Venue Information
Address: Upper Ground, London, SE1 9PX
Nearest Underground or Train Station: Waterloo (Jubilee line, Northern line, Bakerloo line)
Nearest Buses: 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 243, 341, 521, X68, RV1
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Frequently Asked Questions
Access phone number: 020 7452 3000
Access email address: boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk / access@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Accessible toilets situated: Foyers - 9, including Understudy Bar
Number of Wheelchair spaces: Stalls (x5 in Olivier, x4 in Lyttelton, x2 in Dorfman)
Sound amplification: Induction Loop in Olivier and Lyttelton, Sennheiser Infrared in Olivier, Lyttelton and Dorfman
Access from street to foyer: Level access
Access from theatre foyer to seats (number = stairs): 1 to back of Olivier, 0 to back of Lyttelton and Dorfman, All have steps leading down towards the front
Level access: Lyttelton and Dorfman
Stair lift, lift or ramp available: Lifts to all levels
National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre Facts
What date did the National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre open?
16 March 1976
Who designed the National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre?
Sir Denys Lasdun and Peter Softley
What was the first production at the National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre?
Shakespeare's Hamlet
National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre NewsMore >
Theatre History
The Queen officially opened the National Theatre complex on 25 October 1976.
The Dorfman Theatre (originally called the Cottesloe Theatre) is the smallest but most flexible of the National Theatre’s auditoriums. It was redeveloped in 2014 to increase capacity, enhance site-lines and provide more comfortable seating.
In the pit, the new flexible seating system can be raised and lowered in minutes to either a steep or shallow rake format; or the seats can be folded away completely to become a flat floor.
On three sides of the room there are two levels, the circle and gallery, which look down on the pit. Performances can be staged in a conventional format at one end; in “traverse”, lengthways or across the space; or in the round. Everything is open to change except the circle and gallery, which are reminiscent of the inn-yards that preceded Shakespeare’s stages as performance areas.
The theatre is named after philanthropist and chairman of Travelex Group Lloyd Dorfman.
Theatre Previous Shows
Past shows that have played at the National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre include:
Evening At The Talk HouseHusbands & Sons
Rules for Living
The Hard Problem
Here Lies Love
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