National Theatre - Olivier Theatre
National Theatre – Olivier Theatre London
Upper Ground, London, SE1 9PX
Nearest Underground: 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
Theatre Facts & History
Date opened: 4 October 1976
Theatre designed by: Denys Lasdun
First production: Marlowe’s Tamburlain
Number of seats: 1,150
Other info:
The Olivier Theatre is named after Sir Laurence Olivier; the original Artistic Director of the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic.
The National Theatre complex was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 25 October 1976.
The Olivier Theatre is the largest of the three theatres at the National but despite its size, it has a concetrated intimacy.
Two main tiers of steeply raked seats − flanked by side-banks on a higher level − sweep down to the open stage.
No seat is far from an actor’s point of command; and the span of the seats matches their effective span of vision. They can hold the audience within the compass of their eyes.