Theatregoers want to ‘get underneath the skin’ of societal issues, says National Theatre’s Clint Dyer
Britain’s cultural institutions are at a crossroads moment, according to the National Theatre’s deputy artistic director, who says the public want challenging art rather than “comforting” work as venues reopen and lockdown eases.
Clint Dyer, the playwright and actor who took on the NT role in January, said that before the pandemic mainstream theatre often comforted rather than confronted its audience. “A lot of the work in the mainstream was there to say: ‘Oh, this is the world that we know you like seeing,’” said Dyer.