National Theatre announces plans to mark 50 years of South Bank building

The National Theatre has announced plans to mark five decades of its South Bank home.

Stories Start Here: 50 Stories for 50 Years will feature personal stories from stars who have performed at the venue, alongside memories from Laurence Olivier, Peter Hall and the NT’s architect Denys Lasdun.

They will be shared in a free installation outside the building and via the National’s digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, allowing people around the world to enjoy them.

Inside, a story station will also dispense the short stories printed on eco-friendly paper at random so visitors can take away their own memento of the anniversary.

Actors confirmed to be involved include Hugh Jackman, Lesley Manville, Lucian Msamati, David Oyelowo, Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter.

In addition, a new apprenticeship named in honour of Denys Lasdun has launched to support the next generation of theatre-makers, craftspeople and technicians.

The installation is designed and fabricated by La Cuarta Piel and co-curated by Sarah Hemming and the NT’s special projects producer Katurah Morrish.

For its first 13 years, the National Theatre was based at the Old Vic before moving into its first purpose-built home, which was under construction between 1969 and 1976. Designed by architect Denys Lasdun, the Grade II listed 250,000-square-foot building divided opinion at the time of its construction but is now widely regarded as a masterpiece of brutalist architecture.

Indhu Rubasingham, director and co-chief executive of the National Theatre, said: “For 50 years, the National Theatre’s South Bank building has been a place where artists, audiences and communities have come together to share stories that help us understand ourselves and one another. It was created with the conviction that great theatre should belong to everyone, and that artistic excellence and public access go hand in hand. At a time when so much of modern life encourages us to retreat into our own worlds, theatre remains one of the few places where we gather collectively, embrace complexity and experience something together.”