“I sometimes suspect that New Yorkers do not have a desire to be in theatres, I think they want to go to whatever the certified hit is, of the season. What the Delphic oracle tells them to go and see, sometimes in depressed moments I think, ‘Well, they really don’t want to be there at all. They’re looking for every excuse not to go. The New York Times tells them it’s not up to much, “Oh good, we’ve got a reason for not going.”‘ The English are not like that. They’re much more independent about their theatre. They’re much more naturally theatrical in their instincts. Theatre is part of their life in a way that it is not part of the average American’s life.”
Peter Shaffer, interviewed by Mike Wood for the William Inge Theatre Festival, Feb. 27, 1992
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
