National Theatre and what we enjoyed there

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We once shared about how our parents brought us to the National Theatre at River Valley Road in 1967, where we wandered through its beautiful gardens and fountains. But our memories of that place didn’t end there.

One visit stands out vividly: our dad taking the whole family to watch a traditional Japanese Kabuki performance there. As children, those dramatic masks and elaborate costumes were both mesmerising and a little frightening, yet they opened our eyes to cultures far beyond our shores and taught us to appreciate art in all its forms.

Then came the mid‑1970s, when the theatre took on a very different kind of excitement. Cliff Richard was in town, and we had tickets to see him live at the same venue—right in the era of “Power to All Our Friends.” It turned into an unforgettable night, especially the moment when the drummer played with such intensity that he broke part of the bass drum, which had to be swapped out while he kept going.

1967 with our mother on the grounds of the National Theatre (colourised photo)

Typical Kabuki performance (photo taken off the internet)

Cliff Richard in the early 70's

Our father returned to the National Theatre and took this nighttime shot in 1977 (colourised photo)


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