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The bookshop
The National Theatre Bookshop


The National Theatre Bookshop
by Heather Neill

For Tom Stoppard a visit to the National Theatre is incomplete unless he spends 20 minutes or so in the bookshop: "I like to have a complete library of plays in performance, even if I don't see them all", he says, "and I consider a visit to the Bookshop part of a night out".

A famous playwright with literary interests and whose own work is always in stock might be expected to enjoy browsing here, but such is the variety of titles and other materials available, and so well are they arranged, that the shop is also a popular stopping-off place for students, tourists and less experienced theatre-goers as well. Just inside the shop, for instance, is a display of play texts arranged according to the theatres in which they are currently being performed elsewhere in London, as well as the ones in the National's repertoire. A Michael Frayn fan might see Noises Off in the Lyttelton, then pick up a copy of the text, one of Copenhagen  from the Duchess Theatre shelf and go on to find a copy of Frayn's latest novel Headlong among related Frayn titles.

The National's bookshop is in a prime position these days, with windows on to the piazza and an entrance between the main foyer doorway and the box office. It is relatively spacious and can be safely locked up after its long opening hours - 10am to 10.45pm six days a week. It was not always so. The National Theatre's first book-selling enterprise, in the days of Laurence Olivier's artistic directorship at the Old Vic, was no more than a stall, prepared before a performance and put away after the interval. But then, the publishing of play texts, certainly new ones not yet of "classic" status, was in its infancy.

When the National moved to its new South Bank headquarters in 1973 it soon became clear, says John Langley, now Theatre Manager and a former manager of the bookshop, that something more was needed. To begin with a stall in the Lyttelton foyer, much like the Old Vic one, which had to be shut down daily, was the main outlet. As early as 1976, a larger area was being sought and the picture gallery at the rear of the Olivier circle suggested. Eventually, in 1986, the Lyttelton units were developed into a small, enclosed shop opposite the Long Bar - rather cramped in comparison with the present one. A bookstall selling only programmes and a few items relating to the current production had already been established in the Olivier  foyer while a greater variety of titles was available in the Cottesloe, although nothing like a comprehensive stock. The extensive refurbishment of the theatre building in 1997 presented the opportunity for a complete re-think of book-selling facilities at the NT and the present bookshop was opened late that year.

Tom Stoppard helped to declare the new shop open and on that occasion expressed a hope that merchandise such as tee-shirts with an NT logo would never take precedence over books and judiciously chosen videos and audio tapes. He is pleased with the balance that has been struck. John Langley says that in any case such items are not always suitable for a theatre, where the experience of seeing the play is what matters, unless there is a separate "heritage" element such as the RSC can exploit. Toby Radford, who has managed the bookshop since 1987, is happy with the few items on show and is keen to use 90 per cent of the available space for books and related items.

So what does the shop offer? On the counter there are piles of programmes for the current season. Forty per cent of the National's audience buys a programme, and the shop is an important source. Displayed on the shelf facing the counter are texts of the current plays themselves and any new titles relating to theatre matters, such as recently published biographies or assessments of the work of a well-known designer or director. A book about the work of designer Julie Taymor, responsible for both The Lion King and the film Titus, was recently given a window display. On a table near the counter is a changing display of something topical - books about one of the National's exhibitions, perhaps, such as Cuba Si.

Most of one wall is occupied by a comprehensive selection of play texts, arranged alphabetically; as long as a play is in print - and sometimes long afterwards - you will find it here. Toby Radford says that many people who have given up a search have been delighted to discover their quarry - occasionally marked two shillings and sixpence and with a recently added bar code. Most titles are rather more recent than that, however, and published by a few specialist houses - Faber, Methuen, Nick Hern Books, Absolute Classics and Oberon Press .

New plays are rushed into print as quickly as possible, although some playwrights still prefer to hold back until the text has gone through the rehearsal process. David Hare waits until after the first night to release his work while David Edgar's latest play, Albert Speer, was available for only the last 20 or so performances. Tom Stoppard is among those who are more relaxed about new work getting into print.

Biographies of actors and directors, academic criticism and reference books, plays for young people and educational texts on drama all have their place, as does a large section on theatre crafts - lighting, make-up and costume. Shakespeare, needless to say, commands the biggest space. The Arden, New Penguin and Cambridge School Shakespeare are the chosen editions, backed up with criticism, biographies, audio tapes of the plays, including the new Arkangel recordings, and a comprehensive stock of relevant videos. Other videos with a theatrical slant and books by theatre practitioners, especially novels, may also be found on the shelves here.

Some plays deal with subjects which the enthusiastic playgoer may want to discover: more about. Michael Frayn's Copenhagen, for instance - a text, incidentally which sold particularly well when the play was in rep in the Cottesloe and continues to sell well now that it is in the West End - led Toby Radford to stock books on Quantum theory, while Stoppard's Invention of Love was naturally supported by editions of Housman and his Arcadia by books on a variety of subjects including chaos theory, landscape gardening and Romanticism.

Toby Radford says that one of the main purposes of the shop is to dispense information about the theatre and its associated literature. To this end, his long-serving staff, most of them arts graduates,  are especially well-informed. They answer telephone queries from all over the world, handle mail orders when necessary and help to programme events so that Platforms featuring an author are backed by displays in the shop and book-signing sessions.

And what is the shop's best-selling play-text of all time? Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. It still walks off the shelves, but when the play was first staged at the National Toby Radford says, "There would be queues in the interval. People wanted to take all that wit and wisdom home as a souvenir and sometimes we'd sell over a hundred copies per performance."

It seems only right that one of the bookshop's best customers is also the author of its all-time bestseller.

© Heather Neill, October 2000

Heather Neill is arts editor of The Times Educational Supplement and contributes to the arts pages of other newspapers including The Times