Sir Richard Eyre was the Artistic Director of the Royal National Theatre for ten years. He has directed numerous classic and new plays and films - most recently Iris - and is the author of Utopia and Other Places, and co-author of Changing Stages and of Iris: A Screenplay.

'A matchless chronicle of arguably the finest decade in the National's history ... nothing could testify to its continuing vitality than this with more vigour and eloquence than this rich, enthralling book' Sunday Times 'A superlative record of a theatre, a man and a time' Simon Callow, Guardian 'Insistent, persuasive, disarming and catching' Daily Telegraph 'If there was an equivalent to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the theatre, it would surely be the director of the National ... Eyre's book is a compulsive and rewarding read ... He can be pithy; he can be painterly and, occasionally, surprisingly tender ... Would the memoirs of George Carey matter to us as much? I doubt it' New Statesman