Jason Barnes.(Royal National Theatre production manager)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Much like the opera house in Paris has

its phantom, the Royal National Theatre

in London has Jason Barnes. Not that he

is invisible, but Barnes has been with

the theatre for over 25 years and has

survived three different administrations:

those of Laurence Olivier, Peter Hall, and

Richard Eyre. Now, with Trevor Nunn at

the helm, the National is entering a

fourth regime and Barnes is still there to

tell his tale.

In 1971, Barnes called his first show

as deputy stage manager for the

National Theatre. Those were the days

before the company had its South Bank

address and Barnes' National debut was

in a West End theatre (now called The

New). The show was Pirandello's The

Rules of The Game, starring Joan

Plowright and Paul Scofield. By 1975, the …