My Yorkshire: Alan Lane

What's your favourite part of the county and why?

I got married to my wife Lucy in a priory near Coxwold and that rolling, green, sweeping landscape is my favourite thing about Yorkshire. That place will always be very special to me. It was certainly the best show I've co-directed. The setting sun really was the county at its best.

Do you have a favourite walk, or view?

There aren't many pretty walks around where we live but I do really like taking the dog out around here. Billy will happily start a conversation with anyone.

Which Yorkshire sportsman/woman (past or present) would you like to take for lunch?

Eric Cantona – the man was a rare example of someone who never compromised.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star (past or present) would you like to take for lunch?

Alan Bennett – I reckon he would be excellent, catty, charming company

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

I think Yorkshire men/women find it very hard to compromise. That leads

to the idea that its an obstinate county but it's also the reason I think why there are so many different brilliant sector leaders to be found in the region; real people of vision and determination. It's the county of the Bronts, Edward Appleton, Brian Clough but also

Guy Fawkes.

What about Yorkshire's cultural life?

I watch a lot of what is at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Together with the Crucible in Sheffield and Theatre Royal in York, we have three of the best theatre buildings in the country which is an extraordinary treat. The Howard Assembly Rooms at the Grand in Leeds is one of the most cleverly programmed spaces in the region – and one of the best looking spaces as well. I don't get to watch as much live music as I would like but the art galleries in the middle of Leeds

are always cracking. Yorkshire's great hidden gem in terms of theatre are the number of innovative independent companies that can be found here – Third Angel, Imitating the Dog, Unlimited, Forced Entertainment,

Rash Dash among many more. All are genuine ground breakers. You sometimes have to travel out of the county to see them perform which

is a shame but they are all based in the region.

Do you have a favourite restaurant or pub?

Hansa's Indian restaurant in Leeds is our favourite place to eat. Which is quite extraordinary given how much I like meat and that it is a vegetarian place. But that woman is a wizard with food.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

Millies Fresh and Organic on Vicar Lane, Leeds. It is very easy to get carried away in there and come away with a boot-full of good stuff.

How do you think Yorkshire has changed in the time you've known it? Are those changes for the better?

The development that has happened in Leeds has obviously been huge in terms of shifting the visual landscape. The new space for Northern Ballet and others down behind the Playhouse look really exciting. Holbeck seems to be really changing.

Who is the Yorkshire man or woman you most admire?

I think if you look at Sir Patrick Stewart then you have to be amazed at the range and depth of the man's achievement in his chosen field; a popular triumph and one of the best classic actors of his generation. His commitment to the University of Huddersfield (where he is Chancellor) is incredibly impressive.

He kindly did a voiceover for a Slung Low show a couple of years ago and he was so very generous with his time and talent when he didn't need to do that and he owed us absolutely nothing.

He did an outstanding job for us but beyond that it was the class of the man that really touched me – to be that good at what you do and still have time for an experimental theatre company.

A class act.

How has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Determination in the face of contrary opinion – Yorkshire has that in abundance. I aspire to that as well.

n Alan Lane directs The Count of Monte Cristo at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, from April 16 . He is about to open a new arts centre in Leeds, the Holbeck Underground Ballroom, which will be home to the Slung Low theatre company.

YP MAG 10/4/10