Its third great achievement is the breadth and thoroughness of its reference, thousands of entries on writers and their works which combine authority and detail with insight.

ECONOMIST: Fantasists

Since Hytner took over, more than thirty new writers (Lee Hall, Mike Bartlett, Lucy Prebble, Conor McPherson, and Enda Walsh among them) have seen their works performed at the National.

NEWYORKER: Curtain-Raiser