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‘Directing Differently’: Lecture given by Mike Leigh with Indhu Rubasingham
“The job of a director is to pull other people together…to give them the space to be creative and make things happen.”
In the fourth annual Directors Guild Peter Brook Lecture, Mike Leigh OBE FRSL considers the purpose of a director, giving intimate insight into his career working in both theatre and film. With reference to his renowned film Vera Drake, among others, Leigh speaks in detail about his directorial craft, describing his process when working with actors on creating a character.
Leigh recalls his early days in the theatre, from his time at RADA to becoming one of the ‘founding fathers and mothers’ of the Edinburgh Fringe, and explains why there can be no such thing as a ‘Mike Leigh Method’ because each project brings its own joys and challenges, as well as its own ensemble.