Power Play: the life and times of Peter Hall, by Stephen Fay (Coronet, £7.99 in UK)

Peter Hall being one of the most revered theatre and opera directors of our time, and his interpretations of Shakespeare, Beckett, Mozart, Wagner et al being regarded by the theatrical fraternity as somewhere between inventive and definitive, one might expect this book to be full of vivid insights into The Marriage of Figaro and lively portraits of the master at work rehearsing, say, Hamlet. Instead it is a rather ponderous account of the political manoeuvrings which go on behind the scenes of large theatrical institutions.