Royal National Theatre in Lambeth

Excellent performance The importance of being Ernest!

The intimidating and uncompromising exterior masks a spacious interior: soaring vertical angles and grained concrete tones and textures of grey encasing 3 theatres, public foyers, bars and restaurants. Grade II Listed, opened in 1976, virtually a National institution with a world-wide reputation for showcasing thespian skills and excellence. Criticism here superfluous.

If you like Theatre this the place to be

Always a good theatre experience. Lots of cafes and bars within buildings.

Fantastic venue! First visit and I wasn't disappointed.

Amazing time, brilliant performance. Everything you could want in the evening, drinks, food and relaxing environment

My Nan passed away recently and she came with us to see War Horse years ago. We all had a great experience and I will always think of going here with her.

Very easy to use and a great price

Great show of Jack Absolute Flies Again. Update - The Motive and the Cue - an excellent performance.

Saw Ballet Shoes. It was brilliant!

Always an amazing experience and great performances

Importance of Being Ernest, Lyttleton Theatre....absolutely brilliant. Humorous, comedic and very well performed. Catch it if you can

Great place to watch theatre! The National need to work on making it accessible to these from the global majority.

Best place in London to get a drink and even though south bank is heaving with people and tourists the national theatre is basically always empty.

The Importance of Being Earnest

It was a pretty astonishing experience seeing the show. First row isn't that bad!

Located in good place and is really cheap

This was my first trip to the National Theatre. We really enjoyed it.

When to see a play call Tupperware it was about dementia if you get a chance go see it really good

Lovely setting for watching plays in one of 3 theatres as well as meeting up for pretheatre drinks, snacks or meals.

It has three theatres within the complex, food & drinks are available. But outside food & drink options are better. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

Lovely building, lots of different theatres in the same building. Lots of seating areas for a drink before or after the production.

Me and my son totally loved the architecture, the brutal concrete, amazing building.

Brilliant glamorous London and great theatre

Such a large, well appointed theatre. Could use more helpful signage closer to the street. Staff was so helpful. Love attending theatre here.

Very comfortable seat second row from the front of the Circle, only £35 & of course a fascinating production of Coriolanus.

You either love or loathe British Brutalist architecture, but I'm definitely a lover of it. The The Royal National Theatre of Great Britain (known simply as 'The National') is very much a 'national treasure' for the arts. It's not widely known that it is also a working factory, with many of the set designs, props and clothing, made on site. A tour behind-the-scenes is very worthwhile. The venue has 3 theatres: The Olivier theatre, the Lyttleton theatre, and the Dorfman theatre, each of which has it's own unique design and quirkiness. I struggle to choose a favourite but I do love that the Olivier theatre, named after Laurence Olivier (the National's first artistic director) has bright purple seats, which were Olivier's favourite colour and cannot be changed because they are protected. If you go to see a show during the winter months and are in the upper section of the Olivier theatre, wrap up warm as it can get a little chilly!

Very helpful Box Office. Several theaters at the NT. Suggest booking in advance. £20 tickets are available and we'll worth it for the budget minded, especially if taking in several shows. The National Theater is a must visit place!

An excellent day out. Good food in the foyer, excellent seating in the Stalls. Excellent production and acting and stage management. Brilliant acting. Spectacles and hearing aids for partially sighted and deaf folks. Subtitles in English for all which was a great help for understanding Shakespearian language. Loved it

Nice atmosphere. Plenty of eating choices. Came to see Coriolanus and was bowled over.

Visiting The Dorfman Theatre for the first time I saw a performance of "A Tupperware of Ashes" starring Meera Syal and Shobna Gulati. The auditorium is compact which adds to the cosiness of the performance which was outstanding. Earlier in the afternoon I was able to visit the "skywalk" and peer down on the many backstage areas. Fascinating.

Good seats albeit a bit cramped.

Back in London for a short visit and had to go to the national. Also a great experience and the play was excellent.

Friendly staff, speaking French. I had a great time. In addition, I needed information the next day, the response by email was very quick.

Super nice venue, with bar, restaurants, bookshop! If you’re not up for a show, you can just hang around, find a spot where to work.

What a great place! Went to see tupperware of ashes at the Dorfmann. I found they offered a hearing aid free of charge for my hearing loss. Staff were helpful. Play was very high quality. Very lovely afternoon out.

