An esteemed stage director, Hytner first gained prominence in his native England staging operas at the Kent Opera and the English National Opera. From 1985 to 1989, he was associate director at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, where he oversaw such productions as "As You Like It" (1985) and "Edward II" (1986). In 1989, the Cambridge-educated Hytner became an associate director of the Royal National Theatre where he staged "Ghetto" (1989) and Alan Bennett's adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" (1990). Also in 1989, he made his musical directing debut with the London production of
