I started travelling in India in January last year. I spent time talking to people, meeting them, seeing their work. I gathered knowledge of theatre in India: All kinds -- urban, rural, folk theatre, modern theatre, English language theatre, regional language theatre, traditional theatre and contemporary theatre.

Then I did an even bigger trip in the spring of last year when I travelled to, met and worked with actors in 10 cities. They had been brought in from regions all over (India).

There were all kinds of actors, artistes, musicians, dancers and others. I selected about 60. They were flown into Mumbai. We auditioned for over a week. Then out of them I chose 23.

Why Midsummer Night's Dream

I have a love for India and Indian theatre for many, many years. I have worked with performers from India and also with British-Indian actors. Because of my known affection for India someone in Delhi asked me to create a play. That's how it started.

I have wanted to produce Midsummer Night's Dream for a long time. But I considered a whole lot of other plays before that. I thought of the Arabian Nights, local folklore, contemporary plays, mythological themes, before settling for this one.

I knew that this play requires variety (of cultures), which is found here. Our star cast represents an enormous range of Indian and Sri Lankan cultures. We speak in seven languages.

When I make a play I do not have an end result in mind. I have an end feeling in mind. When we went to Pondicherry where we rehearsed for the play, I saw the texture of the soil. I saw the colour of the leaves. I saw the bark of the trees and felt that it was an appropriate place for the play.

Nature plays a very important part in this play because it takes place in a forest. A forest triggers its own set of feelings. There is fear, there is sound, there is the unknown, there is magic, there are spirits… it's all there in the play and in the forest. You are not sitting safe in your home or on a stage.