Michael Billington pays homage to Nicholas Hytner and celebrates his legacy at the National Theatre.
When Nicholas Hytner took over the National Theatre in 2003, it felt like an institution settling into comfortable middle-age. After making some critical remarks about the pre-Hytner regime, I remember being taken to lunch by the then executive director. I told her I didn’t quite know what the National stood for any more. “Funny you should say that,” she replied. “We ask ourselves that question, too.”
When Nicholas Hytner took over the National Theatre in 2003, it felt like an institution settling into comfortable middle-age. After making some critical remarks about the pre-Hytner regime, I remember being taken to lunch by the then executive director. I told her I didn’t quite know what the National stood for any more. “Funny you should say that,” she replied. “We ask ourselves that question, too.”
Hytner didn’t mess around in seeking to answer it... Keep reading on The Guardian