The Kreutzer Sonata, Gate Theatre

Favourite stage direction: “Outside this room, somewhere in the centre, an important meeting is taking place.”

Quote of the day: “‘If only you will look on high,’ the old statesman tells Scipio, ‘and contemplate this eternal home and resting place, you will no longer bother with the gossip …

Because it’s such a collective experience, theatre is a good place in which to think about national identity.

One of my sad delights is seeing how British theatre is represented in novels and other media.