The gap between theory and practice in rehearsal is wide. many actors and directors apply theories without fully understanding them, and most accounts of rehearsal techniques fail to put the methods in context.

Systems of Rehearsal is the first systematic appraisal of the three principal paradigms in which virtually all theatre work is conducted today - those developed by Stanislavsky, Brecht and Grotowski. The author compares each system ot the work of the contemporary director who, says Mitter, is the Great Imitator of each of them: Peter Brook. The result is the most comprehensive introduction to modern theatre available.