The design of the Cottesloe (now Dorfman) auditorium at the National Theatre was delegated to Richard Pilbrow and Iain Mackintosh, even though it had been cut from the project as originally envisaged. But it had to be built as the space was an intrinsic part of the building. It was completed at low cost, with its equipment gathered from the other two theatres.
Richard’s return to advocating Edwardian and Victorian theatre models was not only to create unity between actors and audience, but to build stronger links within the audience.
Many theatres built soon after the second world war in the UK seemed to use the format of the cinema, ensuring that everyone had a good view of the stage but, often, no real awareness of one another and of a shared experience of the performance.