Loved the traditional vive of the theatre atmosphere

Went to see tuperware of ashes ,fantastic play about a indian family whose mother has dementia.... Superbly played

Great show, great set and acting. Coriolanus.

I saw Corialanius today. Never been to the National Theatre, so was pretty excited. First things first, the building was absoutly ugly. Was expecting beautiful architecture for the countries NATIONAL theatre, not a concrete mess. Secondly, the prices for refreshements during the interval were a bit expensive, but not to bad for London. Main problem was them charging £2.75 for little cans of normal water. Thirdly, the shop was terrible. Full of far left literature, about things which having NOTHING TO DO with theatre or plays. Books about Palestine, LGBTQ, Communism, and criticial race theory. No problem with those topics, but didn't belong in the shop of a theatre, least not the national one. The first half of the plays was fairly bad. The second half howver, was absoulty amazing. Don't know why the contrast was so stark, but it was. My only critique would be that I wasnt a massive fan of some of the directors choices, mainly that they were wearing early 20th century, rather than Roman era costumes. This sort of thing is done quite commonly with shakespeare which is a shame. The poster shown he main actor in a Roman costume, which mislead me into thiking it was going to be proper costumes. If I knew it wouldnt be, I wouldnt bothered coming.

Went in for Corialanus great play, great venue

One of the best theatres in London. Just a superb venue.

Yes there was a treather there that was good I'm liking that aswell just simply stunning place

A severely delayed train meant I needed dinner in London rather than heading back to Salisbury as previously planned. The National Theatre has a range of places to eat and I eventually settled on The Understudy for a bowl of delicious noodles. I could easily have been tempted to more but this was so delicious and so filling that I restrained myself!

Amazing building, even if you are not going to a play, a visit for a coffee/drink is totally worth the time

Last Saturday I had a catch up with a wonderful friend Lydia in the cafe near the windows overlooking the Southbank and Thames .Lovely to spend time talking over a coffee and cake .It is such a vibrant space and became busier towards midday .In the end we had lunch and then walked over the bridge towards the Harry Potter shop to get a Birthday present .i would say we were there for three and a half hours catching up and enjoying the space including the bookshop and main shop .It reminded me of things I loved doing while living around London before moving to Dorset .I hope I can see a play on my next visit .It's the most choice of amazing Theatre and the best meeting place .

Beautiful building, excellent affordable seats, high-quality performances

Coriolanus! Amazing. I love this space. I would literally live here!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This production left me very conflicted. It seems to be 2 separate plays that run consecutively. How much the whole relates to Ancient Rome or Elizabethan England is, frankly a question I am still thinking about. I made the decision to attend this production solely on the basis of one piece of information. The soliloquy spoken by the lead character, David Oyelowo, sold me the ticket. Theatre visits are a luxury treat for me due to circumstances beyond my control. The few productions I have seen prior to this in the last few years have unfortunately sounded like people reciting telephone directories, so to hear a thespian deliver the meaning of the greatest playwright of the modern era with the gravity it deserves because he's considered the significance of the words in depth, well that immediately spiked my interest. Shakespeare is that rare phenomenon which is almost synesthetic in its ability to make language as a form of music in it's intellectual ability to deliver words with the emotional voracity of the greatest music you ever heard. This is why it's still so special and still untouchable. To say I was excited about this production of the play considered to be "hard core" and difficult is understatement, I could hardly contain myself. Firstly let me start by saying that the National Theatre is phenomenal. Wow, hats off, my first visit, it is amazing. The auditorium, the proximity to the stage, full marks, what a fantastic theatre, it is, kind of half way to being "in the round", which thanks to being a former resident of Scarborough who was lucky enough to attend Alan Ayckbourn's old stomping ground I greatly appreciate. Before anything started there was a very, very interesting set, made of multiple modules of monoliths of the same height but various horizontal dimensions. I have never seen anything like it, it is true genius and again leans towards the in the round tradition. It was utilised in ways I could not have predicted. Again, full marks. Coriolanus is a play about the most successful, most dangerous, most macho, marshall, military human male in a Culture based on the same characteristics who is wronged by a group of sly, crafty politicians on a quest for their own glory and naval gazing. No parallels with today then. This is a morality play. I couldn't help comparing it with Julius Caesar and currently, Donald Trump. The Romans were the most kick-ass Civilization since the Ancient Greek Civilization, with less emphasis on the immaterial in favour of the substantial like engineering (as far as it is known). Elizabethan England was, probably, the most kick-ass group of humans to appear post Rome. I enjoyed the last year of Grammar School thanks to being put through the 11-plus a year early and there was still a great emphasis on Classical Civilization and the discipline brought forth by them which I admired. I was surprised when in the first few moments, one of the first characters who appeared was a woman. I like women, but didn't expect to see a production crammed with them. They were not a prominent up-front feature of Marshall Rome. Priestess, Prostitute, both, plenty of roles but generally in the background unless they were from the ruling elite families. Elizabethan England was similar. If a "woman" appeared on stage "she" most probably looked like "she" had just finished a tour of the worst zone of military conflict because "she" was really a he, who was likely some hairy-assed Special Forces Operative natural born killer. Women were not a feature of Elizabethan theatre. Women, women, women, women, women. By the end of the first act it wasn't just the smoke machine that was making my eyes sting I'm sure the oestrogen was playing it's own significant part. There were minor criticisms like some of the minor characters forgetting to remember you can only project you voice if you are pointing in the right direction. The music and sound effects intruded a couple of times on the sacrosanct lyrics. These are just coaching items for tidying up. The ini

