Quotes by Howard Barker

• I am so far as I am aware not at all influenced by dramatists, expect for Shakespeare, who I have to say, it is impossible not to be influenced by if you hold language to be the major element of theatre.
• I have plenty of political views and plenty of social and personal prejudices. I do not, however, value them.
• I never 'say' anything in my work. I invent a world. Let others decide what is being 'said'.
• I submit all my plays to the National Theatre for rejection. To assure myself I am seeing clearly.
• We are suffocated by writers who want to enlighten us with their truths. For me, the theatre is beautiful because it is a secret, and secrets seduce us, we all want to share secrets.
• When I write, I am not giving a lecture, I am speculating on behavior. Sometimes this is dangerous, but it should be. As I say often, theatre is a dark place and we should keep the light out of it.