It is impossible - now, at this point in the long journey of human culture - to avoid the sense that pain is necessity; that it is neither accident, nor malformation, nor malice, nor misunderstanding, that it is integral to the human character both in its inflicting and in its suffering, this terrible sense Tragedy alone has articulated, and will continue to articulate, and in so doing, make beautiful...

You emerge from tragedy equipped against lies. After the musical, you're anybody's fool

I don't like sympathetic characters.

I submit all my plays to the National Theatre for rejection. To assure myself I am seeing clearly.

I'm not interested in observed reality.

Tragedy is the greatest art form of all. It gives us the courage to continue with our life by exposing us to the pain of life. It is unsentimental, it takes us seriously as human beings, it is not condescending. Paradoxically, by seeing pain we are made greater, it becomes a need.

Theatre should be a taxing experience: the greatest achievement of a writer is to produce a character who creates anxiety.