More About the Lyttelton Theatre
The Lyttelton opened on 16 March 1976 with Peter Hall's production of Hamlet, Albert Finney in the title role alongside Angela Lansbury, Denis Quilley and Robert Eddison. It was the first of the National's three auditoriums to open, months ahead of the Olivier, and the company moved into a building that was still being finished around them, rehearsing on a building site.
It is named after Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, the first chairman of the National Theatre Board, whose parents had campaigned for a National Theatre decades before there was one.
What makes the Lyttelton different
It is the only one of the three with a proscenium arch, and it is the conventional one of the set: a rectangle, straight parallel rows, and a stage framed at the front. After the Olivier's fan of seats wrapped around an open stage and the Dorfman being rebuilt for nearly every production, the Lyttelton is the one that behaves like a theatre most people have been to before.
The arch itself moves. It can be opened out for a wide stage, pushed forward with a forestage, or dropped to make an orchestra pit for up to 20 musicians, so it can take a musical as easily as a two-hander.
The auditorium is not decorated. There is no plasterwork, no curve and no ornament, and even the seat backs are flat. What it has instead, in the National's own words, is excellent sightlines and acoustics.
What plays here
Plays, mostly: new writing, adaptations, and revivals with a cast people will cross town for. It takes the work that needs a frame around it rather than the epic staging the Olivier is built for, and it is often where a National production starts a life that carries on elsewhere: Inter Alia premiered here in 2025, moved to Wyndham's in 2026, and on to Broadway's Music Box Theatre from November 2026.
Past productions in the Lyttelton
- Hamlet, March 1976. Peter Hall's production, with Albert Finney. The one that opened the building
- Amy's View, from June 1997. David Hare, directed by Richard Eyre, with Judi Dench
- The History Boys, from May 2004. Alan Bennett, directed by Nicholas Hytner
- Angels in America, the 2017 revival. Marianne Elliott's production, with Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, Denise Gough and Russell Tovey
- The Lehman Trilogy, July to October 2018. Sam Mendes directing Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles, before the West End and Broadway
One that people get the wrong way round: Angels in America had its UK premiere in the Cottesloe, the small auditorium now called the Dorfman, in 1992 and 1993. It moved up to the Lyttelton for the revival twenty-five years later.
The other two auditoriums
- Olivier Theatre, around 1,100 seats. The big one, with an open stage and the audience wrapped around it in a fan. No arch, and a different kind of seat advice entirely
- Dorfman Theatre, up to 450 depending on the layout. The small, flexible one, rebuilt for nearly every production, with its own entrance round the side of the building
About FAQs
When did the Lyttelton Theatre open?
On 16 March 1976, with Albert Finney in Peter Hall's Hamlet. It was the first of the three to be ready, so the company moved in while the rest of the building was still being finished.
Who is the Lyttelton Theatre named after?
Oliver Lyttelton, Viscount Chandos, who chaired the National Theatre's first board.
Is the Lyttelton Theatre a West End theatre?
No, it's part of the National Theatre on the South Bank, across the river. But it's only 5 to 7 minutes from Waterloo, and plenty of what starts here goes on to the West End.