and One Man, Two Guvnors. Many of these productions continue to tour the country and globe.
In June 2009, the National Theatre began its NT Live programme; this now broadcasts the best of British Theatre to over 2,000 venues in 60 countries around the world.
A multi-functional building, the National is not just a theatre though – it’s also home to restaurants, bars, work-spaces and a unique theatre bookshop. Be sure to give yourself time before a show to buy a drink from the Understudy Bar, sit with the crowds on the banks of the Thames, and enjoy reading the script of that play you’e fallen in love with.