About tonight

There are at least fifty different versions of this show. We have two hours to put fifty years on stage, two hours to conjure up an impression of what the National Theatre has achieved. Although weve tried to cover as much as possible by seeking out short scenes from as many plays as possible, Im horrified by how much weve had to leave out. So it may be easiest to start by saying what this evening is not.

Its not a compendium of the best things the National has done over the last 50 years. Best is best left to the arts pages. And in any event, many of our most famous productions of the classical repertoire were celebrated for performances by actors who are no longer with us. So our classical work is inevitably less present than it should be.Nor have we tried to represent only the most influential or important plays to have started life on our stages. Many of them defy any attempt to lift out a short scene that is enjoyable, or comprehensible, out of context, and weve made the assumption that tonights television audience shouldnt have to know anything about the plays from which the show is put together. So it seemed impossible, for instance, to find a 4- or 5-minute scene from Patrick Marbers Closer, which is devastating in its entirety. And the same problem ruled out Michael Frayns Democracy, Pam Gems Stanley, David Mamets Glengarry Glen Ross, Christopher Hamptons Tales From Hollywood, Nicholas Wrights Vincent In Brixton. The shortest extract that does justice to Harold Pinters Betrayal (a play that attracts any number of superlatives) lasts 12 minutes; the same is true of Lucy Prebbles The Effect, and even the shortest story from Martin McDonaghs amazing play The Pillowman is surprisingly long though none of them felt like it in performance. Peter Shaffers The Royal Hunt of the Sun has a cumulative power that would be diminished by the presentation of a bleeding chunk. You could fill an entire evening with scenes by our most prolific writers Pinter, Shaffer, David Hare, Tom Stoppard (the only playwright to have given us a new play in each decade of our half century), Alan Ayckbourn, Howard Brenton, Alan Bennett. All of them have written major plays which arent represented tonight.

Although the structure of tonights show is loosely chronological, it isnt trying to tell the full story of the National Theatre. We have collaborated with the BBC on a historical narrative Adam Low and Martin Rosenbaums documentary Arena: The National Theatre, shown over the last couple of weeks on BBC4, will soon be available on DVD. Its terrific. I recommend it.

And although tonights staggering cast list is testament to how deep-rooted is the affection for the National amongst the acting profession, we cant do full justice to even the most luminous performances that have graced our stages. A precarious idea brought into life by Sir Laurence Olivier, the twentieth centurys greatest actor, has at some point embraced almost all of the great actors that have followed in his wake. But even the most powerful of stage performances survive only in the memory of those who saw them. For those who were there, tonights re-creations are maybe best seen as theatrical madeleines enough to prompt a shiver of recollection. For those who werent, maybe they can give an idea of what the fuss was about.

That there has been too much to choose from is the fault of Laurence Olivier and his successors Peter Hall, Richard Eyre and Trevor Nunn. The flow of memorable work has never stopped. But I hope the scenes weve chosen give some idea of the range of our work, of the way weve always sought to play the past and the present against each other, of our determination to reflect the nation on our stages, and of our appetite for new ideas and new forms. And I hope the evening is a reminder of the pre-eminence of our actors, writers, directors and designers and that its scale and complexity (both considerable) demonstrate that they are supported by stage and technical teams second to none.

Though a few minutes of the show come from the video archive (from televised studio adaptations of NT productions, from publicity material, from footage shot for awards ceremonies), most of it is live. The more recent the production, the easier its been to get together the original cast most of the second half of tonights show is played by the actors who first played their parts, sometimes it has to be said when they arent any longer entirely age appropriate. (Eight history boys in their mid thirties may require the suspension of your disbelief.) But all the actors in the show have been members of the National Theatre at some point in the last fifty years, and youll see decade by decade how astonishing is their collective distinction. I want to single out only the small band who were part of Sir Laurence Oliviers National Theatre company when it first took up residence at the Old Vic 50 years ago. Dame Joan Plowright went last week to the Old Vic itself to record a speech from Saint Joan, which she played there in 1963; Dame Maggie Smith will give a speech from The Beaux Stratagem; Charles Kay will appear in a scene from The National Health in the same role he created 45 years ago, and Sir Michael Gambon and Sir Derek Jacobi will take the roles in No Mans Land originally played by their great predecessors Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud. I couldnt be happier or prouder that they are here and that fifty years on, they are still carrying the torch.

