Balancing Acts: Behind the Scenes at London’s National Theatre

One of the most highly regarded British directors of stage, opera, and screen (Henry V, Miss Saigon, The History Boys), Hytner chronicles his 12-year tenure as artistic director at the National Theatre in this detailed and stimulating look at the state of the art. He is candid, at times self-critical, as he shares fun and intimate stories of working with such luminaries as Arthur Miller, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Tom Stoppard, and director John Gielgud (“I thought as I sat at John Gielgud’s lunch table, I’m two degrees of separation from Oscar Wilde, I’m eating lunch with someone who knew his lover, his director, his actors”). He produced 20 shows a year for a multistage theater and here reflects on the learning curve he experienced with each project, walking a “tightrope” between classical and contemporary performances. He discusses his experience making Shakespeare current, adapting musicals for mixed audiences, commissioning plays by new playwrights, and dramatizing edgy literature for young theatergoers, as with his well-received stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. His advocacy for creative and audience diversity, gender- and color-blind casting, televised plays, low ticket prices, and state-funded arts education is passionate and articulate. He wasn’t always able to achieve his goals, and those failures are given just consideration and make for a captivating narrative. (Nov.)