A Sense of Theatre: Performance, Architecture and Britain’s National Theatre

Session details:

The parting gift of pioneering lighting designer and theatre consultant Richard Pilbrow to the world was ‘A Sense of Theatre’, his ten years in the making book exploring the history of Britain’s National Theatre and, through that, the interacting worlds of live performance and architecture.

The National Theatre’s building on the south bank of London’s River Thames opened in 1976 - the building will mark its 50th anniversary next year. It was revolutionary in its day both architecturally and in terms of the technology in incorporated, much custom-made for the building in the pursuit expanding the possibilities of theatre production. Though the building and the technology it contains has evolved in the decades since, the National Theatre continues to pioneer new technologies which go on to become standards across the industry, as well as continuing to provide a home and a place to experiment to countless generations of theatre practitioners. 

Richard Pilbrow was chosen by Sir Laurence Olivier, the National’s first artistic director, to light the opening shows of the new National Theatre Company in 1963. This put him in the perfect place to become the theatre consultant for the new National Theatre building, ultimately becoming the interface between the theatre world and the architect, Sir Denys Lasdun. A Sense of Theatre provides a comprehensive record of the process of designing the National, which took place at a time in the post-War era where the line of succession of architects specialising in theatre had been broken. From that, via extensive plans, photographs and interviews with theatre practitioners who have worked at the National, it explores Richard’s re-discovery of just what it is to make spaces into magical performance spaces, and the history of the National Theatre company and building since it opened. 

Though Richard is sadly no longer with us, the two people who helped him throughout the journey of the book and ultimately brought it to completion, his son Fred Pilbrow and the lighting designer and entertainment industry writer Rob Halliday, take to the stage at LDI 2025 to talk about the book, the story it tells, the new approach to theatre design and theatre consultancy that the National Theatre inspired, the technical innovations created for the National when it opened, and much, much more. Helpfully given the book’s broad subject matter, Fred is an architect, Rob a theatre practitioner, so between them they are able to offer a balanced view spanning every aspect of the book and the stories it tells.