Past productions 1971-1980
The first performances by the National Theatre took place in 1963 at the Old Vic. Listed here are productions from 1971 to 1980.
1971
THE ARCHITECT AND THE EMPEROR OF ASSYRIA
by Fernando Arrabal
translated by Jean Benedetti
Director Victor Garcia
Old Vic 3 February 1971
THE CAPTAIN OF KOPENICK
by Carl Zuckmayer
adapted by John Mortimer
Director Frank Dunlop
Old Vic 9 March 1971
A WOMAN KILLED WITH KINDNESS
by Thomas Heywood
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 7 April 1971
CORIOLANUS
by William Shakespeare
Director Manfred Wekwerth & Joachim Tenschert
Old Vic 6 May 1971
THE RULES OF THE GAME
by Luigi Pirandello
English version by David Hare & Robert Rietty
Director Anthony Page
New Theatre 15 June 1971
AMPHITRYON 38
by Jean Giraudoux, taken from
adaptations by S N Behrman & Roger Gellert
Director Laurence Olivier
New Theatre 23 June 1971
TYGER
by Adrian Mitchell
with music by Mike Westbrook
Director Michael Blakemore & John Dexter
New Theatre 20 July 1971
DANTON'S DEATH
by Georg Büchner
adapted by John Wells
Director Jonathan Miller
New Theatre 3 August 1971
THE GOOD NATUR'D MAN
by Oliver Goldsmith
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 9 December 1971
LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT
by Eugene O'Neill
Director Michael Blakemore
New Theatre 21 December 1971
1972
JUMPERS
by Tom Stoppard
Director Peter Wood
Old Vic 2 February 1972
RICHARD II
by William Shakespeare
Director David William
Old Vic 29 March 1972
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Director Jonathan Miller
Old Vic 11 May 1972
1972
THE FRONT PAGE
by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Director Michael Blakemore
Old Vic 6 July 1972
1972
'TIS PITY SHE'S A WHORE
by John Ford
Director Roland Joffe
Old Vic 11 July (Mobile) 1972
MACBETH
by William Shakespeare
Director Michael Blakemore
Old Vic 9 November 1972
1973
TWELFTH NIGHT
by William Shakespeare
Director Peter James
Old Vic 6 January (Mobile) 1973
THE MISANTHROPE
by Molière
English version by Tony Harrison
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 22 February 1973
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
by Anton Chekhov
translated by Ronald Hingley
Director Michael Blakemore
Old Vic 24 May 1973
EQUUS
by Peter Shaffer
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 26 July 1973
THE BACCHAE
by Euripides
adapted by Wole Soyinka
Director Roland Joffe
Old Vic 2 August 1973
SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY
by Eduardo de Filippo
translated by Keith Waterhouse & Willis Hall
Director Franco Zeffirelli
Old Vic 25 October 1973
THE PARTY
by Trevor Griffiths
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 20 December 1973
1974
THE PARTY
by Trevor Griffiths
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 20 December 1973
1974
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
by William Shakespeare
Director Jonathan Miller
Old Vic 15 January (Mobile) 1974
THE TEMPEST
by William Shakespeare
Director Peter Hall
Old Vic 5 March 1974
EDEN END
by JB Priestley
Director Laurence Olivier
Old Vic 4 April 1974
NEXT OF KIN
by John Hopkins
Director Harold Pinter
Old Vic 2 May 1974
SPRING AWAKENING
by Frank Wedekind
translated by Edward Bond
Director Bill Bryden 1974
Old Vic 28 May 1974
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
by Beaumarchais
translated by John Wells
Director Jonathan Miller
Old Vic 9 July 1974
ROMEO AND JULIET
by William Shakespeare
Director Bill Bryden
Old Vic 28 August 1974 (Mobile)
THE FREEWAY
by Peter Nichols
Director Jonathan Miller
Old Vic 1 October 1974
GRAND MANOEUVRES
by A E Ellis
Director Michael Blakemore
Old Vic 3 December 1974
1975
JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN *
by Henrik Ibsen
translated by Inga-Stina Ewbank & Peter Hall
Director Peter Hall
Old Vic 28 January 1975
HEARTBREAK HOUSE
by Bernard Shaw
Director John Schlesinger
Old Vic 25 February 1975
HAPPY DAYS *
by Samuel Beckett
Director Peter Hall
Old Vic 13 March 1975
NO MAN'S LAND *
by Harold Pinter
Director Peter Hall
Old Vic 23 April 1975
ENGAGED
by W S Gilbert
Director Michael Blakemore
Old Vic 6 August 1975
PHAEDRA BRITANNICA
by Tony Harrison
after Racine
Director John Dexter
Old Vic 9 September 1975
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
by J M Synge
Director Bill Bryden
Old Vic 29 October 1975
HAMLET *
by William Shakespeare
Director Peter Hall
Old Vic 10 December 1975
JUDGEMENT
by Barry Collins
Director Peter Hall
Old Vic 18 December 1975
1976
PLUNDER *
by Ben Travers
Director Michael Blakemore
Old Vic 14 January 1976
WATCH IT COME DOWN *
by John Osborne
Director Bill Bryden
Old Vic 24 February 1976
BLITHE SPIRIT
by Noel Coward
Director Harold Pinter
Lyttelton 24 June 1976
WEAPONS OF HAPPINESS
by Howard Brenton
Director David Hare
Lyttelton 14 July 1976
JUMPERS
By Tom Stoppard
Director Peter Wood
Lyttelton 21 Sep 1976
TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT
by Christopher Marlowe
Director Peter Hall
Olivier 4 October 1976
IL CAMPIELLO
by Carlo Goldoni
English version by Susanna Graham-Jones & Bill Bryden
Director Bill Bryden
Olivier 25 October 1976
THE FORCE OF HABIT
by Thomas Bernhard
translated by Neville & Stephen Plaice
Director Elijah Moshinsky
Lyttelton 9 November 1976
COUNTING THE WAYS
by Edward Albee
Director Bill Bryden
Olivier 6 December 1976
* These six productions, and later The Playboy of the Western World, transferred to the Lyttelton in
March 1976, opening the new theatre on the South Bank.
