I Am A Fan Of

I Love Imaginative Representations Of A Possible Near-future, Where You Look At The Technology And You Think, "well, Yeah, That Could Really Nearly Be True." I Like Those Kinds Of Backgrounds.

Anyone Who Can Do The Splits And Come Back Up On The Backbeat, As James Brown And Prince Can, Has My Eternal Respect. Prince, Who Is A Genius Of The Highest Order, Can Come Back Up While Singing And Playing The Guitar.

Opening A Play Is Just Tough. The Idea That Actors Are Weirdly Protected From It Is A Myth. If You Imagine Yourself Having To Spend Two And A Bit Hours Cooking Bolognaise, Remembering A Whole Major Work By David Hare And Speaking It At The Correct Moment Between Chopping Carrots And Stirring The Onions In Front Of An Audience - The Normal Human Response Is 'please, Can I Go To The Airport?'

One Of My Great Regrets, And I Don't Have Many, Is That I Spent Too Long Putting People's Status And Reputation Ahead Of Their More Important Qualities. I Learned Far Too Late In Life That A Long List Of Letters After Someone's Name Is No Guarantee Of Compassion, Kindness, Humour, All The Far More Relevant Stuff.

I Used To Joke That One Of The Reasons There Was A Lack Of Classical Work On My Cv Was Because I Couldn't Operate In Those Kinds Of Trousers. Which Is A Joke, But It's Actually Also True - If I Want To Appear In Public I Want To Look My Best. If I'm Onstage I Like To Do Contemporary Work, Largely Because Of The Trousers, Because Of The Clothes. I Like A Decent, What We Used To Call A Lounge Suit. Then I Can Start To Motor.