Wonderful building and a fantastic atmosphere

Stunning place within London, and therefore the world. The area is full of vibrant culture and the architecture is a visual treat.

If you like Shakespeare go and see Corialanus. A different production and very good

Great place on South Bank, enjoyable venue

this is a fantastic piece of architecture and the quality of productions there is excellent. Go to the box office 30 mins before curtain up and ask what they've got. I got 2nd row of the circle for Corialanus for £20!

Lovely atmosphere and the book shop is incredible!

Great atmosphere, lots of people, good atmosphere.

Wonderful theatre experience, went to see Hot Wing King, easily the best show I've seen. It has to be said however, some of the seats are not so comfortable.

National theatre with 3 theatres showing the best in theatrical productions Cheap tickets available at all performances and through the Friday Rush on their website

This one shocked me as the restaurant looked so fancy. We were at The National theatre to see a play so decided to have a meal beforehand. They said it was only a fixed pre theatre menu til around 7pm (the time the show was starting). We had a friendly waiter, he seemed new, and restaurant was quiet when we entered so didn’t have to wait long for our meal. I went for the crab soup to start as I’m a huge fan of crab. Couldn’t eat it. It tasted more like a tomato-ie soup (not a fan of tomatoes at all). I took a few spoonfuls but really couldn’t eat it. A man who looked like he may have been the manager approached and asked how we were getting on with the starters. I was honest and said I couldn't eat the soup and he kindly replaced it for the beetroot starter. That was a lot nicer. My friend had another crab starter (£8 supplement) which I tasted and that was okay. We both had the fish cake for mains. 1 solitary, very dry fishcake which tasted more like a potato cake as it was a case of spot the fish. I found the sauce accompanying it really strange as well. And then there was the chips, how wrong can you go with chips? Very in this case - which you can probably see from looking at the photo. Didn’t want to complain again so just left them. We decided we didn’t want to face any further disappointment so we just stuck with the 2 courses. 2 x 2 course meals with a couple of sides (water, but no drinks) came to over £100 once service was added and we were both still very hungry. Very shocking for this type of establishment. Nice loos.

Parked in the Car Park for a week. Was cheaper on JustPark. Underground and secure!!

Great complex. The seats were comfortable and I felt that I had the best seat in the house (as I am sure that others do). Interesting programming.

It is a truly magical place to be. Not only hosting the cream of acting and theatre talent, but also great bars and restaurants to make this a wonderful experience and place to visit. It's also fantastically inclusive for people with disabilities, regularly hosting Captioned, audio-described and calmer performances for people with hearing loss, sight loss and autism.

large theatre and function palace

We used this place to park for the weekend, great location and a reasonable price!

Fantastic experience at the theatre here. Prices are slightly better compared with other theatres across the bridge and staff are really friendly also. Will definitely come again

Comfortable theatre. Great performances

Ok coffee from the café, a little weak and milky. But always a nice space to sit back and relax in.

