ABSTRACT
Directors often preside over the opening of a theatre they had little hand in creating. They are interviewed enthusing over what must be the best theatre of the age/city/country. The press office swings into action, producing ‘puffs’ in a centuries-old theatrical tradition. Even the grandest of arts correspondents trot out the untested superlatives. Usually the director is secretly appalled at the size, complexity and sheer unreadiness of the theatre but his professional training enables him to exude confidence. In contrast another professional skill, that of not being afraid at the last moment to adjust, alter or even abandon a whole mise en scene, is of no use whatsoever. Decisions taken years ago by others or, occasionally, by the director himself, perhaps when his or her mind was on more immediate matters, are now, literally, cast in concrete. It is all too late. All must then be for the best in the best of all possible theatres.
