Theatre Quality Quotes

Theatre, when it is at its best, takes a lot of beating - the live experience and the shared collective experience of live storytelling is really special when it is good. Particularly here in New York because the audiences are amazing, very vocal and very engaged, and that makes theatre very exciting.

Do I think the West End relies too heavily on star names? Yes, I do, and it can result in miscasting and sub-standard stuff. Not always, but occasionally.

A theatre receives recognition through its initiative, which is indispensable for first-rate performances.

Theatre for a New Audience is one of America's most admirable and exciting theatre companites...some of the best acted and directed work to be found on American stages, engaging with the canon of world dramatic literature in a vigorous way.

Putting TV stars in plays just to get people in is wrong. You have to have the right people in the right parts. Stunt casting and being gimmicky does the theatre a great disservice. You have to lure people by getting them excited about a theatrical experience.

Next time I do a play, I want to go out of town. I don't like the idea of opening in New York. I don't have to do theatre, but if you're going to do it, you should do it well. These days, everything has to be up and running in five minutes. As a result, the rehearsal time is missing.

A play should give you something to think about. When I see a play and understand it the first time, then I know it can't be much good.

I saw 'The Wild Duck' at the Belvoir St. Theatre in Sydney, and it was one of the best pieces of theatre I'd ever seen.

If you want a commercial success - it's the confusion of commerce with art. A successful play is not considered to be the best written. It is the one that sells the most tickets. Those standards are destructive [to theatre].

The Huntington Theatre has a really fine reputation. I was keenly aware of how well thought of they are and that they develop and support new plays.

I loathe bad theater and most theatre is very bad because it's repetitious, unexciting and, dangerously, it is sometimes praised for those things.