DAVID Thacker says his first season as Artistic Director of the Octagon has been “amazing” and “exciting.”

“I’m thrilled with how well the first season has gone,” he said. “I think because of what I’ve learned I can build on that for the second season.

“I think the audiences are really open and come without prejudice. What’s really exciting is that we have put in the audience’s way plays that they wouldn’t usually encounter.”

He picked the pairing of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons with Ibsen’s Ghosts as a particular highlight, along with the revival of And Did Those Feet and the radical new version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“I can say with complete honesty that I don’t think I could have done that production of All My Sons any better anywhere else,” he said. “The audience got a play of quite astonishing impact.

“And never before have I had an audience who went so crazy for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They were giving it whooping ovations, it was amazing.”