A Yankee Comes to British Theater

“The Magistrate” Streams Live on Thursday, Jan. 17 at Orcas Center at 7:30 p.m.

From the NY Times
By John Lithgow

The language of theater here is slightly different from ours in New York. The crackly speaker in a London dressing room is called the “tannoy.” The opening night of a London show is called its “Press Night.” When a stage manager announces the start of a performance, London actors don’t hear the word “places.” They hear “beginners.”

At the National Theater when beginners is called over the tannoy on Press Night, something extraordinary happens. It is a simple, sentimental and highly theatrical custom unique to the National. On Nov. 21 there was a Press Night. I was in the show. Hence I was there to witness this custom firsthand. My memory of that moment, more than any other event, has come to crystallize the experience of working at the National. I am one of only a handful of American actors to perform there during its 50-year history, which perhaps explains why I found that heartfelt custom so stirring.

And what exactly is the custom? I’ll get to that shortly. First let me tell you a bit about the National and how I came to be there. The National is a big operation, arguably the biggest of its kind in the world. Its enormous, many-tiered physical plant dominates the South Bank, looming up from the Thames at the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. Its exterior walls of poured concrete, so modish when the theater opened in 1976, have not aged especially well, but the building still manages to project youthful bustle and fun. The concrete’s oppressive gray is enlivened by pastel banners, by scores of bright posters for current and future productions and, at night, by vivid colored lights projected onto its vast rectangular planes.

Inside, the National teems with activity. It houses three theaters: the large thrust-style Olivier, the slightly smaller proscenium-style Lyttelton and the tiny, infinitely adaptable Cottesloe. All three are in constant year-round use. At any given time each presents up to three plays in repertory, amounting to, plus or minus, nine shows at once. New productions open with amazing frequency. Considering its prolific output, it is not surprising that the National sends so much work across the Thames to the West End and across the Atlantic to Broadway. Recent prizewinning examples include “The History Boys,” “War Horse” and “One Man, Two Guvnors.”

(To read the full article, go to nytimes.com/2013/01/13/theater/john-lithgows-discovery-at-britains-national-theater. In addition to John’s portrait, they’ve included a production photo and a video excerpt from “The Magistrate.”

Thanks to Artha Kass