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| National Theatre Company of Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Theatre Company of Great Britain |
| Formed | 1963 |
| Location | London |
National Theatre Company of Great Britain
The National Theatre Company of Great Britain was the resident ensemble established to operate the Royal National Theatre on the South Bank in London and to present repertory seasons across the United Kingdom and internationally, linking institutions such as the Old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company, Globe Theatre, Barbican Centre and Royal Opera House with touring hubs including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Chichester Festival Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic and Manchester International Festival. The company developed relationships with playwrights and institutions like Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht and Samuel Beckett while collaborating with directors and designers associated with Peter Hall, Richard Eyre, Nicholas Hytner, John Dexter and Trevor Nunn.
The company's origins trace to a foundation period involving figures from Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Tynan, Peter Hall, George Devine and patrons linked to Arts Council England, British Council and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, developing after wartime and postwar institutions such as the Old Vic Company, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre. Early seasons mixed new plays by John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, Shelagh Delaney and Edward Bond with classical revivals of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and Molière, touring to venues like Sheffield Theatres, Leeds Playhouse and festivals including Edinburgh International Festival and Wimbledon Theatre. During the 1970s and 1980s the company navigated funding debates involving Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair-era cultural policy and negotiations with the Greater London Council, while artistic shifts engaged practitioners from Complicité, RSC, Frantic Assembly and international partners such as Comédie-Française, BAM, Moscow Art Theatre and Deutsches Schauspielhaus.
Administratively the company established governance with boards drawn from figures in British Film Institute, Royal Shakespeare Company, Arts Council England, British Library and University of London, creating departments for production, development, education, outreach and international relations linked to National Theatre Studio, NT Learning, NT Connections and cooperative projects with Museum of London, Science Museum and British Museum. Operational leadership coordinated casting, scheduling, technical departments and finance with unions and associations such as Equity, Musicians' Union, Unite the Union and funding partners including Heritage Lottery Fund and private donors like foundations associated with Gordonstoun, Goldman Sachs, Barings and trusts connected to Fondation Cartier. The company's repertory model integrated an actors' rota, creative residencies and co-productions with institutions like Donmar Warehouse, Young Vic, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and international exchanges with Sydney Theatre Company, National Theatre of Japan and Schaubühne.
Seasons included landmark stagings such as Olivier-era Shakespeare cycles, revival productions of Pinter plays, premieres of Tom Stoppard works, revivals of Saint Joan and reinterpretations of A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth alongside new commissions by Caryl Churchill, David Hare, Alan Bennett and Simon Stephens. Co-productions toured to festivals and houses including Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Festival d'Avignon, while collaborative seasons with Royal Court Theatre and Donmar Warehouse featured directors from Peter Brook, Garry Hynes, Ivo van Hove and designers associated with Ralph Koltai, Es Devlin and Anish Kapoor-commissioned installations. Major revivals and new works earned transfers to commercial venues in the West End and runs on Broadway at The Public Theater, Broadway Theatre and Neil Simon Theatre.
Artistic leadership featured directors and administrators such as Laurence Olivier, Peter Hall, Richard Eyre, Nicholas Hytner, Trevor Nunn, Derek Jacobi-era collaborators and creative directors who worked with playwrights Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Caryl Churchill, Howard Brenton, David Hare and Simon Gray. Producing teams included executives from Arts Council England, casting directors who previously worked at Royal Shakespeare Company and dramaturgs and literary managers connected to Royal Court Theatre, National Theatre Studio and academic partners at King's College London and Royal Holloway. International advisors and guest directors included artists from Comédie-Française, Moscow Art Theatre, Schiller Theater and contemporary companies such as Punchdrunk and Complicité.
The resident ensemble and guest stars encompassed actors drawn from Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and companies like Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse and Old Vic; notable performers appeared alongside stage directors, choreographers, composers and designers from institutions such as National Ballet, English National Opera, Almeida Theatre and Sadler's Wells. Casting showcased performers affiliated with Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Ruth Wilson, Benedict Cumberbatch and emerging artists recruited via NT Connections and partnerships with RADA. Creative teams incorporated lighting designers, set designers and sound designers connected to Soutra Gilmour, Paule Constable, Fiona Shaw-associated collaborators and composers from Michael Nyman, Nico Muhly and Tom Waits-style productions.
Primary residence at the Royal National Theatre complex on the South Bank housed the Olivier Theatre, Lyttelton Theatre and Dorfman Theatre, with touring schedules to venues such as Royal Albert Hall for special events, Barbican Centre for co-productions, regional houses including Birmingham Hippodrome, Nottingham Playhouse and Newcastle Theatre Royal, and international engagements at Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House and Comédie-Française-hosted festivals. The company also participated in festivals including Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Festival d'Avignon and Spoleto Festival USA, and undertook educational residencies through collaborations with National Theatre Studio, regional youth theatres, universities and community arts projects funded by bodies like Arts Council England and charity partners.
Productions and personnel received accolades from institutions including the Laurence Olivier Awards, Tony Awards, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, Evening Standard Theatre Awards, OBE, CBE and state honors, and reviews in outlets such as The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times and Financial Times influenced transfers to the West End and Broadway. Critical reception has ranged from praise in scholarly journals connected to Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press to controversy in parliamentary debates and responses from cultural commentators associated with The Spectator and New Statesman.
Category:Theatre companies in London