Governments have always been wary of the arts because they're wayward and ambiguous and because they deal with feelings rather than facts. Richard Eyre More Quotes by Richard Eyre More Quotes From Richard Eyre Change begins with understanding and understanding begins by identifying oneself with another person: in a word, empathy. The arts enable us to put ourselves in the minds, eyes, ears and hearts of other human beings. Richard Eyre empathyeyeart I can't think of anyone I admire who isn't fuelled by self-doubt. It's an essential ingredient. It's the grit in the oyster. Richard Eyre oystersselfthinking I am interested in the gap between what people say and what they think - the undiscovered world of people's lives. Lives of quiet desperation. Richard Eyre live-lifepeoplethinking We can alleviate physical pain, but mental pain - grief, despair, depression, dementia - is less accessible to treatment. It's connected to who we are - our personality, our character, our soul, if you like. Richard Eyre paingriefcharacter I think the collision between the First and Third world is going to become more and more conspicuous. It's the big cliff that we've all got to climb. Richard Eyre cliffsworldthinking I've always argued, unsuccessfully, that there's no point in giving money to the arts unless you educate people in them. Richard Eyre giving-moneypeopleart What we hold in our heads - our memory, our feelings, our thoughts, our sense of our own history - is the sum of our humanity. Richard Eyre humanityfeelingsmemories Naming a baby is an act of poetry, for many people the only creative moment of their lives. Richard Eyre momentpoetrybabypeople The desire to share is not a vague, windy sentiment, not when you see the massive rise in live concerts in response to the phenomenon of downloading music... People want to get rid of the headphones and be part of a shared experience. Richard Eyre youexperiencemusicpeople You can't be minimalist as a director until you have acquired the experience and confidence to say no. Richard Eyre sayyouconfidenceexperience I believe there is a relationship between having an interest in the arts and the behaviour of society as a whole. Some politicians find it difficult that the arts is a weapon of happiness... Politics is often about deprivation rather than the opening up of ideas and nourishing creative endeavour. Richard Eyre politicshappinessrelationshipideas The principle of acting in good faith is at the heart of decent work. Richard Eyre goodfaithworkheart There is in our society a gulf opening up, a kind of cultural apartheid, between those who are brought up to feel our national culture is theirs, to take ownership of it, and enjoy the privileges of that, and those who are completely disfranchised, those - for example - who will never be taken to the theatre to see Shakespeare. Richard Eyre feelenjoysocietyculture Waiters are like actors waiting in the wings, bantering whenever we passed each other on the restaurant floor, shouting at each other backstage in the kitchen and winking and corpsing above the heads of our audience, the unsuspecting customers. Richard Eyre restaurantkitchenwaitingwings If the arts are held up solely as a means of social insight, fantasy is denied the chance to be commonplace and reality the chance to be exotic. Richard Eyre fantasyinsightchancereality Balance is the enemy of art. Richard Eyre balanceenemyart Everything people say about grandparenthood is true - it is pleasure without responsibility. It is unquestioned love. Richard Eyre people-sayresponsibilitylovepeople Art is about the 'I' in life not the 'we', about private life rather than public. A public life that doesn't acknowledge the private is a life not worth having. Richard Eyre worthprivate-lifelifeart All good actors are very bright. You can't be stupid and a good actor. You may be inarticulate, you may not be highly educated, but all good actors are quick-witted, some of them dazzlingly so. All you do is guide them. Richard Eyre somegoodyoustupid Theatre is castigated for wallowing in self-indulgence, but it's curiously unsentimental. You simply have to move on. Everything passes. Something in me likes that. Richard Eyre everythingmeyoutheatre
