Quizzes

WOS Poll: Is Nicholas Hytner the most successful director in National history?

With Nicholas Hytner recently announcing that he’ll step down as artistic director of the National Theatre in 2015, how do you rate his 12 years in charge of the venue?

Editorial Staff
London's West End

This week, Nicholas Hytner confirmed that he’ll be stepping down as artistic director of the National Theatre in March 2015, after 12 years in charge. Speculation about who could succeed him is already rife – and get your thinking cap on because we’ll definitely be asking your opinions on that too – but before we get stuck in with all that, we wanted to first look back in admiration at the past ten years of the NT under Hytner (working in partnership with his executive director Nick Starr).

When their departures were announced, NT chairman John Makinson commented that Hytner’s regime has taken the National to “undreamt levels of creative and commercial success over the past decade”, and that seems hard to dispute. Does that possibly make him the best Director in the National’s history? And, regarding the legacy he’ll leave, which in particular are his greatest achievements and defining productions?

Over the past decade, the National has mounted over 200 productions (click here for a full list of NT productions 2003-2013), 23 of them directed by Hytner, and won over 200 awards. It has also enjoyed numerous West End and Broadway transfers, including The History Boys, War Horse, One Man, Two Guvnors and, in the past month The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Alan Bennett’s Untold Stories.