Theatre

The director
Toby Frow, 29
Frow has recently directed the National Theatre tour of ‘The Pillowman’, and ‘Beautiful Thing’ at the Sound Theatre.
Can you remember the moment when you realised you could direct for a living?
Has it come yet? I thought that I wanted to act. At university [Oxford], I did much more acting than directing. When I left, I was almost cast in ‘East is East’. Luckily for me, some very wise producer decided they were going to give it to someone else. That woke me up a bit to the reality of the acting profession, how hard it is – and how much you’re waiting for other people to call you. And I’d always known that at some point I wanted to try directing. Feature continues

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
When I was leaving the Donmar as an assistant director, there were agents wanting to sign me. I said to [director] John Crowley, ‘Who should I choose?’ He said ‘You’re asking the wrong question. What work do you want to do?’ It’s the best advice I’ve been given.
Where did you train?
I didn’t train as a director. To be honest, if I had my time again, I probably wouldn’t either. I don’t feel that you learn to direct by anything other than going out and doing it.
What’s your dream project?
I’m trying to adapt ‘Tales from Firozsha Baag’ by Rohinton Mistry. It’s a series of short stories that very much matches my family history – my mum came over to the West from India when she was a student, and the book is very much about migration, and the sacrifices that get made. I would also like to do a television drama about a young Maharajah from the Victorian age, Duleep Singh, a close friend of Queen Victoria, who was dispossessed of all his lands in the Punjab, and then decided that he wanted it back.
What’s the most powerful piece of theatre you’ve seen?
The earliest for me was Michael Bogdanov’s version of ‘Hiawatha’, which I saw when I was about five. Also the Kneehigh production of ‘The Red Shoes’ is one of the most fantastic productions that’s been in this country for a long time.
Who’s been your strongest influence?
I’ve been wary of having mentors, but John Crowley has been brilliant to me. I worked with [actor and director] Philip Seymour Hoffman, and that was the most inspirational experience. Richard Eyre was wonderful to me on various different levels. I think as a young director, you do need those champions, because it’s a very isolated business.