National Theatre receives £2.5m grant

Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner followed Trevor Nunn as Director of the National Theatre taking over in 2003

London's National Theatre is one of four historic sites to receive funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for "wash and brush up" restoration work.

It has been granted £2.5m to help enhance the 20th-Century modernist building on London's South Bank.

Last year, Arts Council England gave the theatre £17.5m to aid its upgrades.

The remaining sites include Rochester Cathedral in Kent, the Carnegie Library in Dunfermline and Victorian mansion house Insole Court in Cardiff.

A total of £11m was awarded to the places of cultural interest in England, Scotland and Wales.

Chief Executive of HLF Carole Souter said: "This quartet of projects is a reminder of the extraordinary breadth of architectural heritage here in the UK."

She described the lottery body's role as "crucial", adding: "Plans can now get going for restoration work and fresh thinking on how to attract, stimulate and retain visitors in the long term."

The concrete building, which houses the National Theatre's three stages, was designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and erected between 1969 and 1976.

The most recent grant is part of a wider fundraising campaign for the £70m NT Future project.

It aims to transform the facilities, refurbishing the Cottesloe auditorium, and offer new opportunities for education, volunteering and local community involvement.

More than £60m has been raised so far, with two-thirds of that figure raised from trusts, individuals and the theatre's earnings from acclaimed production War Horse.