The history men

By Irving Wardle

Fifty years old this October, the National Theatre is in the midst of an £80m makeover which will mark the third chapter in its life. It is fortunate to have survived the past two.

In 1963 it was hard to believe that the long-frustrated idea of a British national theatre was about to become a reality. Ideas, in fact, were precisely the issue. Living institutions do generally roll in on an idea. But the NT was simply legislated into existence. The only idea its supporters could claim was that it would function as a theatrical lending library. Add the suspicion that, under Laurence Olivier, it was an actor-managerial dictatorship masquerading as an ensemble troupe, and you were left wondering what this new monster was for.