"You never really understand things until you're there, but I've seen the man in action and he has clearly made a huge, serious, emotional life commitment to this particular theatre and all that it stands for," she said.
Theatre history is studded with examples of renowned actor-managers — Molière, Shakespeare, and Sir Laurence Olivier come to mind — but never before had a movie actress of Blanchett's calibre, at the height of her powers and popularity, made this kind of commitment to the theatre community that launched her.
Director Stephen Daldry said: "Robert is one of theatre's great actors and for him to have accepted this challenge at his age speaks of his courage and commitment to the theatre.
"For him to have accepted this challenge at his age speaks of his courage and commitment to the theatre," said Daldry, who wished the highly respected actor and Harry Potter star "a return to full health and strength very soon".
Rees was a quiet and thoughtful, bear-like bearded man with an unwavering commitment to new theatre which he developed while living in New York in the mid-60s and completing a PhD on the black activist Marcus Garvey at Columbia University.
Not something that was elite and needed to be studied, but something that was direct, visceral, a bit like rock and roll.Is theatre becoming less elitist?In Britain at least there's a huge amount of awareness about the problems of elitism and a very palpable commitment to make theatre democratic, to keep prices down, to go out to schools and youth clubs and work with old-age pensioners.
British acting duo Timothy West and Prunella Scales will be honoured for their commitment to UK regional theatre at this weekend's Theatre Awards UK.