1977
TALES FROM THE VIENNA WOODS
by Odon von Horvath
translated by Christopher Hampton
Director Maximilian Schell
Olivier 26 January 1977
BEDROOM FARCE
by Alan Ayckbourn
Director Alan Ayckbourn & Peter Hall
Lyttelton 16 March 1977
JULIUS CAESAR
by William Shakespeare
Director John Schlesinger
Olivier 22 March 1977
STRAWBERRY FIELDS
by Stephen Poliakoff
Director Michael Apted
Cottesloe 5 April 1977
THE PASSION
from York Mystery Plays
version by the Company and Tony Harrison
Director Bill Bryden & Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 25 April 1977
VOLPONE
by Ben Jonson
Director Peter Hall
Olivier 26 April 1977
FOUR TO ONE
by Gawn Grainger
Director Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 18 May 1977
STATE OF REVOLUTION
by Robert Bolt
Director Christopher Morahan
Lyttelton 26 May 1977
TO THOSE BORN LATER
poems and songs of Bertolt Brecht
Devised by Michael Kustow & John Willett
Director Michael Kustow
Cottesloe 1 June 1977
OLD MOVIES
by Bill Bryden
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 16 June 1977
THE MADRAS HOUSE
by Harley Granville Barker
Director William Gaskill
Olivier 22 June 1977
THE CAMILLA RINGBINDER SHOW
by Trevor Ray & Richard Mangan
Director Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 1 July 1977
BOW DOWN
by Tony Harrison (writer) and
Harrison Birtwistle (music)
Director Walter Donohue
Cottesloe 5 July 1977
SIR IS WINNING
by Shane Connaughton
Director Christopher Morahan
Cottesloe 25 August 1977
THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS
by Sean O'Casey
Director Bill Bryden
Olivier 20 September 1977
THE LADY FROM MAXIM'S
by Georges Feydeau
translated by John Mortimer
Director Christopher Morahan
Lyttelton 18 October
LAVENDER BLUE
by John Mackendrick
Director Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 10 November 1977
HALF-LIFE
by Julian Mitchell
Director Waris Hussein
Cottesloe 17 November 1977
THE COUNTRY WIFE
by William Wycherley
Director Peter Hall with Stewart Trotter
Olivier 29 November 1977
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
adapted by Peter Stevens from Brian Stone's translated of C14 poem
Director Michael Bogdanov
Lyttelton 8 December 1977
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
adapted from Victor Hugo by Ken Hill
Director Michael Bogdanov
Cottesloe 30 December 1977
1978
THE GUARDSMAN
by Ferenc Molnár
English version by Frank Marcus
Director Peter Wood
Lyttelton 3 January 1978
ROBERT LOWELL, AMERICAN POET
Devised by Ian Hamilton & Michael Kustow
Director Michael Kustow
Cottesloe 20 January 1978
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
by Anton Chekhov
translated by Michael Frayn
Director Peter Hall
Olivier 14 February 1978
LOVE LETTERS ON BLUE PAPER
by Arnold Wesker
Director Arnold Wesker
Cottesloe 15 February 1978
LARK RISE
by Keith Dewhurst from Flora Thompson's book
Director Bill Bryden & Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 29 March 1978
PLENTY
by David Hare
Director David Hare
Lyttelton 12 April 1978
DON JUAN COMES BACK FROM THE WAR
by Odon von Horvath
translated by Christopher Hampton
Director Stewart Trotter
Cottesloe 18 April 1978
BRAND
by Henrik Ibsen
translated by Geoffrey Hill
Director Christopher Morahan
Olivier 25 April 1978
LOST WORLDS
by Wilson John Haire
Director Robert Kidd
Cottesloe 25 May 1978
MACBETH
by William Shakespeare
Director Peter Hall with John Russell Brown
Olivier 6 June 1978
AMERICAN BUFFALO
by David Mamet
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 28 June 1978
THE WOMAN
by Edward Bond
Director Edward Bond
Olivier 10 August 1978
THE PHILANDERER
by Bernard Shaw
Director Christopher Morahan
Lyttelton 7 September 1978
THE DOUBLE DEALER
by William Congreve
Director Peter Wood
Olivier 27 September 1978
THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
by Keith Dewhurst from Christopher Hill's book
Director Bill Bryden & Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 2 November 1978
BETRAYAL
by Harold Pinter
Director Peter Hall
Lyttelton 15 November 1978
HAS “WASHINGTON” LEGS?
