Cameron Mackintosh

“I had set a goal of being a producer by 25.”

“Constrained circumstances can bring the best out of you.”

“I know I'm in the exceptional position of having money, but I didn't have it for many decades. I'm always trying to get shows put on for 25 per cent less production costs.”

“I don't watch a lot of television.”

“I don't commit to things unless I have my A-team to do it. And I'm not trying to be cocky, but that shows in my productions. They are top notch!”

“Sometimes, thinking on your feet can be the most creative. Constrained circumstances can bring the best out of you. Some of the most successful shows come out of shoestring invention.”

“My dream is to be on my boat. Or on an island. Or in my house in the country. That's my dream.”

“The commercial and subsidised theatre are intrinsically linked. I wouldn't have had the career I have had without the opportunities I had through the subsidised sector. However, I do think, in any walk of life, subsidy for the sake of subsidy is not always healthy.”

“By the time I was ten, everyone knew I wanted to be a producer. I was a very precocious little boy.”

“I'm privileged to have had some success, but I've never forgotten what it was like to queue for a half-crown gallery seat for 'Oliver!' which is why I ensure that there are £20 day tickets for 'Miss Saigon' and that the balconies in my theatres are as comfortable as I can possibly make them.”

“I don't like being in debt, and I wouldn't borrow money for anything.”

“I've never had a very great public life.”

“I've taken considerable gambles on shows, but they're very considered gambles.”

“I know I'm in the exceptional position of having money but I didn't have it for many decades.”

“I'm proud of the fact that I've taken a lot of big directors, such as Trevor Nunn and Nick Hytner, who were musical virgins, and introduced them to the form.”

“It horrifies me how much it costs to put on shows now, mainly due to EU regulations. The freedom to be entrepreneurial is no longer there. It's a massive business now.”

“I am in that glorious position where I can redesign and re-package my own work.”

“I love 'Glee.'”

“My aunt took me to see 'Salad Days' when I was seven. This story of a magic piano that infects everyone who hears it infected me, too. It was a Road to Damascus moment in my life.”

“I survived because I never took on big responsibilities in my private life. In the early days, I lived on two or three pounds a week and learned to cook - and I'm a good cook - because I had to. Even when I went on holiday, I stayed in other people's houses.”