Explore more stories from The National’s past with these blog posts.
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McKellen, Before He Was Sir Ian: Acting Shakespeare at The National Theatre
Before he was the knight, star, and activist we know today, Ian McKellen flew solo at The National Theatre.
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Spectacle and Scandal: When “The Black Crook” Came to The National
“The Black Crook” was a sensation in its time, but was it as saucy as commentators of the day proclaimed?
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An Icon Onstage and Off: FDR’s Many Trips to The National Theatre
The nation’s longest serving president was a fixture in his box at The National Theatre – and, more than once, a character on its historic stage.
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From the Archives: Julian Eltinge, Female Impersonator
By Lana Mason, Archivist May 5, 2023 The performing art known as drag has a long and rich tradition. In early Western theatre, male actors always portrayed female characters due to prohibitions against women performing on stage. However, beginning in the 17th century, women began to be allowed on stage and so began to portray … Continued
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From the Archive: Early Black Theatre at The National
Written by: Lana Mason, Archivist Published: 2/17/2023 For much of the United States’ history, theatre was both implicitly and explicitly a racially segregated environment. The National Theatre, like other white-owned theatres in the South, maintained segregationist policies during the 19th and early 20th centuries. When The National opened in 1835, Washington, D.C. was governed in … Continued
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From the Archive: Navigating Accessibility at The National
Written by: Lana Mason, Archivist Published: 12/14/2022 Over the course of the 20th century, the disability rights movement in the United States helped to advance cultural awareness, understanding, and support of people with disabilities.[1] By the 1970s, organizations throughout the country, including performing arts theatres like The National Theatre, began to commit to providing more … Continued
