The UK's National Theatre, a charity on London's South Bank with three theatres, which makes plays, broadcasts them to cinemas through NT Live and runs learning work with young people.
The National Theatre is the UK's national home for theatre, and it makes its own plays rather than just hosting visiting shows. Its building on London's South Bank has three theatres: the Olivier, the Lyttelton and the Dorfman. The Dorfman used to be called the Cottesloe. The company says it produces 18 plays in 2026, and that its productions travel on to the West End and Broadway. It also shares its work well beyond London through NT Live, which shows its plays live in cinemas, and NT at Home, its online service.
The theatre's own mission statement is short: "We believe that great theatre sparks imagination and brings people together." It also says it aims to make the world a better place through theatre and to make world-class theatre available in theatres, cinemas, schools and online. It was founded in 1963, and its website describes itself as a registered charity (number 224223) supported with public funding from Arts Council England. Its recurring themes are imagination, access, creativity and inclusion, rather than a formal list of values.
The National Theatre's home is the Grade II listed building designed by the architect Denys Lasdun, built between 1969 and 1976 on Upper Ground, London SE1. It is about 250,000 square feet in size and the theatre is marking the building's 50th anniversary in 2026. Scenery, costumes and props are made in workshops in central London. Beyond the South Bank, the company works with regional theatres to tour shows, and its Theatre Nation Partnerships programme worked in 13 priority areas of England, reaching more than one million audience members and participants over eight years.
The company says it employs "thousands of people every year", which includes freelancers, and describes itself as investing in skilled makers and new talent across the UK's creative industries. Its learning programmes reach over 100,000 young people a year. Its anniversary material is led by two Co-Chief Executives, Indhu Rubasingham and Kate Varah. Its sustainability work follows the Theatre Green Book, a guide for making theatre more environmentally friendly, and it aims for carbon neutrality. Those are the theatre's own claims and goals; we have not checked them independently.
A theatre like this employs far more than actors. There are directors, producers and stage managers, but also carpenters, scenic painters, costume makers, prop makers, lighting, sound and video technicians, and teams in marketing, ticketing, front of house, fundraising, finance, digital and filming for NT Live. The learning team runs schools and community work. If you enjoy making things, solving problems under pressure or telling stories, there is probably a department that matches. Its website lists the jobs it currently has open.
Website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
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