Watch a play at the National Theatre

Built on the South Bank during the mid-1970s, following a ten year stint at the Old Vic, the National Theatre building was designed by architects Denys Lasdun and Peter Softley, and actually houses three separate, distinct theatres.


The three theatres are designed around rough themes from the history of theatre, with the Olivier based on a classical Greek theatre, the Lyttelton on the proscenium-arch theatres of the past three centuries (whatever that means), and the Cottesloe based on the Tudor inn yard theatres which once dominated London theatre.

Outside, the architects sought to create an brutalist urban landscape of interlocking terraces, with fine views over the Thames to St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House beyond. They did a good job.

For more, see http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk