It's obvious that any new show comes with its share of blunders, misfires, and bad choices.

I will always demand the right for theatre to talk about anything and anyone. Without exception. None.

The same critics who destroyed 'Seven Streams' when we opened in Edinburgh - and yes, it was horrible - called it one of the most important shows of the 21st century six years later in London.

I need to have many things cooking at the same time.

I studied as an actor at the theatre conservatoire in Quebec, but by the time I got to my third year, I was more interested in directing. There's more to it than helping actors get round a stage: it's a wonderful way of telling stories.

Opera should be a place for art forms to meet. I've worked a lot with Peter Gabriel; his music isn't operatic, but he creates big, popular gatherings to which architecture, dance, and music are all invited.

Opera needs a major makeover; the large opera houses are too in thrall to their conservative patrons.

People think that it is negative, but in fact, chaos can be very fertile.

Often, particularly towards the end of the process, I think of myself less as a theatre director and more as someone who just directs the traffic. My job is to move the ideas and bits of the show into the places where they work best. Sometimes my job is also to say, 'No.'