National Theatre to trial 6.30pm start times

As part of a major season announcement, the National Theatre has revealed plans to start shows earlier in the evenings on select days of the week.

In a statement, the venue said: “From February 2024 the National Theatre will pilot a selected number of early evening performances at 6.30pm. This trial follows a major piece of research undertaken by the National Theatre in recent months to understand more from audiences about their post-Covid lifestyles and habits, including varying working patterns and journey times, particularly for those living outside of London.

“The early evening performances offer flexibility for audiences to make the most of their evening, with more time after curtain down to eat or to travel. The 6.30pm performances will fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a limited number available for every new production playing on the South Bank in the first half of the year.”

Director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, said: “Audiences are always at the heart of everything we do, and in direct response to what they have told us, we are excited to be trialling an earlier start time of 6.30pm for selected performances.”

Specific performances are to be revealed.