Interview - Daniel Evans: Curtain up on a new season – rising to the challenge in style

A year ago, the Yorkshire Post was first to interview Daniel Evans as he was named the new man in charge at Sheffield Theatres.

Back then, his enthusiasm was wonderful and perhaps a little naive.

An impressive acting CV had plenty of gaps in the section titled "director". His has been a baptism of fire.

Not only has he taken on, in the last year, one of the country's leading regional theatres and the largest complex outside the National Theatre, he has also directed Antony Sher in a major Ibsen revival and been charged with bringing the Crucible back to life following its 15.3m refurbishment.

So, how is he coping?

"I love it," he says, smiling.

"Most days."

From the start, Evans's most charming quality, and he has many, has been his openness. Always willing to listen to praise and criticism, he is willing to discuss both – and he is honest.

Clearly, there have been difficulties, but his unending enthusiasm is one of the many reasons why Evans won one of the most coveted roles in British theatre.

"I relish it. I'm relishing the challenge.

"There are days where I think I'm not doing very well, days when I think 'how the hell am I going to deal with that'. But when I don't beat myself up about certain things – like, I'm finding some of the things I want to achieve a bit slow coming – then I think it's a dream job."

Evans reveals that his mentors have been an important part in helping him to cope with the stresses of such an important job. Michael Grandage, former artistic director at Sheffield, is often on the phone.

When he announced his first season, Evans also admits that there was plenty of criticism. His first show was Ibsen's An Enemy of the People.

"I got letters," he announces, almost proud that people had been so moved by his programming as to put pen to paper to tell him what they thought.

"Some people were disappointed that I programmed the Ibsen. The letters were saying how uncelebratory, how sombre, how dour.

"I had this inkling that the play was going to speak directly to now. I had a feeling that its relevance was going to win audiences over. Now I get letters saying 'we came to the Ibsen and we thought it was going to be gloomy and Scandinavian and dark, but we laughed' and I get letters saying 'please do Hedda Gabler'."

Although there have been pressures, Evans can take pleasure, as he announces his coming season, in a job well done – so far.

An Enemy of the People was critically acclaimed and had very impressive audiences – as did Sisters, a new play which was a major punt, being a verbatim piece about Muslim women.

True West, which closes tomorrow, was critically less praised, but drew two impressive actors in Nigel Harman and John Light.

"I believe the people of Sheffield want to see challenging work and I think that's a signpost of things to come. That's not to say we won't be doing great musicals or farces, or the fantastic Alan Ayckbourns. It just meant at the start I wanted to show what the theatre was capable of doing."

For the past two years, the Crucible has been in a state of limbo.

This first season saw audiences coming back in for the first time in a long time. What was it like when the doors re-opened and Daniel Evans was the man with the keys?

"It was scary. I think there were a couple of days where I was high as a kite because of the adrenaline," says Evans.

"The thing that helped me cope with it was the work. Whenever it feels a bit scary, I always remind myself that I believe in the work we are staging."

So, to the work. Evans new season has some impressive highlights. John Simm as Hamlet and Richard Wilson as director are ones that most people already know about, but Evans has lined up a serious and challenging programme for the coming year.

Perhaps the most ambitious part of what Sheffield hopes to do over the next 12 months is a whole season of work by David Hare.

"It's the first time that a theatre complex has paid this kind of tribute to a living playwright.

"There will be a period of a fortnight where the work of David Hare will be staged in all three of our spaces – the Crucible, the Studio and the Lyceum," says Evans.

And for now?

"I love the snooker – but I am overjoyed we are back as a living, breathing theatre."

Evans on the New Season Highlights

Hamlet: Sept 16-Oct 23. "One of the greatest plays in the canon and one of the greatest actors of his generation playing the lead in John Simm."

Me and My Girl: Dec 2- Jan 29. "One of the great British musicals, and there aren't many of them."

The David Hare Season: Feb 2011-March. "He's one of the few living British playwrights with a career spanning four decades, and 16 of his plays premiered at the National Theatre, they've taken him to his bosom. His great skill is the effortless combination of the personal and the political."