I think a lot of people, when they’re really young, and in their 20s, they are on their own quest for personal efficacy. And I understand that. ... But the sooner that people can discover that it’s really about building teams, and not about personal efficacy, I think the better — the more quickly — we can move forward. I believe that.

So any student who wants to get into psychology, right now the students are like lemmings. They say, “Well, it’s popular to study brain science, I’ll do that.” Or, “It’s popular to do neural networks; I see 30,000 people doing it, it must be good.” And my advice is if a lot of people are doing it, don’t waste your time.

I wish I had known how to “manage up.” I wish I had not believed that my work would speak for itself; the working world requires a bit more than that.

I would advise them to aim high. To set their sights at a pretty tough target and don’t be too worried if you’re not successful at first. Just keep persisting and keep improving your standards, getting better and better and ultimately, you’ve got a pretty fair chance at achieving your desired goal. ... But, I do think that virtually everybody that’s born has the ability to be very competent at doing something. I think that, in itself, is worthy of aiming towards, just to be competent at doing anything you particularly wish to do.

I stopped directing movies in the late Eighties because I believed I couldn’t be a playwright and a filmmaker.

they did what good teachers are meant to do, which is inspire you to love literature.

One day you write nothing, the next you write eight pages. It’s not in your hands.

I’ve become fonder and fonder of Brian Friel and Faith Healer has sort of become my favourite play.

I would like to write a play which doesn’t disappoint me 20 years later.

Because I loved it when I was young.