Every theatre worth anything has somebody in the middle of it who is driving it; like Joan Littlewood with her theatre.

Suppose Mozart had tried to be original? It would have been like a man at the North Pole trying to walk north, and this is true of all of the rest of us. Striving after originality takes you far away from your true self, and makes your work mediocre.

My feeling is the moment the theatre is not full you have to do something else. But most people somehow think 'If we did it better, they would come'. No. They don't come.

If it weren't for fear, I wouldn't have to teach you a damn thing

When you want to have entertainment, it must be a waste of time. I don't like that. I don't like improvisation being pointless.

The best laughs are on the recognition of truth.

There are people who prefer to say ‘Yes’, and there are people who prefer to say ‘No’. Those who say ‘Yes’ are rewarded by the adventures they have, and those who say ‘No’ are rewarded by the safety they attain.