The Improvised Play

"Starting without any written script and relying on improvisation, he works collaboratively with his cast in a long, complex rehearsal process during which the actors create characters, background, situations and other material out of which he eventually, to use his own term, 'distils' the finished piece...The purpose of this book is firstly to de-mystify the method - tracing its development, clarifying its principles and giving an account of what happens in practice; the second part suggests ways of approaching the problems and ideas presented in Leigh's plays and films through an exploratiuon of their content and style." -- Back cover.