The paint-frame
In the scenic workshop, known as the paint-frame, artists work on the set for "Oedipus". Ralph Fiennes recently performed "Oedipus" in the epic Olivier theatre, the largest of the complex's three theatres, modelled on the amphitheatre at Epidaurus. A good deal of the National's five-acre site can now be viewed on their new educational website (“Discover”). But the website fails to capture the range of smells that identify parts of the building--a dramatic mix of bleach, sweat, woodshavings, paint, polish, petrol and hairspray--against the throbbing rhythms of washing machines and photocopiers.
