Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre of Great Britain is a building and theatre company on London's South Bank. Housing three separate auditoria - the Olivier Theatre (named for the theatre's first artistic director, Sir Lawrence Olivier), the Lyttleton Theatre (after Oliver Lyttelton, the first chairman of the Theatre), and the Cottesloe Theatre (for Lord Cottesloe, chairman of the South Bank Theatre Board) - it was designed by architect Sir Denys Lasdun and opened in 1976.

The largest space, the Olivier Theatre, is the main auditorium and was modelled on the ancient Greek theatre at Epidaurus; it has an open stage and a fan-shaped audience seating area for about 1150 people. The Lyttleton Theatre is a proscenium arch design holding up to 890 people. The Cottesloe Theatre is a small adaptable studio space holding up to 300 people.

Table of contents

1 Artistic Directors 2 Notable productions 3 External Link

Artistic Directors

• Laurence Olivier (1963-1973)
• Peter Hall (1973-1988)
• Richard Eyre (1988-1997)
• Trevor Nunn (1997-2003)
• Nicholas Hytner (2003- )

Notable productions

• His Dark Materials, 2004

External Link

Official website