[on receiving the C.B.E. under the Tony Blair government] Being honoured by one's country is even better than winning a Tony Award. But since it comes from Downing Street, I suppose in a sense it is a Tony. Show less «

I love storytelling and I love just relating directly to an audience. That's why we do theatre, it's because we love with the audience. We love the fact that the audience will change us. The way the audience responds makes us change our performance. Show less «

[on Alec Guinness] He wrote to tell me he had just seen A age to India (1984), and as the lights had come up he had vomited in shame at his own performance as Professor Godbole. Show less «

[on William Shakespeare] It's the most melodious words ever written in the English language. It's also in rhythm, you know, like music, and people love that. Show less «