 At around the time the Chichester Festival opened , plans for the creation of the National Theatre were coming to fruition . The British government agreed to release funds for a new building on the South Bank of the Thames . Lord Chandos was appointed chairman of the National Theatre Board in 1962 , and in August Olivier accepted its invitation to be the company 's first director . As his assistants , he recruited the directors John Dexter and William <unk> , with Kenneth Tynan as literary adviser or " <unk> " . <unk> the construction of the new theatre , the company was based at the Old Vic . With the agreement of both organisations , Olivier remained in overall charge of the Chichester Festival during the first three seasons of the National ; he used the festivals of 1964 and 1965 to give preliminary runs to plays he hoped to stage at the Old Vic . 
