Olivier Theatre

National Theatre
South Bank
London SE1 9PX

The Olivier Theatre is the largest auditorium inside the National Theatre building and is named after the actor Laurence Olivier as he was the theatres original artistic director. It is situated next to the Thames River in the London borough of Lambeth in South Bank and was designed by architects Sir Deny Lasdun and Peter Softley. The design of the theatre was modelled on the ancient Greek theatre at Epidaurus and it features an open stage with a fan-shaped audience seating area. It is a fairly new building having only opened in 1976.

Since its opening the theatre has been host to an array of plays and musicals such as Oklahoma! in 1998 starring Australian actor Hugh Jackman and Anything Goes in 2002 starring Sally Ann Triplett and John Barrowman.

Booking

To book seats to a show at the Olivier Theatre, you can either telephone or email the National Theatre Box Office. Opening hours are from 9.30am until 8pm, Monday to Saturday.

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7 452 3000
Group bookings: +44 (0)20 7 452 3010
Fax: +44 (0)20 7 452 3030
Email: boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk

Location

The Olivier Theatre is within the National Theatre at South Bank by the River Thames, with the nearest tube station to the venue being Waterloo. Waterloo is on the Jubilee, Bakerloo and Northern lines and is also a major main line railway station.

Seating

The Olivier Theatre has the largest seating capacity of all the National Theatres with room for 1,160 people on two levels – Stalls and the Circle. The auditorium is unique in that a five-storey revolving stage section known as a drum revolve is in place which enables smooth and striking scenery stages and means that no view from any seat in the hall is restricted.

Have you seen a show recently at the Olivier Theatre? What was your seat like? Please share your comments in the box below!