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Did you know? The National Theatre was designed by Denys Lasdun

November 2024

The National Theatre is the only theatre Denys Lasdun ever designed. He arranged the Olivier Theatre stage and surrounding architecture so that if you were to draw a line from the centre of the Olivier stage, over the River Thames and into central London, you would eventually hit the West End. This means that any time an actor bows on stage, they are bowing to their compatriots on the West End.

Image credit: National Theatre

The location along the South Bank was no accident either - Lasdun saw the Waterloo Bridge as the umbilical cord to the West End, connecting the building to the theatres on the north side of the river.

Image credit: Ryan Dinham, Kerb National Theatre

The current king, King Charles famously described the building in 1988 as 'a clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London without anyone objecting'. The sentiment has been shared by Londoners - in the past, we have had the honour of simultaneously appearing in the top ten 'most popular' and 'most hated' London buildings. 

However you feel about the building, the theatre isn't going anywhere - they have been a Grade II listed building since 1994. 

Image credit: Lasdun Restaurant

The National Theatre is a publicly accessible building, with a large bookshop, two independent restaurants, a pub and exhibition spaces. One of the restaurants is Lasdun, a modern British brasserie named for the eminent architect. Explore their Christmas offering.

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