National Theatre explores Ancient Greeks and modern backstage life in twin exhibitions

"The Greeks exhibition is mainly a cluster of display boards and some videos, so while it's informative about how plays were staged, as an exhibition, I had been hoping for something a bit more visual. There is one scale model of a stage set, but otherwise, it's short snapshots of plays past. I suspect if you're really into ancient Greek plays, the insights will be interesting, but otherwise, it was something I didn't spend that much time with. It also needed better lighting to read the text."

"However, there's also a collection of photos in a separate exhibition which looks at the "reset", the time at 4:30pm when the staff get everything ready before the doors open to the public. The National puts on these back-of-house exhibitions at times, usually commissioning artists to create works based on the staff. This time it's by photographers Laura McCluskey, Max Miechowski and Callum Su This exhibition explores their different responses to the 'reset' time, from a focus on the people to the equipment in use."

The Greeks exhibition features display boards and videos outlining how Greek plays have been staged, with a single scale model and short snapshots of past productions. The presentation offers useful insights for those interested in ancient Greek drama but provides few visual elements and suffers from poor lighting that makes text difficult to read. The Greeks exhibition runs until February 2026. A separate photographic exhibition documents the 4:30pm 'reset' when staff prepare the theatre, with work by Laura McCluskey, Max Miechowski and Callum Su showing responses from portraits to equipment. Both exhibitions are free and located upstairs at the National Theatre.

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