Saturday 21 January 2017 saw a sparkling, frosty day and a tour of the National Theatre on the South Bank near Waterloo by some 20 of our members.
The creation of a National theatre was first proposed in 1848 by a group including Charles Dickens but not finally realised until the 1960s for various reasons.
We were all decked out in high visibility jackets and then our guide, Natalie began the tour. The National comprises of 3 theatres - the Olivier with 1600 lilac toned seats (his favourite colour), the Lyttleton which is mid sized and the 400 seater Cottesloe, now renamed the Dorfman for a very generous benefactor.
The National aims to put on 25 new plays a year in addition to the more well known favourites, plus live broadcasts to various cinemas and theatres. We were astonished to hear there are around 1000 employees including artists, high tech sound studios recently completed and of course, workshops where carpenters make scenery and stage sets. It usually takes between 4-7 hours to strip a stage, rolling massive sets and backdrops using industrial looking pulleys and hooks but the fastest was 1 hour.
All in all a fascinating glimpse of theatre life and well run tour.
