National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre
National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre accessibility information
Access phone number: 020 7452 3000
Access email address: [email protected] / [email protected]
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
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
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.
Past shows that have played at the National Theatre - Dorfman Theatre include:
Man and Boy
Gielgud Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
Novello Theatre
Apollo Victoria Theatre
Empress Museum
Victoria Palace Theatre
