Naseeruddin Shah Quotes

I'm looking for one of two things and sometimes they dovetail: I'm looking to go into a theatre and see a certain kind of show. And if it's not there, I'd like to do it myself so it would be there.

I'm fascinated to see how 'Black Watch' connects with an American audience.

It's such a rare and rewarding thing to be in control of space and time for two hours a night, to go through a journey and take the audience along. There's nothing quite like it.

I think the same way about theatre, you go out there and you are creating a world for a moment that can actually have a real impact on people, present some kind of story that gives you something to think about when you walk away, feeling enriched - if it works out well.

My parents didn't take me to the theatre to see Chekhov when I was growing up - we went to see 'Francie and Josie' once every five years.

Yes, yes, theater in general is just going to always be my first love, performing for a live audience.

I just needed a job. Before being hired as an usher at the CBS Theatre, I didn't even know there was a show business!

Fortunately, our audiences are used to a kind of boredom in the theatre, and if the writer is skillful, he will flatter them into thinking: 'Why, that's us up there, and aren't we - for all our little foibles - pretty nice guys and gals?'

Maybe all theatre is going to be irrelevant for all time.

I'd love to go back and do theater. There's nothing like that instant response and the connection to a live audience.

Over the years, with all the experience, I've become more mature about the subjects I pick. I have a better understanding of what works at the box office. Once the story is finalised, I surrender to the director and follow him. After that, my performances speak for themselves.

You know, it's recently come into focus for me why I want to be an actor: It's because of the connection I feel to people.

Ultimately, it has been a struggle- but I was in Minneapolis and Austin a couple of weeks ago, sitting in theaters with complete strangers watching this weird movie that Kirk and I thought up and I was excited to be making film.

I became an actress to provoke people and move people and to tell the stories.

Ultimately when I throw myself behind a movie, I have to really believe in that director's vision.

You can't be a playwright without believing there's an audience for adventurous work.

Television is great but for me, as a performer, nothing compares to a live theatre show.

I love theatre because that is my foundation. So, if I had to make a choice in terms of where I get the most fulfillments, it would be theatre. The reaction is so immediate, unlike with TV and film.

We're on tour to kind of explain why we do what we do, how its done and how we put it together.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned. But I remember the beauty and thrill of being moved by Broadway musicals - particularly the endings of shows.

For me, standup will always be some part of my life, and other things will move around and find their place.

I would not have so many scripts being driven by demographics. The play's the thing - not the 18-35 year old male age group.

The 'Homecoming King' show started off as a storytelling show that I had done; I worked with Greg Walloch to develop it and build it into something bigger.

You will never, I think, fully conquer the play. Every night, you see this Everest before you. It's that two, three hours and the audience, and you'd better tell the truth.

I love writing books, but it's a solitary experience. When I'm on a film set, I'm with a bunch of other artists working together to make one thing.