Art is the close scrutiny of reality and therefore I put on the stage only those things that I know happen in our society.

I'm not interested in an imaginary world

I think there is no world without theatre.

We are still living in the aftershock of Hiroshima, people are still the scars of history.

If you engage people on a vital, important level, they will respond.

I write about violence as naturally as Jane Austen wrote about manners. Violence shapes and obsesses our society, and if we do not stop being violent we have no future.

In the end I think theatre has only one subject: justice

Violence is hidden within democratic structures because they are not radically democratic - Western democracy is merely a domestic convenience of consumerism.

Auschwitz is a place in which tragedy cannot occur.

The Greeks said very, very extreme things in their tragedies.

We may seem competent, but by the end of next century there will be new deserts, new ruins.

I don't think the intelligence reports are all that hot. Some days I get more out of the New York Times.

Its sort of my job to feel good.

The nature of faith, I think, is based so much on one's capacity for hope for those whom you love.

Children are gleeful barbarians.

I think there is some real therapy in getting your hands in the dirt and working with food.

Many love me, but by none am I enough beloved.

When we don't ask for what we want and need, we discount ourselves.

The wonder of Independence is that it encourages open minds and the desire to improve.

Catholicism is more than a religion, it is a political power. Therefore I'm led to believe there will be no peace in Ireland until the Catholic Church is crushed

The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make.