The National Theatre: part 2

Last year I reported on Peter Hall's memoirs of his time as director of the National Theatre (see the blog at Theatrical tales) and now I can mention Richard Eyre's account of his time in the same job, National Service: Diary of a Decade. It was another fascinating and enjoyable read which gave a real insight into the pressures of running such a complex theatre. I had not really previously stopped to think of how many plays run there every year and the artistic and financial planning that entails. But that, of course, is only a fraction of a job which  requires management, ambassadorial, political, literary and artistic skills. The joy of a diary format is that you live the highs and lows with the writer and patterns emerge - the fear of having chosen the wrong play and of having cast it poorly, the frustration and exhilaration in roughly equal measures during the rehearsal process, the anxiety during previews and press night and so on.

This book has a rich cast of characters: not just the actors (delightful sketches of many well known names), directors and support staff who are at its heart but also politicians such as Thatcher, Major, Kinnock and Blair (and various Secretaries of State for the arts who do not always have an appreciation of their subject) as well as royalty. Eyre displays a keen sense of humour and frequently ends a diary entry by recalling a joke or a wickedly amusing comment. Add to this Eyre's easy and sensitive prose style, and you have a delightfully engaging bedtime read.

Eyre took a sabbatical during his time at the NT during which time he wrote his autobiography Utopia and Other Places. I shall add it to my list.