How to Get to the Dorfman Theatre
Nearest tube + walk time: Waterloo
Get directionsMap: Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre, Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PX
Open in Google MapsDorfman Theatre, National Theatre, Upper Ground, London SE1 9PX. The Dorfman has its own entrance, a short walk round the side of the building from the main doors.
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The right door
The Dorfman's entrance is on the east side of the building, on Stage Door Avenue, opposite the IBM building. It has its own foyer, Box Office, bar and cloakroom, and you can't reach any of them from the main river entrance without going back outside and walking round.
If you do end up at the main doors: back outside, along to the far end of the building, right at the corner, past the stage door and the car park entrance, and the Dorfman door is in the extension on your right, up a shallow flight of steps with a ramp alongside. From Upper Ground, take the paved road signed for the car park and keep going about two thirds of the way down.
Allow a few extra minutes for that walk on top of everything else.
Getting to the South Bank
Tube and rail. Waterloo is the one to use: about 6 minutes on foot to the Dorfman door, on the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines, and a mainline station too. Waterloo East is about 10 minutes. Southwark is further than it looks, more like 12 to 15. Embankment and Charing Cross are on the other side of the river, 11 and 14 minutes over the Golden Jubilee footbridge.
Buses. The closest stops to this door are Coin Street on Stamford Street and Waterloo Bridge / South Bank on the bridge approach, both about 5 minutes away. The bridge stops carry the 1, 59, 68, 76, 139, 172, 176, 188, 243, 341 and SL6; Coin Street and the Waterloo Road stops carry the 381.
Bike. There are racks directly opposite the Dorfman entrance.
Our National Theatre guide has the rest of the travel picture, including the car park, the river piers and the wider bus network.
What time to arrive
Be at the door 30 minutes before the performance. Some productions here don't let latecomers in at all.
The Dorfman foyer, bar, Box Office and cloakroom open an hour before the performance rather than when the main building opens in the morning, so there's no point turning up in the afternoon expecting this end of the building to be open. The cloakroom is £1.50 an item.
Getting Here FAQs
Where is the entrance to the Dorfman Theatre?
Stage Door Avenue, on the east side of the National Theatre, facing the IBM building. It is round the side of the building rather than through the main river entrance, a short walk from the main doors.
Which tube station is closest to the Dorfman Theatre?
Waterloo, about 6 minutes away on foot. Southwark looks closer on a map than it is: allow 12 to 15 minutes from there.
How early should I arrive at the Dorfman Theatre?
Thirty minutes before, and no later. You may not be let in at all once the performance has started.