Nicholas Hytner speaks about why the theatre and the arts are so essential to our national life and our own humanity. How can theatre help us to transcend boundaries, expand truth, deepen empathy and set free both the imagination and our own creativity? How does theatre make word flesh?

Nicholas Hytner is artistic director and co-founder of the Bridge Theatre, where he has recently directed Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and (in June 2021) the premiere of Nina Raine’s Bach & Sons. He was director of the National Theatre 2003-15, where he directed many plays by Shakespeare including Henry V, Hamlet, Timon of Athens and Othello; and the premieres of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, Richard Bean’s One Man Two Guvnors, Ayub Khan Din’s Rafta, Rafta and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. He has directed opera at the Royal Opera House, the Paris Opéra, the Metropolitan Opera New York and English National Opera. His films include The Madness of King George and The Lady in the Van. His book Balancing Acts was published by Jonathan Cape in 2017.