News and Events
Chris Arthur - Scenes from National Life
2nd Sep 2013
Celebrating the working life of the National's first
company, this exhibition includes brilliant unseen portraits, including Anthony
Hopkins, Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier.
Chris Arthur's unique access allowed him to document the
National Theatre productions and the backstage world of the Old Vic.
The 'Chris Arthur Scenes from National Life' exhibition also includes images of the street life of
Waterloo in the early 1960s.
From 9 September
to 10 November 2013.
Open 10 am to 10.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
Sundays (when open): 12 noon - 6pm Closed on following
Sundays: 22 Sep, 6, 13 & 20 Oct Admission free.
Location: The Lyttleton Exhibition area (first floor).
The National Theatre, South Bank, London. SE1 9PX.
Chris joined the ABTT about 1962.
He spent four years training in theatre design at
Wimbledon School of Art. After graduating was dragged into the army to do his
national service, where much to his surprise he was officially employed as an
artist and spent an awful lot of time devising a wide range of theatre design
projects.
When his two years were up, he joined Dundee Rep as
assistant designer and subsequently moved to The Century (mobile) Theatre as
designer.
There followed various tours and productions around the
Midlands, Oxford and the North and in between times he worked in London as an
electrician at The Mermaid & Cambridge theatres.
In the autumn of 1963 he thought he was joining the newly
formed National Theatre on electrics, but the job actually turned out to be on
the stage staff However the error was soon rectified and he transferred to back
to electrics and stayed with the National at the Old Vic for 5 years. During
this time he bought a camera, taught himself to use it and how to make prints.
His snaps were seen and he began to carry out small assignments for the firm,
These grew in scale and frequency until he eventually moved on to become a
full-time professional theatre photographer.
