Olivier Theatre - History
The Olivier Theatre is part of the National Theatre complex in London’s South Bank along with the Lyttelton and the Cottesloe. Its nearest underground and railway station can be found at Waterloo (with alternatives for rail access at Waterloo East or Charing Cross).
Named for the original director of the National Theatre, Laurence Olivier, the Olivier Theatre is the largest of three auditoriums that make up the grand National Theatre complex in South Bank. The size of the venue means that it can hold up to 1150 in capacity. It means that it is a highly desirable space to view theatre of many different kinds, drawing up critical acclaim for productions such as the recent War Horse.
To talk of the history of this venue we must consider the National Theatre as a whole, which was opened in 1976 as a replacement for the previous National Theatre space found at the Old Vic. The venue was constructed following great demand that has gone back as 1847, but this was when theatre was a very different animal operating under a different machine. A National Theatre was considered an answer to what people saw as a decline in theatre at the time, driven by star power and controlled by the unfair rulings of Lord Chamberlain’s office.
Attempts at bringing a National Theatre to the capital were first made with The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford upon Avon in 1879. However this was not a permanent solution and attempts continued to be made in the twentieth century, during which time two World Wars were there to interrupt proceedings. If not for The Great War, then the Shakespeare National Theatre might have been a reality at this time. Instead it was not until after the Second World War that matters started to be taken seriously with the passing of the National Theatre Act.
However there is still a big gap between this parliamentary act and the creation of a national theatre at the Old Vic in 1963. Much in the way of debate took place with the Government making it clear that it didn’t feel the country required such a theatre. This meant that it was not until the next decade that a production of Hamlet was finally opened on a National Theatre stage when it appeared at the Old Vic. A National Theatre was finally born with Sir Laurence Olivier as its director.
This meant that when a venue was specifically constructed as a National Theatre it was called the Olivier Theatre in celebration of the legendary actor. Since it opened, two younger siblings have emerged in the form of the Lyttelton Theatre and the Cottesloe Theatre and various productions graced its stage. These have taken the form of Coram and The Man of Mode as well as the likes of Love's Labour's Lost with Joseph Fiennes and more recently War Horse, which has been wowing audiences and critics alike during 2007 and 2008.
