Patrick Marber interview: Nachtland (The Times)

The director and playwright Patrick Marber talks about staging Nachtland at the Young Vic, working with Pinter and Stoppard — and why he owes his career to Alan Partridge

At the start of the century, when he was directing Michael Gambon in a revival of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, Patrick Marber sat down for a glass of wine with the nervous playwright. The opening night performance was about to begin and Pinter told him he was worried that the critics wouldn’t like the play. Marber couldn’t believe it. He told Pinter that, yes, the critics might not like the production, but they were sure to like the play. It was a long-established masterpiece after all.