This collection of essays examines the creation and development of communities of actors, directors, designers and playwrights in Paris since the late 1960s. It shows how the willingness of the city to welcome international influences, even appointing foreigners to the most influential theatre positions, has enriched its creative life. This examination reveals that many of the most important trends and new developments in the art of theatre have been the direct result of that creative combination of influences from all over the world. Incorporating both the views of academic experts in the field and a range of practitioners who have shaped the city's theatrical cultures, The Paris Jigsaw demonstrates how the pioneering work of Brook, Boal, Mnouchkine, and many others has been able to draw on this vibrant, multicultural mix, in turn creating new work that has enriched theatre's potential to enlarge our thinking and our imagination.

“This desire to confront the darker realities of cultural politics is one of the great strengths of the book, for it means that while internationalism is seen as a politically progressive idea, it is never presented as a fait accompli.”

Carl Lavery, New Theatre Quarterly, Vol. 20, Issue 3 (July 2004)