The food was simple but good. Service also good. The meal was grotesquely overpriced, with a heafty service charge added to the bill. You would be better served in the downstairs cafe, where you will receive better value for money.

The Kitchen on the ground floor is still rather unappetising! Fortunately there are other food outlets and tonight we ate at Asian Noods, East Asian food at reasonable prices in the Kerb (or Understudy). We saw The Grapes of Wrath. We knew it wouldn't be a bundle of laughs, but really it was very tedious. The theatre was a third empty after the interval so others agreed with us. Great book dull play

The National Theatre is a cultural gem in London, offering a wide range of top-quality performances that cater to all tastes. The productions are always thought-provoking and beautifully staged, with incredible acting and stunning set designs. The venue itself is modern and comfortable, with great views from almost every seat. Whether you’re into classic plays, modern drama, or experimental performances, the National Theatre delivers something special every time. It’s a must-visit for theatre lovers, and the experience is truly unforgettable!

Go in, see anything they have. That's my motto. They have a great selection of performances and there are tickets priced for everyone

Great foyer. Love hanging out there

Wonderful event place for events and films showing.

I always love coming to sit down in the National Theatre to relax, the team that work here are very friendly & kind people and it is an excellent place to chill & get work done as the ambience is v chilled out! 🎭🎭 - of course great for the large variety of shows they offer too!

Saw The Grapes of Wrath in the Lyttelton Theatre which was very good.

An early birthday present was so pleased

Iconic Brutalist building by architect Denys Lasdun (1914-2001). Although much maligned by Prince Charles and others, Brutalist architecture has received a well deserved revival in recent years, epitomized by the new movie "The Brutalist" with Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones which debuted at the Venice Film Festival this year. Beautiful location right on the River Thames with spectacular views of the city skyline. We loved the performance of Coriolanus starring David Oyelowo.

Not been since 1978, so glad to see it still in use! Great experience

A lovely foyer! Can’t tell you about plays because I’ve never seen one here, but I meet with my book club semi regularly in this lobby area. There are plenty of seats and tables. There is always one or two groups who are clearly not here for the theatre. So, I don’t feel so out of place. (I saw one group playing a card game in my recent visit.) So far, we have never been kicked out, so I think we are allowed. (We being a group of five to seven, depending on the month) They do check your bags on entry, though. I’ve never attempted to bring in food or drinks from outside. I don’t know if it’s allowed. Besides, they have a bar and a sandwich stand inside.

Comfortable, brutalist style theatre. Excellent sound and view. Not enough toilets for numbers there ( unless there were others I missed)

Great place to sit outside on a sunny day and enjoy the little nibbles and drinks around it. 100% recommend.

Amazing venue with really friendly and helpful staff.

Always the ledger place to watch plays! I adore this building.

Not enough concrete. I love concrete.

The atmosphere, ambience and artistic expression I witnessed here make it one of the best places in London, and I dare say the world to be. Make sure you visit to see some drama, intrigue, suspense, and more here.

I love the architecture and design. Always a pleasure to visit and the theatres themselves are great.

We did the NT back stage tour today. Very interesting. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the theatre.

Great architecture, restaurant and theatre

Cheap parking taking in consideration the location. I booked in advance.

Amazing theatre. Lovely people. Incredible productions.

Going to the National is a guarantee of high quality theatre as was evidenced in tonights performance of the hot Wing King. It is also a theatre of good sight lines and good audibility

Love 💛🧡🩷 amazing theatre, I am always sure to see well made plays there. I came earlier and there were not many people but at the time of the play the were no free places. Don't worry to book places further away. The stage could be well seen from the very back raws. Seating is very comfortable.

You'll find nothing radical or cutting-edge here. However, the NT has an interesting repertoire and the acting is superb.

The National Theatre is a real treat! Such an amazing venue & a guaranteed great night out with family or friends! I'll be back.

Ye is the best. He's Chinese from mainland, coming from a Indian!

We love going to this theatre because the production is always first class

Nice quiet chilled space. Had lunch. Bit pricey but pleasant surroundings

A great place of culture in London. If you are a visitor and you like theatre you should watch a theatre play here. Highly suggested!

Absolutely love the National Theatre! The plays are always top-notch and the atmosphere is just right.

Great atmosphere and very friendly, helpful staff throughout. Always have a great range of productions on and being on the Southbank makes it a great location.