Sean Mathias

“Actors like to know who they are playing, what they are thinking, feeling, meaning, intending at any one time.”

“I love putting a show together, because it's like the chase - I think my masculine side enjoys it most, the aggression of putting together deals.”

“The strange thing about directing, for me, was that opportunities arose; I'd had some nice roles as an actor, but it just never happened with any kind of ease. So directing seemed like serendipity.”

“If I feel I've missed out something, it's properly running a theatre. That would be thrilling.”

“The first American show I did was on Broadway, which was quite a good start.”

“One still gets a sense from some people that I got this or that gig only because I'm Ian McKellen's ex, which isn't the case. But I just have to deal with that. I don't want to come across as a victim. I feel lucky to have known him. He's an amazing person.”

“I was originally an actor, and then I started to write. One of the most frustrating things about acting was that it was intermittent - lovely when you're employed, but so utterly miserable being unemployed. I didn't know how to occupy myself, and writing became that occupation.”

“Waiting for Godot' is not an easy play to discover. It is a play that makes us face our own fragile existence. And what is worse, it makes us face our daily routine in all its banality.”

“Working in New York, even when the reception has been less than sunny, has always brought me great fulfillment.”

“In your 20s, 30s, early 40s, you work with such a lot of different people, and then suddenly you just can't retain all those names, and you just start calling everyone 'dahling'. I only realised that when I got old enough to find out.”

“I didn't go to university. I don't have an academic background.”

“Directing 'Two Plays in Rep' has brought me the greatest professional satisfaction I have ever known.”

“I'm fascinated by what lies beneath the surface. If you manage to put desire on stage, it can be very exciting. It's about getting the right feelings to spark at the right time - a moment of alchemy.”

“I think it's the duty of the artist to run away from home. I mean I think you have to go far afield to expand and to discover.”