Visit to the National Theatre
By Marvin G
On Saturday 11th January 2020, I visited the National Theatre based on the Southbank in London for a tour and performance experience. This is an opportunity many children do not get and I was lucky to go there. The National Theatre is one of the biggest theatres in the uk and is open for any one who would like to come. I saw back stage materials and the illustrations they use to trick the audience. When we arrived we had a very nice warm welcome from the staff,organisers and the people who where going to be shown around with us.We had been sorted out into groups and went out for our first activity. Our first activity was a work shop based on what we were going to see, The ocean at the end of the lane. This work shop was fun because we used our imagination to create a scene in the play. My scene was about , the boy stepped into the bucket and it opens up the ocean. After the workshop we had an amazing tour not only around the theatre but back stage as well. The first place back stage we went to was the road. They used the road to travel all the props and it was easier as it made stuff more smooth and fast. Near the end of the road was a lift that would carry about two elephants in there! The next room we went into was the woodwork room. This is where most of the creations happen. We saw an amazing grave made out of wood and cardboard. The room which lead through the woodwork room is the art room where all the illusions happen. They made a giant picture of a lady on the side of the wall.They also made a fake brick wall which looked real but it was just vacuumed formed plastic which the artists painted on. They called them the wizard of props. After the art room came the theatre called the Olivier the biggest theatre in the National. It was an Amphi -Theatre and was round like the IMAX cinema. It was funny because we saw the actors warming up for a show and they were making funny noises. 45 minutes later the show The ocean at the end of the lane began. NO SPOILERS but the show was good because it wasn’t too magical and childish but it was some times relating to a typical day. They used good technique like staying in character for the whole play and making there characters clear for the whole show. When the show finished I was amazed by the experience I had.
Thank you Ziona,Saachi ,Amanda and Mable🙏
