It's Showtime!!! - Theatre Review - A Tour Of The National Theatre and Afternoon Tea.

Hi!!!

As I've mentioned previously, I spent a lot of time at the National Theatre in the week following my birthday. I saw two shows (which I reviewed here and here), but that wasn't all. One of my birthday presents was a tour of the theatre and afternoon tea at one of their restaurants. Here are my thoughts.



 The tour takes you behind the scenes, with time in each theatre within the National - the Olivier, the Lyttelton and the Dorfman - and also the props and set departments.

 

The tour is conducted in groups which are medium sized - there  are quite a few people and yet not too many, so if you have any questions, you'll be heard. You're given orange vests to wear so that none of you get lost and they are pretty snazzy.

 

You find out about the lay-out of the theatre, the reason they are each designed in such different ways. You also get to find out about the materials used for props and set, see the workspaces and hold some of the props used from previous productions. The tour guide will also talk to you about traditions the actors at the theatre have and the inner workings of the productions (like the Olivier Drum).

 

The National Theatre are keen to say that no two tours are exactly the same in that you may see different sets, props or maybe the making of some. You may find out different facts, depending on the shows that are on. There's always something new at the National and they want people to feel involved in that, which I love.

 

The tour is informative, interesting and fun. It is a unique experience, and definitely worth going, especially if you love the theatre.

The Afternoon Tea was amazing, too.

All of the elements of it are taken from productions by the National Theatre, some examples include a Hummus, Red Pepper and Green Bean Sandwich from One Man Two Guvnors and the greatest pork pie I've ever eaten which is inspired by Sweeny Todd (although thankfully not in a literal sense!). The deserts deserve a special mention, too - macaroons, gooseberry ice cream, honey cake (with honey from the theatre's beehives) and the obligatory scones.

The service at the restaurant was excellent and we were given plenty of time to enjoy the experience, which I appreciated greatly.

It was an absolute treat and I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

There is a package featuring both experiences or you can, I believe, do them separately. I've linked all the information you could possibly want on this here and here.



I hope you found this interesting. I'm super lucky to have had this experience and writing this really made me smile.

Have you been on the tour or had afternoon tea at the National? Would you like to? Do you have any suggestions for future posts? Fancy a chat? Talk to me in the comments.

Thanks for joining me today, I'll speak to you soon.

Have a marvellous day, lovely people!

GingerSnaps xxx