Tony award winning director Danya Taymor on adapting the book for the stage and what she fought for

What was very important to maintain from the book was the brutality, the honesty. It's like a juvenile book in the best way. It was written by a teenager, so there's an authenticity of voice and it's not refined, it's just raw. It describes it as primordial. It describes the rain, the dirt, the boys. It describes a progression where they can't tell each other apart. It was very, very inspiring to work from. And when the producers were like, are you sure you need rain? I was like, yes, but it is important to know. I'm sure you guys know. Know that you have to prioritize what you're going to fight for. And this felt so important to prioritize. The technical elements are amazing, but it's amazing with nothing. It's amazing with the bodies. That's the core of the spectacle of the rumble scene, is the way the bodies interact.

When you love someone, that's all that you can do. There ain't no throwing in the town.