My grateful thanks are due to the playwrights who have allowed us to hack small chunks out of their work. We have tried to root tonights show in the way it was staged by the directors and designers who took care of its many different scenes first time around. I am grateful to them, and sorry that we shall sometimes inevitably fall short of what they achieved. The National Theatres physical surroundings have changed since it took up residence at the Old Vic in 1963, but its identity has never been bound up in bricks and mortar (or concrete). It has always been about who works here. Tonights cast, and tonights audience, are a small part only of who weve been; and when the next celebration comes round, in 2063, I have no doubt that there will be as much to choose from as there has been tonight.

Nicholas Hytner

Broadcast live Sat 2 November 9pm

years on stage

#NT50 @nationaltheatre @BBCTwo

nationaltheatre.org.uk

Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Old Vic 1963

Francisco Matthew BarkerBarnardo Stanley TownsendHoratio Anna Maxwell Martin

Marcellus Adrian LesterGhost Derek Jacobi

A short film about Laurence Olivier

Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw, Old Vic 1963 Original Director John Dexter

Joan Plowright, filmed at the Old Vic, 11 October 2013

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Deadby Tom Stoppard, Old Vic 1967 Original Director Derek Goldby

Rosencrantz Benedict CumberbatchGuildenstern Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Hay Fever by Nol Coward, Old Vic 1964

Director Nol Coward

Myra Arundel Maggie SmithDavid Bliss Anthony Nicholls

The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar, Old Vic 1970 Original Director William Gaskill

Mrs Sullen Maggie Smith

The National Health by Peter Nichols, Old Vic 1969

Original Director Michael Blakemore Original Designer Patrick Robertson

Matron Deborah FindlaySister Maggie Service

Lake Akiya HenrySweet Olivia VinallBarnet Matt Cross

Mackie James HayesAsh Anthony ODonnell

Flagg Tim McMullanLoach Charles Kay

Foster Gawn GraingerDr Bird Michelle Terry

No Mans Landby Harold Pinter, Old Vic 1975 Original Director Peter Hall

Original Designer John Bury

Spooner Derek JacobiHirst Michael Gambon

Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn, Lyttelton 1977 Original Directors Alan Ayckbourn

and Peter HallOriginal Designers Timothy OBrien &

Tazeena Firth

Ernest Nicholas le PrevostDelia Penelope Wilton

Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, Olivier 1979

Director Peter HallDesigner John Bury

Antonio Salieri Paul Scofield

Guys and Dolls based on a story and characters of

Damon Runyon, music & lyrics by Frank Loesser book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows, Olivier 1982

Original Director Richard Eyre Original Choreographer David Toguri

Original Designer John Gunter

Nicely-Nicely Clive Rowe Arvide Abernathy Nicholas Lumley

General Cartwright Sharon D ClarkeMartha Nicola Sloane

Agatha Maggie ServiceSarah Brown Sophie Bould

Mission Girl Alexis Owen-Hobbs Big Jule Stanley TownsendNathan Detroit Matt Cross

With Edward Baruwa, Kevin Brewis,

James Doherty, Kate Fleetwood, Jonathan Glew, Richard Henders,

Nick Holder, Alastair Parker, Paul Thornley, Howard Ward,

Russell Wilcox, Duncan Wisbey

Pravdaby Howard Brenton & David Hare,

Olivier 1985 Original Director David Hare

Lambert Le Roux Ralph FiennesMichael Quince, MP Charles Edwards

Eaton Sylvester Jamie ParkerDPP Payne Andrew Knott

Journalists Martin ChamberlainNicholas Lumley

Colin HaighCliveden Whicker-Baskett

Richard HendersMac Whipper Wellington Iain Mitchell

A short film about Peter Hall

Antony and Cleopatraby William Shakespeare, Olivier 1987

Original Director Peter Hall

Cleopatra Judi DenchDolabella Rory Kinnear

Angels in Americaby Tony Kushner, Cottesloe 1992

Original Director Declan Donnellan Original Designer Nick Ormerod

Prior Walter Andrew ScottLouis Ironson Dominic Cooper

Richard IIIby William Shakespeare, Lyttelton 1990

Director Richard Eyre Designer Bob Crowley

Richard Ian McKellen

The Absence of Warby David Hare, Olivier 1993

Original Director Richard Eyre Original Designer Bob Crowley

Linus Frank Nick SampsonGeorge Jones MP Christopher Eccleston

Andrew Buchan Paul ThornleyGwenda Aaron Maggie Service

Trevor Avery Aaron NeilMary Housego Lyndsey MarshalLindsay Fontaine Linzi Hateley

