A Look Backstage

I went to the London's National Theatre on Southbank to check out their unique backstage tour this week. An NT tour took me behind-the scenes to see three auditoriums, front-of-house, scenic workshops and backstage areas, with a really enthusiastic guide. I loved the tour! It was so educational and eye-opening because I have never been on a tour like that before. And at 5 pounds it was a bargain! There are three diffent theatres within the complex and each was very unique.

The first one I went in was called the Olivier (as in Laurence Olivier, the first director of the NT), and it was a large circular stage meant to have epic plays due to its 3D nature. It deceivingly fits 1100 viewers in amphitheatre style seating so that everyone has a great view. It is one of only 2 theatres in the world to have a permanent Drum Revolve stage, the other theatre being in Vienna. What that means is that it is a giant rotating stage that has 2 elevators underneath it that coordinates entire block set changes and effects in seconds and also easily provide flexibility for multiple plays to be run in the theatre in any given day/week. More explanation of how the stage works can be found here. Another theatre currently running the "Lord of the Rings" in London also has a drum revolve stage, but it is only temporary so it doesn't count. The sets come up through these tall elevators that are 4 stories high and are loaded in the backstage area deep beneath the Olivier stage. These elevators can also take actors down so that they 'disappear' and the elevators also pushes up the floor for dramatic effects. Sets were also dropped down with cables and hooks from the 7 story high ceiling. They keep all of the props up there and mechanically lower them onto the stage when needed. They say that they can even keep a double decker bus hidden up there - if a play ever has need for one of course! When you look at the national theatre and see a big cube on the right side of the building, the entirety of the cube is this hidden section above the stage!

Our tour was lucky to watch actors perform a loud battle scene for 'Saint Joan' - a current epic play on this week - the plays alternate one week on/off for the actors sakes. The battle scene was actually pretty awesome, the actors basically danced around with chairs and stamped them on the ground to provide a harsh stomping sound instead of physically fighting with swords. They also hit steel bars against some copper piping at the sides of the stage to create a cacophony of battle sounds. It sounds really strange but it was brilliant to watch! I really want to see that play now!

I also saw the Littleton theatre which is a proscenium stage much like what we are used to seeing most plays (i.e. phantom, les mis, etc). It can accommodate up to 900 viewers. They can switch 3 sets at any given time to accommodate the different plays in the theatre through a system of tracks in the floor and pre-made sets. They cycle 3 shows through the Littelton in a given week. The stage was set up with one play's set, but then behind it was an entirely different play's set and they just move them around like puzzle pieces! Quite fascinating really.

Lastly we visited the studio theatre called the Cottsloe and it is designed for smaller plays (up to 300 viewers). It is best for intimate shakespeare plays. The interesting thing about this small theatre is that the entire play space and flexible seating can be modified to suit the mood of the piece, and this can be accommodated with only 6-8 hours to change the design of the studio. For instance, if the play requires a catwalk style with the audience on both sides, or a centre square stage with the audience all around, they can do that easily. In a current play that is based in a garden setting they grew real grass sod and then set it up on a catwalk stage so that it instantly smells like a garden! The flexibility of this theatre allows the audience to really feel like they are part of the play. They had done a play in set in an English pub, and covered the entire floor with old carpet and sprayed beer everywhere so it smelled like a pub and the audience sat on bar stools! Very neat.

The backstage tour also included seeing how props were designed and the intricate work that goes into designing and painting sets. I would highly recommend this unique tour if anyone comes to London. It was an hour well spent! I can't wait to buy same day seats to some of the great plays that the NT has to offer too!