The rehearsal rooms of the National Theatre serve as the backdrop to the second film in our series, On Collaboration, created in conjunction with EDITION Hotels. Titled “Innovation,” the episode sees the much-lauded director Rufus Norris and actor-of-the-moment Rory Kinnear come together for an exclusive, improvised performance, offering a unique view on the close, intimate relationship they develop over the course of a production. The pair have worked together several times, including in the 2004 Almeida Theatre production of Festen and later in 2012’s Broken, Norris’s first foray into feature film, which won a brace of plaudits at the British Independent Film Awards. “Actors don’t know nearly as much about acting as directors do,” muses the James Bond star, Kinnear, who has also worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company. “And directors never know as much about directing as actors do. Because directors are rarely in rooms with other directors.” Norris trained as an actor before turning his hand to directing, rising to prominence in 2001 with the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer; this year he has already directed the critically acclaimed Feast at the Young Vic and The Amen Corner at the National Theatre. With a work philosophy that encourages an atmosphere of trust and collaboration, he stresses the lack of hierarchy on set. “The most wonderful thing is when you can create an atmosphere where inhibition and the fear of exposing yourself, metaphorically and emotionally, disappears,” explains Norris.