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.
Margaret Thatcher always felt like an outsider in her party.
In London, it's quite a rarefied activity to be on an analyst's couch.
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.
It was extraordinary to experience 'Mamma Mia!' What an injection of good spirit and heart it was.
Opera is too obsessed with buildings.
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 didn't really realize I was a woman director until I walked onto the set at Pinewood Studios when I did 'Mamma Mia!' and everybody was calling each other 'Governor' and 'Sir'... and then, looking at me, 'Well... good morning!'
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.
In the theatre in the U.K., women are at the very top of the tree as freelance directors.
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.
I think courage is commensurate with your fear - if you lack imagination and you're fearless, that's not courage to me.
Frankly, I find it very odd that, in a population that's more than 50 per cent of women, that Hollywood isn't producing more movies to cater to that audience. The demographic is being grossly underserved, in my opinion.
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.
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.
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.
When I began to direct, I discovered that I was much more comfortable than I was acting.
In management terms, directing opera certainly prepares you for a film set: the magnitude of it, the experts in other fields that you have to call on. Both are massive ensemble jobs in which there's incredible pressure to get things done on time and on budget - so much so that making the wrong decision may be better than making no decision at all.
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.
When I was asked to read a screenplay about Margaret Thatcher, I think I felt immediate apprehension.