Oliver Dix Malcolm SinclairLinus Franks PA Judith Coke

The Madness of George IIIby Alan Bennett, Lyttelton 1991

Director Nicholas Hytner Designer Mark Thompson

George III Nigel HawthorneQueen Charlotte Selina Cadell

Arcadiaby Tom Stoppard, Lyttelton 1993

Original Director Trevor Nunn Original Designer Mark Thompson

Bernard Nightingale Rory KinnearValentine Coverly Jonathan Bailey

Hannah Jarvis Anna Maxwell MartinChloe Coverly Olivia Vinall

King Learby William Shakespeare, Cottesloe 1997

Director Richard EyreDesigner Bob Crowley

Lear Ian HolmLears Fool Michael Bryant

Richard IIby William Shakespeare, Cottesloe 1995

Director Deborah WarnerDesigner Hildegard Bechtler

Richard Fiona Shaw

50 YEARS ON STAGE

A Little Night MusicMusic and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Hugh Wheeler, Olivier 1995 Original Director Sean Mathias

Dsire Armfeldt Judi DenchFredrik Egerman Oliver Cotton

The Mysteriesmedieval mystery plays in a version by

Tony Harrison, Cottesloe 1985, revived 1999 Original Director Bill Bryden

Original Designer William Dudley

Joseph Edward BaruwaMary Lyndsey Marshal

Shepherd 1 Anthony ODonnellShepherd 2 Richard RidingsShepherd 3 Michelle Terry

Wise Man 1 Lucian MsamatiWise Man 2 Aaron Neil

Wise Man 3 Junix Inocian

Hamletby William Shakespeare, Lyttelton 2000

Original Director John Caird

Hamlet Simon Russell Beale

Copenhagenby Michael Frayn, Cottesloe 1998

Original Director Michael Blakemore

Heisenberg Roger Allam

My Fair LadyBook and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner

Music by Frederick Loewe, Lyttelton 2001 Original Director Trevor Nunn

Original Designer Anthony Ward Original Choreographer Matthew Bourne

Eliza Doolittle Rosalie CraigHenry Higgins Alex Jennings

Colonel Pickering Malcolm Sinclair

Cat On A Hot Tin Roofby Tennessee Williams, Lyttelton 1988

Director Howard Davies Designer William Dudley

Brick Ian CharlesonMaggie Lindsay Duncan

Mourning Becomes Electraby Eugene ONeill, Lyttelton 2003 Original Director Howard Davies Original Designer Bob Crowley

Ezra Mannon Tim Pigott-SmithChristine Helen Mirren

Elminas Kitchenby Kwame Kwei-Armah, Cottesloe 2003

Director Angus Jackson

Deli Paterson JosephAshley Emmanuel Idowu

Jerry Springer The OperaMusic by Richard Thomas

Book & Lyrics by Stewart Lee & Richard Thomas, Lyttelton 2003 Original Director Stewart Lee

Original Set Designer Julian Crouch Original Costume Designer Leah Archer

Jerry Michael Brandon Shawntel Alison Jiear

Chucky Nick Holder Dwight Richard HendersPeaches Lor Lixenberg

Audience ChorusEdward Baruwa, Sophie Bould, Kevin Brewis, Sharon D Clarke,

Matt Cross, James Doherty, Kate Fleetwood, Jonathan Glew,

Tiffany Graves, Linzi Hateley, Akiya Henry, Alexis Owen Hobbs, Alastair Parker, Maggie Service,

Nicola Sloane, Paul Thornley, Howard Ward, Russell Wilcox,

Duncan Wisbey

Stuff Happensby David Hare, Olivier 2004

Original Director Nicholas Hytner

George Bush Alex Jennings Tony Blair Lloyd Owen

The History Boys by Alan Bennett, Lyttelton 2004

Director Nicholas Hytner Original Designer Bob Crowley

Rudge Philip CorreiaScripps Jamie Parker

Dakin Dominic CooperPosner Sacha Dhawan

Akthar Marc ElliottTimms James Corden

Crowther Samuel AndersonLockwood Andrew Knott

Headmaster Clive MerrisonIrwin Stephen Campbell Moore

War Horsebased on the novel by Michael Morpurgo

adapted by Nick Staffordin association with Handspring Puppet Company,

Olivier 2007Songmaker John Tams

Original Directors Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris

Original Designer Rae Smith

Song Man Tim van EykenAlbert Jack Holden

Joey as a foal head Laura Cubitt

heart Kate Colebrookhind Louise Kempton

Joey head Toby Oli

heart Thomas Wiltonhind Michael Brett

National Theatre Live Including The Cherry Orchard

by Anton Chekhov, in a version by Andrew Upton Director Howard DaviesDesigner Bunny Christie

