In 1994 the Arts Council of Great Britain brought together a number of theatre directors as part of the Manchester City of Drama celebrations. This is a collection of interviews and discussions with directors who have helped shape the development of theatre in the last 20 years. They include Peter Brook, Peter Stein, Augusto Boal, Jorge Lavelli, Lluis Pasqual, Lev Dodin, Maria Irene Fornes, Jonathan Miller, Jatinder Verma, Peter Sellars, Declan Donnellan, Ariane Mnouchkine, Ion Caramitru, Yukio Ninagawa and Robert Wilson. In addition to the art and craft of directing, there are discussions on multiculturalism; the "classical" repertoire; theatre companies and institutions; working in a foreign language; opera; Shakespeare; new technologies; the art of acting; design; international festivals; politics and aesthetics; the audience; and theatre and society. Finally, there is an epilogue by Peter Brook, Jonathan Miller and Oliver Sacks. In Contact with the Gods? opens up the private world of the rehearsal room with revealing consequences.

“… fills a void in the scholarly canon by exploring the methods and theories of late twentieth-century stage directors … highly readable”

David J. Lemaster, Theatre Journal, Vol. 50, No. 3 (1998)

“Both the editors and publishers are to be congratulated for this valuable sourcebook”

John Deeney, New Theatre Quarterly, Vol. 14, Issue 54 (April 1998)