On Wednesday 3rd May, Year 5 went to the Southbank for their second trip linked to the Architecture in Schools project. This time, we headed to the National Theatre – a space that was refurbished by our partner architect firm – to give us ideas about how we could best use the design space available to us.
We first met Chelsea, who gave us a guided tour of the Olivier Theatre. This theatre takes inspiration from the Greek amphitheatres. Whilst we were in there, the technicians were testing all of the lights to make sure that they were all working ahead of the afternoon’s performance. Chelsea also explained how the National Theatre is different to the theatres in the West End. It was deliberately built out of concrete to make the space more accessible to all people and not just those with more money.
We then went backstage at the Dorfmann Theatre to see the props and staging being made. It was fascinating to see the people at work. We even spotted one of the props that was used in the production of Hamlet we saw last term! We found out that the National Theatre is a production theatre, meaning that all the props and costumes are made on-site.
After lunch, we focused on one element of the National Theatre to draw. The idea was to pick out one specific detail and focus in on that – whether it was a window, a specific texture or surface, or the direction of a wall. We then walked back down the Southbank, stopping in various places to look for ideas for our own design project.
We are really looking forward to the model making workshop next half term!
Mrs Amin, Year 5 Class Teacher