Ranevskaya Zo WanamakerTrofimov Mark Bonnar

One Man, Two Guvnorsby Richard Bean

based on Goldonis The Servant of Two Masters with songs by Grant Olding,

Lyttelton 2011 Original Director Nicholas Hytner

Original Designer Mark Thompson

Francis Henshall James Corden

London RoadBook and lyrics by Alecky BlytheMusic and lyrics by Adam Cork,

Cottesloe 2011 Original Director Rufus Norris

Original Designer Katrina Lindsay

Julie Kate FleetwoodAlfie James DohertyDodge Paul Thornley

Jane Linzi HateleyTerry Howard WardHelen Rosalie Craig

Gordon Duncan WisbeyRosemary Nicola Sloane

June Claire MooreRon Nick HolderTim Hal Fowler

Othelloby William Shakespeare, Olivier 2013,

Old Vic 1964

Othello Adrian LesterIago Rory Kinnear

Epilogue: The Habit of Artby Alan Bennett, Lyttelton 2009

Kay Frances de la Tour ASM Samuel Anderson

Director Nicholas Hytner

50 YEARS ON STAGE

Designer Mark ThompsonLighting Designer Mark HendersonMusic for short films George Fenton

Sound Paul ArdittiMusic Director Gareth Valentine

Associate Director Adam Penford

Executive Producer David SabelProducer Robin Hawkes

Director Mourning Becomes Electra Howard Davies

Director London Road Rufus NorrisAssociate Choreographer Guys and

Dolls Cristina Avery Associate Choreographer My Fair Lady

Fergus LoganAssociate Director War Horse

Alex SimsAssociate Puppetry Director War Horse

Finn CaldwellMusic Director London Road

David Shrubsole

Compiled by Nicholas Hytner, Lyn Haill, Tom Lyons,

David Sabel, Nicholas Wright, with John Heffernan, Alex Jennings,

Lesley Manville, Simon Russell Beale

Broadcast

Director for Television Tim Van Someren

Head of Events, BBC Phil DollingExecutive Producer, BBC

Elaine PatersonTechnical Producer

Christopher C Bretnall

Production Manager Paul HandleyCompany Manager Eric LumsdenStage Manager David MarslandDeputy Stage Manager Anna Hill

Stage Management Fiona Bardsley, Ian Farmery, Polly Rowe, Julia Wickham

Costume Supervisor Irene BohanAssisted by Hannah TrickettProp Supervisor Kirsten Shiell

Deputy Production Manager Marius RnningProject Draughting Nick Murray &

Emma MorrisDigital Art Dan Radley-Bennett &

Lawrence RowellCasting Wendy Spon, Charlotte Sutton,

Juliet Horsley, Charlotte BevanPhotographer Catherine Ashmore

Assistant Producer Julia Nelson Broadcast Sound Supervisor Conrad Fletcher

Broadcast Lighting Director Bernie DaviesBroadcast Production Manager Harry GuthrieProducer National Theatre Live Emma Keith

Short films

Cameraman and Editor Mike MarriageEditor Jan Cholawo

Associate Producer James Norton

Musicians

Keyboards 1 Andrew VinterKeyboards 2 Peter McCarthy

Guitar Steve SmithDouble bass/bass guitar Don Richardson

Drums Allan CoxPercussion Martin Briggs

Piccolo/flute/alto sax Andy FindonFlute/clarinet/alto sax Howard McGill

Clarinet/bass clarinet/baritone sax Jay Craig

Trumpet/flugelhorn John BarclayTrumpet/flugelhorn Andy Crowley

Trumpet/flugelhorn Toby ColesTrombone Gordon Campbell

Horn Matt GunnerHarp Helen Tunstall

SingersMelanie Marshall

Stuart Matthew PriceVerity QuadeRoss Sharkey

Caroline SheenMichael Xavier

Orchestral Arrangements Christopher Egan

Special thanks to the National Theatre Archive

archive@nationaltheatre.org.uk

BBC Arena: The National Theatre

Producer Martin Rosenbaum

Director Adam Low

Olivier Theatre 2 November 2013

Length: about 2 hours. There is no interval

Production creditsArcadia table & chairs built by Heron & Driver.

Extra show lighting generously donated by Richard Martin Lighting

DETAILS OF THIS EVENINGS EVENT ARE CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS BUT SOME CHANGES MAY BECOME NECESSARY

Make up by

50 YEARS ON STAGE

#NT50 @nationaltheatre @BBCTwo

nationaltheatre.org.uk