I've had a long association with the theater over the years but I had never produced a play and it was something that I'd always wanted to do.The movies moved away from dramas, and I think that I'm very excited by the opportunity to take smart writing that takes risks and see it on stage. It's exciting to see that engagement between the audience and the playwright.

The notion that the staging of the play Harry Potter should be raw magic and street theater rather than high-tech theater, was essential.

Each audience seems to have a life of its own, which is why watching the show regularly is so exciting, because it's always a different experience.

The theater is a communal experience, and whatever the emotional connection between an audience member and the actors onstage, it ripples through the whole audience. Part of the fun of the play is being a part of that audience.

You never know, until you put a play up for an audience, whether it's going to work. Things you think will work don't, and things you're not sure about work really well.

I live in New York, so I'm used to the audiences that cheer and clap through a play. It is unusual for London audiences.

I think people want the intimacy in the engagement of sitting in a theater with people and seeing something happen live and engage in that. I think that could be a very powerful experience.