About Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner ( HYTE-nər; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre and film director, and film producer. He was the artistic director at the Royal National Theatre from 2003 to 2015. His major successes as director include Miss Saigon, The History Boys and One Man, Two Guvnors. He is also known for directing films such as The Madness of King George (1994), The Crucible (1996), The History Boys (2006), and The Lady in the Van (2015). Hytner was knighted in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to drama by Queen Elizabeth II. == Early life and education == Hytner was born in the prosperous suburbs of south Manchester in 1956, to barrister Benet Hytner and his wife, Joyce. He is the eldest child of four, and has described his upbringing as being in "a typical Jewish, cultured family". He attended Manchester Grammar School and went to university at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he studied English. He did some acting while at university, including co-scripting and performing in a televised production of the 1977 Cambridge Footlights Revue. However, Hytner did not consider acting his strong point. "I think I was savvy enough when I went to Cambridge to discover I was a poor actor," he said later.
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