image: Bastian Greshake Tzovaras, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In October 2026, The National Theatre will mark the 50th anniversary of its iconic building with ‘Stories Start Here: 50 Stories for 50 Years’, a free installation celebrating five decades of creativity, innovation and world-class productions seen by millions of people across the UK and around the globe.
The National Theatre writes:
Installed outside the National Theatre on the Queen’s Walk, Stories Start Here: 50 Stories for 50 Years is a wooden structure inspired by the iconic amphitheatre seating of the Olivier Theatre. Facing the National Theatre, it invites visitors to sit, listen and enjoy personal stories about the building, transforming the theatre itself into the show. People around the world will be able to experience these stories via the NT’s free digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, making them accessible to audiences wherever they are.
Featuring memories, anecdotes and reflections from a wide range of actors including Hugh Jackman, Lesley Manville, Lucian Msamati, David Oyelowo, Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter, Laurence Olivier, Peter Hall and the NT’s architect Denys Lasdun, alongside writers, directors, designers, staff, audiences, individuals involved in the construction of the NT, the installation will offer fresh insight into the building’s history while shining a light on the hidden corners, quirks, long-standing traditions, and personal rituals that make the National Theatre one of the greatest civic buildings of modern Britain.
It is a building that has launched generations of talent, nurturing them as they find their feet and voice at the start of careers across theatre and beyond. A Story Station inside the NT will also dispense the short stories printed on eco-friendly paper at random so visitors can take away their own memento of the anniversary. The installation is designed and fabricated by La Cuarta Piel and co-curated by Sarah Hemming, theatre critic for the Financial Times and author of The National Theatre Guide, and the NT’s Special Projects Producer Katurah Morrish.
