The National Theatre has been called a castle, a cathedral, a temple of art, a palace of culture and a nuclear-power station. But the theatre's idea of itself is changing. What was once a spot for earnest plays and capital-A "Art" has become a friendlier, sunnier place with the vitality of a carnival. Brian Harris, a former chief photographer of the Independent , spent a month behind the scenes capturing preparations for "War Horse", a National hit that is now earning ovations on the West End. Robert Butler, a former theatre critic, describes the drama within the fortress.
The National Theatre at night: LED lights transform the concrete exterior into a winning display of orange, purple, green and blue. When the National opened here in 1976, in an area badly hit by the Blitz, it was a lonely bastion of culture on the south bank. Among the many changes at the National over 32 years, the biggest has been its location. The stretch of riverbank that runs from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge has become London’s high street for the arts, with an annual footfall of 19m people. A little further east sits Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern and the steely curves of Norman Foster’s City Hall.
