From King Lear to the Tragedy of Carmen , from Marat/Sade to the epic Mahabharata , Peter Brook has reinvented modern theatre, not once but again and again. In The Open Door the visionary director and theorist offers a lucid, comprehensive exposition of the philosophy that underlies his work. It is a philosophy of paradoxes: We come to the theatre to find life, but that life must be different from the life we find outside. Actors have to prepare painstakingly yet be willing to sacrifice the results of their preparation. The director's most reliable tool may be his capacity to be bored. Brook illustrates these principles