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‘Directing the National’: Lecture given by Nicholas Hytner with Tom Morris
“Is it really going to work, theatre on the big screen? Yes, it has!”
In the third annual Directors Guild Peter Brook Lecture, Nicholas Hytner reflects on his career at the National Theatre in London. With reference to seminal productions, including War Horse and The History Boys, he states emphatically that surrounding himself with the right people was crucial to his success as Artistic Director.
During an in-depth discussion of adaptation, Hytner explains why the classics require intervention in order to stay relevant, particularly when the meaning of the language has changed, as it has in Shakespeare. He also considers the birth of NT Live - asserting that this thrust forwards could never have happened without the support of Helen Mirren.