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" In a way, 'Mamma Mia!' was such a left-field thing for me. "

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" In a way, the debate about Margaret Thatcher in Britain has just gotten fossilized in this notion that she is either this she-devil who wrecked the industrial base of the country and ruined the lives of millions, or she is the blessed Margaret who saved the nation and rescued us from our post-war decline. "

" In London, it's quite a rarefied activity to be on an analyst's couch. "

" There's something about doing Shakespeare with a single gender, whether it is all-male or all-female, that opens up certain possibilities. You are able to throw the behavior of the men into a particular relief and be playful within a slightly larger-than-life way with it. "

" I realized that I didn't think I could stand the psychological battering that actors have to withstand. I just felt I wasn't cut out for that kind of self-promotion. "

" Margaret Thatcher always felt like an outsider in her party. "

" It's the job of the artist to take something that everybody thinks they know about, they've made a decision about, they will be immovable on, and to shine a light on it. "

" I worked on live studio drama, which was one weird aberration in the 1980s. I worked on the 'Battle of Waterloo,' and my job was to reload the Brown Bess muskets - the only time the audience realised it was live was when somebody leant on a button and plunged the whole studio into blackout. "

" In Europe, it is not so unusual for directors to move between opera, theatre, and film, and I have at least three girlfriends I can think of who have directed in all three genres. "

" I think Margaret Thatcher was a superstar in this country, and I think we all felt we needed a superstar to play her, somebody of huge intelligence, passion, and power and warmth. "

" I was given a mask of myself by Frances Barber when we opened 'Julius Caesar.' I looked much younger and prettier. Wearing it was certainly cheaper than Botox. "

" Margaret Thatcher was pro-choice. She voted to decriminalize homosexuality. Was not profoundly religious. She was very liberal on social issues. "

" If you have bad hair and you bite your nails, nobody expects that you can't direct plays. "

" I realised you could become fat and bald as a director and still remain employable. "

" As a woman, I think Margaret Thatcher felt she had to be ten times more prepared than the men. "

" When I began to direct, I discovered that I was much more comfortable than I was acting. "

" You can't wait for someone to discover you; you have to just get on and do it. Have confidence that directing is a very suitable job for a woman - with our gift for collaboration, listening, and reading the nuance of things. "

" If you believe that how you do your work is as influential as the work you do, then a theatre rehearsal, which is a microcosm of the world, is the perfect place to model social change because if it doesn't work this time, you can try again on the next production. "

" I have been very lucky, and I think it all goes back to state subsidy for the arts. I gained my training and confidence and credentials in the not-for-profit world, and in England, that does not mean on the fringe of things. It means right at the centre. "

" To have Hollywood tell me or other women like me that we're not a market that interests them is silly. Good stories work. "

" Directing is quite a nuts-and-bolts thing. It's a mixture of creating an atmosphere in which actors can feel safe enough to be dangerous. "

" In the not-for-profit world, I never felt that being female was an impediment. I was, however, given my break into commercial theatre by a female producer, Judy Craymer, and women - in particular, Donna Langley, president of production at Universal - were crucial in giving 'Mamma Mia' a home in Hollywood. "

" I was hellbent on going to drama school, but my mother, rightly, panicked and persuaded me to go to university on the grounds that a degree would be 'something to fall back on.' Whilst at college, I realised I wasn't good enough or robust enough to be an actress. "

" To be invited to the Park - the greatest free Shakespeare festival in the world - is a great honor, and I don't take it lightly. "

" When I was asked to read a screenplay about Margaret Thatcher, I think I felt immediate apprehension. "

" I wanted to be an actress from about the age of five. "

" I think courage is commensurate with your fear - if you lack imagination and you're fearless, that's not courage to me. "

" Do as much theatre as you can while you're at school. "

" Shakespeare was writing about his time, and it was a time when women were beginning to demand a voice, demand a say in their lives for one reason or another, mainly to do with the economics of the time. "

" Onstage, there's a separation between character and audience; onscreen, you can go to a deeper place. "

" In the theatre in the U.K., women are at the very top of the tree as freelance directors. "