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Props Hire

Props - books and phones - used in Waste

Props Hire

Explore the fascinating world of our props and furniture department. Situated just across the courtyard from the Costume Hire Department, it comprises of three large warehouse rooms full of props and furniture, ranging from beautiful period pieces to the weird and wonderful, such as severed heads, stuffed animals, fake food and restraining chairs.

Our facility & your experience

Customers are welcome to browse through our collection to get inspiration for productions.

We offer a friendly and efficient service to a variety of customers including schools and universities, theatre and opera companies – both professional and amateur, film, television and video companies, marketing and publishing companies and events organisers.

Our hire fees are very competitive, offering educational discounts and a sliding scale for longer hires.

Visit the main Hires page for a map and information on how to find us.

Quality & Range

The vast majority of the collection has been used to bring productions to life on the National’s stages. Some of our most popular hires include the restraining chair and chamber pot from The Madness of George III, the seagull from The Seagull and the barber’s chair from Sweeney Todd.

Our highly-skilled makers are experts at creating fantastical props that are not quite what they seem. Expert paint techniques and clever tricks of the trade can fool one into thinking that a tempting plate of chocolate éclairs is far tastier than it actually is!

We also stock a selection of swords and shields and a large array of small props – telephones, lanterns, typewriters etc.

Electrical Goods - please note that electrical goods are hired as non-working props and swords are for non-combat hires only.