Unit 6 + 7 - National Theatre Connections Task 3
Task 3 - Detailed Case Study on The National Theatre
The National Theatre is a household name in terms of theatre and what it has achieved for many actors around the country. It has acted as a platform and way for people to really express themselves in such a special venue. It has hosted many famous names such as Andrew Garfield in "Angels In America", Helen McCrory in "Medea", Gillian Anderson in "Streetcar Named Desire" and so many more. Its timeless history is exceptional, and it paves the way for a new generation of actors, which is comforting to myself and people my age as we know that they encourage undiscovered talent to be found.
In 1848, a London publisher called Effingham Wilson was the first person to bring the idea of a National Theatre to the table, with a pamphlet entitled ‘A House for Shakespeare’. A 'particularly passionate voice' was a playwright named Harley Granville-Barker who together with a theatre critic called William Archer drew up a blueprint called the ‘Scheme & Estimates for a National Theatre’ written in 1904. The plan was incredibly detailed, with information on seat capacity and prices, the wages of staff and personnel and so much more. Unfortunately, due to the beginning of World War One, all plans were halted until safe to do so. It shows through pauses even from the start, a handful of people had an idea and stuck with it, which we are thankful that they did.
Thankfully, in 1930, Harley Granville-Barker decided to pick up the cause alongside a young publisher named Geoffrey Whitworth, who was the founder of the British Drama League and together they made their plans known around the country rapidly. By the time 1937 came around, everything was fitting into place, designs were commissioned, and they found money for a theatre but once again everything was halted due to the World War Two. Fortunately, in 1949, Parliament had passed the National Theatre bill which authorized £1 million of public funds for the building to be placed on the South Bank on the Thames. However, things went rapidly downhill as the plans and site was constantly being changed with critics laughing at the non-existent progress...
Thanks to Laurence Olivier
In August 1962, Laurence Olivier was appointed the Director of the National Theatre, which allowed plans to be reenergised as they now had a leading actor and a consummate man of the theatre at the face of the project. Laurence dived straight into plans, as he gathered some of the most well-known actors and directors, he knew to help stage plays and get different opinions of how they should go forward with things. With all these amazing people, the ever growing National Theatre was offered the use of the Old Vic by the governors of the theatre and they swiftly moved in. They created their first set of productions there and on the 22nd October 1963, they launched their first production of Hamlet starring a very young Peter O'Toole. Due to it's success, Laurence gathered together younger talents allowing the venue to become an actor's theatre where he assembled around 50 actors including Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi, Michael Redgrave and Cyril Cusack. When Laurence Olivier's time as Director came to an end, it was clear that he had established the National Theatre as a prestigious company and show how much a space like the National Theatre was needed for actors at the time.
Influential Names In The Journey To Now
Peter Hall - 1973/1988: After Laurence, he became the next appointed Director of the National Theatre bringing in a much younger perspective. With having just founded the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 29, there was a lot of expectation. However, Hall went on to direct countless plays, some which are still to this day are the most ground breaking pieces of work the National Theatre have seen. This included a seminal Antony and Cleopatra starring Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench in 1987 and also saw the first musical to be performed at the National Theatre with Guys and Dolls in 1982, which was a huge success as it opened audience's eyes into what else can be seen there. Peter Hall stood down in 1988, and served his time as Director during a time in Britain where politics was at an all time high, but he managed to achieve his goal of giving the National Theatre an international reputation.
Richard Eyre - 1988/1997: Richard Eyre was the director of the acclaimed Guys and Dolls production that attracted a new crowd at the National Theatre. He also become the third director in 1988 for the National Theatre and he brought forward more large scale plays where the theatre could 'act as a public forum on occasions' where you could address big issues happening of the day. Richard Eyre's time as Director was successful and pushed forward new works and writing such as Tony Kushner's 'Angels In America' in 1992 all about the AIDS crisis and how the public reacted to it all. He also allowed revivals of old classic plays such as J.B Priestleys 'An Inspector Calls' in 1992 by Stephen Daldry. What made Richard stand out however, was that the theatre travelled the most it ever has with the National Theatre Studio making the first ever British Theatre company to travel to Lithuania, partnering with other companies around the world.
Trevor Nunn - 1997/2003: He had taken over from Peter Hall as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and was known for showcasing brilliant pieces of Shakespeare work. He had staged literary musicals such as Cats, Les Miserables and Starlight express, knowing that the National Theatre would expect him to play in collaboration with him at some point. Following his success in directing musicals, he directed many more with the National Theatre such as 'Oklahoma' in 1998 and 'My Fair Lady' in 200, however recieved critism as the public felt they should be performing more challenging productions. However, he staged 35 new plays and brought forward a season of 'Transformation' which was a new 100-seat theatre at the top of the building which hoped to allow more experimental drama to be staged.
Nicholas Hytner - 2003/2015: Nicholas was a person of change, and change he did. Once he arrived, the National Theatre secured the Travelex sponsorship which would promote cheap tickets and encourage younger and those that wouldn't normally be able to afford ticket to attend. Nicholas also was the reason for the launch of National Theatre Live – the live broadcast of productions to cinemas across the UK and worldwide. He showed everyone the amount of new change the National Theatre had went through with their first production back called 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' that highlighted despite all the comedic arguing the moral responsibility of television. Nicholas also managed to highlight the theatre's intentions regarding improving representation on stage as he directed 'Henry V' all about the politics of going to war, which starred a Black British Actor - Adrian Lister in the main role.
"We want to make art, and we know we’re in show-business… You start with a vision, and you deliver a compromise. You want a play to be challenging, ambitious, nuanced and complicated. You also want it to sell tickets" - Nicholas Hytner
The National Theatre's Mission in 2023 - ...
The National Theatre's aim to take with them forward into the future is to make amazing theatre for everyone to watch, whether that's live, in cinemas around the country or online at home. They believe that every piece of art that is performed on their stage is ground-breaking and moving and should connect to at least one person who comes and watches. Taken from their website, they wrote this:
- We share unforgettable stories with audiences around the world.
- We commission freelance theatre-makers to create inspiring and challenging work.
- We ignite the creativity of young people with our nationwide learning programmes.
- We build sustainable partnerships with theatres across the UK, supporting local projects to create lasting communities.
Standing at the Sky's Edge by Robert Hastie (2023)
The National Theatre's Connections 2023:
The National Theatre's Connections is the annual, nationwide youth theatre festival. The programme is now 28 years old and has a history of championing the talent of young people from across the UK. I am so fortunate to be taking part in this year's with Molly Taylor's play Old Times. Other plays that are to be performed as part of Connections are:
Innocent Creatures by Leo Butler
Is My Microphone On? by Jordan Tannahill
Is This Good Enough? by Avaes Mohammad
Model Behaviour by Jon Brittain
Samphire by Shamser Sinha
Strangers Like Me by Ed Harris
The Heights by Lisa McGee
Tuesday by Alison Carr
The National Theatre's Connections allows a company of 13–19-year old's to take part and understand what it's like to stage a play and perform in a different venue. Last year, the National Theatre worked with over 8.000 young people in the UK highlighting how significant this is to be a part of.
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