Born in London the second of the four children of playwright, novelist, humorist and parliamentarian A. P. Herbert (1890–1971), through her father she had contact with artists, writers and stage people.
[1] World War II (1939–45) interrupted this final stage of training, leading Herbert to concentrate on her family life.
[citation needed] Herbert then moved on to the National Theatre under the director, actor and producer Laurence Olivier (1907–89) at the Old Vic, an association that led to her being invited by Olivier to join the Committee planning the National's new building on London's South Bank (opened 1976) and over which she exerted considerable influence on the shaping of the auditoria.
It was at the National that Herbert first collaborated with the playwright Tony Harrison on his translation of The Oresteia (1980) which also played in the amphitheatre at Epidaurus, Greece.
This was the beginning of a rich partnership with Harrison which went on to span both a series of theatre projects and also the Channel 4 film, Prometheus (1998).
The use of sparse structures, visible rigging, gauzes, arches and shadows were employed to create ambience rather than realism.
Her New York production of Berg's Lulu in 1977, in collaboration with director John Dexter, was so acclaimed that it was still in the repertoire as late as 2010, and has been preserved on DVD.
One of respecting the text, past or present, and not using it as a peg to advertise your skills, whatever they may be, nor to work out your psychological hang-ups with some fashionable gimmick.