Jan Brock

"Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre, has told the New York Times he hopes to stay on for "couple of years or so" at the end of his current contract. He had previously been scheduled to leave the post in 2013."

I find this depressing news - not because he hasn't been good at the NT (although he personally was a better director before he took up the post) but because 10 years in the job for anyone is enough - by staying on (I wonder if he's asked the NT Board whether he can continue ?) he's blocking the way for a younger director to take over in exactly the same way that he complained about the incumbent long-serving theatre critics. After 10 year it is time for the NT to be renewed and taken in a different artistic direction. I wonder if he is becoming subject to the delusion of all long-serving rulers that somehow he is indispensable ? (The graveyeards are full of people who thought themselves so, as the saying goes).

Also, as we pay his salary shouldn't he have announced his intention to cling to power in the London Times first ?

I've seen Alan Rickman a couple of times also - he's emerging as the most frequent spot here isn't he.