by Charles Wood
Director Geoffrey Reeves
Cottesloe 29 November 1978
STRIFE
by John Galsworthy
Director Christopher Morahan
Olivier 30 November 1978
HEROD
by Paul Mills
Director Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 11 December 1978
1979
A FAIR QUARREL
by Thomas Middleton & William Rowley
Director William Gaskill
Olivier 8 February 1979
THE LONG VOYAGE HOME
by Eugene O'Neill
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 20 February 1979
THE FRUITS OF ENLIGHTENMENT
by Lev Tolstoy
translated by Michael Frayn
Director Christopher Morahan
Olivier 8 March 1979
FOR SERVICES RENDERED
by W Somerset Maugham
Director Michael Rudman
Lyttelton 1 May 1979
CLOSE OF PLAY
by Simon Gray
Director Harold Pinter
Lyttelton 24 May 1979
DISPATCHES
from Michael Herr's book
adapted for the stage by Bill Bryden & the Company
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 6 June 1979
UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
by Arthur Schnitzler
in a version by Tom Stoppard
Director Peter Wood
Olivier 20 June 1979
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare
Director John Dexter
Olivier 1 August 1979
WINGS
by Arthur Kopit
Director John Madden
Cottesloe 15 August 1979
DEATH OF A SALESMAN
by Arthur Miller
Director Michael Rudman
Lyttelton 20 September 1979
RICHARD III
by William Shakespeare
Director Christopher Morahan
Olivier 4 October 1979
AMADEUS
by Peter Shaffer
Director Peter Hall
Olivier 2 November 1979
CANDLEFORD
by Keith Dewhurst from
Flora Thompson's book
Director Bill Bryden & Sebastian Graham-Jones
Cottesloe 14 November 1979
WHEN WE ARE MARRIED
by J B Priestley
Director Robin Lefèvre
Lyttelton 12 December 1979
THE WILD DUCK
by Henrik Ibsen
translated by Christopher Hampton
Director Christopher Morahan
Olivier 13 December 1979
1980
HUGHIE
by Eugene O'Neill
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 22 January 1980
THEE AND ME
by Philip Martin
Director Michael Rudman
Lyttelton 26 February 1980
THE ICEMAN COMETH
by Eugene O'Neill
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 4 March 1980
OTHELLO
by William Shakespeare
Director Peter Hall
Olivier 20 March 1980
EARLY DAYS
by David Storey
Director Lindsay Anderson
Cottesloe 22 April 1980
THE BROWNING VERSION
and HARLEQUINADE
by Terence Rattigan
Director Michael Rudman
Lyttelton 13 May 1980
SISTERLY FEELINGS
by Alan Ayckbourn
Director Alan Ayckbourn & Christopher Morahan
Olivier 3/4 June 1980
THE ELEPHANT MAN
by Bernard Pomerance
Director Roland Rees
Lyttelton 15 July 1980
THE LIFE OF GALILEO
by Bertolt Brecht
trans by Howard Brenton
Director John Dexter
Olivier 13 August 1980
LINE 'EM
by Nigel Williams
Director Christopher Morahan
Cottesloe 18 August 1980
WATCH ON THE RHINE
by Lillian Hellman
Director Mike Ockrent
Lyttelton 16 September 1980
THE NATIVITY
(as Part I of The Passion)
from medieval mystery plays
version by the Company & Tony Harrison
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 23 September 1980
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN
by Howard Brenton
Director Michael Bogdanov
Olivier 16 October 1980
THE PROVOK'D WIFE
by John Vanbrugh
Director Peter Wood
Lyttelton 28 October 1980
THE CRUCIBLE
by Arthur Miller
Director Bill Bryden
Cottesloe 30 October 1980
THE CARETAKER
by Harold Pinter
Director Kenneth Ives
Lyttelton 11 November 1980
HIAWATHA
by Longfellow
adapted by Michael Bogdanov
Director Michael Bogdanov
Olivier 10 December 1980
