It’s very difficult to feel contempt for others when you see yourself in the mirror.

One is and is not in the centre of the maelstrom of it all.

There are some good rules and there are some lousy rules.

There's a tradition in British intellectual life of mocking any non-political force that gets involved in politics, especially within the sphere of the arts and the theatre.

I could be a bit of a pain in the arse. Since I've come out of my cancer, I must say I intend to be even more of a pain in the arse.

Iraq is just a symbol of the attitude of western democracies to the rest of the world.

I don't intend to simply go away and write my plays and be a good boy. I intend to remain an independent and political intelligence in my own right.