'Black Watch' has taken its place in the canon of Scottish theatre, and that's fantastic. It's a very particular kind of theatre. It's about the music, the movement, the whole 'event' of it.
— John Tiffany
The Black Watch is one of the most illustrious regiments. They've been at the vanguard of British military operations for 400 years. Something they're very proud of is what they call 'The Golden Thread,' where you can trace a line back from them to the first Black Watch soldiers who were from the Highlands, spoke Gaelic, and wore the kilt.
I'm a sucker for emotionally exploitative cello.
I've been in Glasgow since I was 18, on and off.
The more everything gets digitalised, the more precious the live experience of going to the theatre is.
Only when you don't impose things on it do you get real political theatre.
Usually, in theatre, you're adapting existing material or creating an entirely new play. With the 'Cursed Child,' we have been given the unique opportunity to explore some of the most cherished books and beloved characters ever written, yet work with J. K. Rowling to tell a story from that world that no one yet knows - it's exhilarating.
I'm fascinated to see how 'Black Watch' connects with an American audience.
What has started to interest me is how you use all the different disciplines and tools we have at our disposal, and that includes going into different art forms, like music and movement, because often they can tap into things that characters can't necessarily express through words. Audiences really enjoy that total experience.
You can only make the work that you have to make. And I am old enough now to know that I can't start making shows that are going to win awards. That way madness lies.
Austerity has led us to a terrible philosophy where we think we've got to cut back on everything that's 'frippery', like the arts.
Even with the success of 'Once,' I can't think about making theater straight for Broadway. Too nerve-racking.
There are some actors who see a show as something to do before going out.
When I get really down, I remember that we all share 99.99 per cent of our DNA with Beyonce. And suddenly, the world doesn't seem too bleak.
The whole notion of never growing up is incredibly intense and emotional.
I have a personal issue with Shakespeare. When I first encountered him, he made me feel thick. Well, not him, but the productions I saw.
When you're growing up, it's very easy to feel lonely and insecure.
We never want to update 'Black Watch,' because it's about a moment in time, and through that moment, it manages to speak about Afghanistan and all other wars. This play is 'about' Iraq, but it's actually about every war that's ever been or will ever be.
'Once' constantly surprises me. I think it's the power of the music and the storytelling that people connect with.
Theatre is a playground. It really is, and we should use that playground more.
My need is about communicating the whole, and when the whole is there in the text and in what the actors are doing, then it doesn't need 'frou-frou,' as I call it.
When you tell a story that you know is having an effect on the audience, that, for me, is the transforming thing.
I've never understood why anyone would want to join the army, but that's irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that, as long as we go on voting in governments who are prepared to take troops into an illegal war, that army is a necessity.
I know Australians are no strangers to pubs, but in the U.K., the pub is a real meeting place because the houses can be quite small, so the pub is an extension of the living space.
Sometimes it should be the job of Broadway to introduce stars as well as cast them.
I suppose what I aspire to do is to make it easy for the audience to connect with a story.
How do we compete with the 3D superscreens at the cineplex? We just make it better - because theatre is better because it's live. Instead of trying to be like the poor cousin, we need to accept that we're the king.
I studied theatre at Glasgow University and then was lucky enough to land a scholarship with a theatre group in Edinburgh.
For me, there is a real line between something being the worst thing in the world and the best thing in the world.
No space should be safe from theatre.
I want to understand the anger in the world.
I hate rules. I hate 'This is the way things are done'. I hate a lack of reinvention. I hate theatre as an archeological exercise. Theatre needs to be urgent.
'Peter Pan' makes 'Black Watch' and 'The Bacchae' look like a walk in the park.
One of my favorite things to read in the 'Observer' is the restaurant review by Jay Rayner. I love reading about these restaurants that I won't ever have the time to go to.
You can only really get to any truth by telling peoples' stories.
I love mishmash and the chaos of art forms.
I'll always have a relationship with Scotland.
I'm not interested in putting naturalism on stage - I want passion.
The idea of audiences becoming part of the show is, I think, where theatre is going.
Some actors just have a quality, a way of combining music and character and story, where everything just falls into place.
It's very hard to argue with the politics of 'Black Watch,' because it is not an opinion; it is just the true stories of these boys, and any opinions expressed are theirs.
There are always discussions about casting stars in lead roles in theater - especially when you're working with commercial producers - and it's not something I'm against, not at all. But any casting has to be right for the project.
I suppose the key for me is about opening up experiences and untold stories to audiences.
I do like horror films, but I wouldn't ever be interested in putting a horror on stage - blood doesn't equal horror.
The power of imagination is infinite.
'Thou shalt not bore' is a commandment that should be at the centre of our ambitions.
I did a couple of short films when I was in Scotland.
I realise that there's something about fantasy, whether it's written by the Grimm Brothers or J. K. Rowling or Thorne or J. M. Barrie, that it gets closer to the human experience than realism every could.
I've never felt opera was a party I've been invited to, and maybe I've got a bit of a chip on my shoulder about it.
Where film can eat up story, theatre needs space and breath.
