<P> The Company was to remain at the Old Vic until 1977, when construction of the Olivier was complete . </P> <P> The National Theatre building houses three separate theatres . Additionally, a temporary structure was added in April 2013 and closed in May 2016 . </P> <P> Named after the theatre's first artistic director, Laurence Olivier, this is the main auditorium, modelled on the ancient Greek theatre at Epidaurus; it has an open stage and a fan - shaped audience seating area for 1100 people . A' drum revolve' (a five - storey revolving stage section) extends eight metres beneath the stage and is operated by a single staff member . The drum has two rim revolves and two platforms, each of which can carry ten tonnes, facilitating dramatic and fluid scenery changes . Its design ensures that the audience's view is not blocked from any seat, and that the audience is fully visible to actors from the stage's centre . Designed in the 1970s and a prototype of current technology, the drum revolve and a multiple' sky hook' flying system were initially very controversial and required ten years to commission, but seem to have fulfilled the objective of functionality with high productivity . </P> <P> Named after Oliver Lyttelton, the National Theatre's first board chairman, it has a proscenium arch design and can accommodate an audience of 890 . </P>

A famous feature of the national theatre's olivier stage is its