Thank you for the appreciations offered for Peter Brook (Obituary, 3 July). It was especially interesting to read the experiences of the actors (‘The greatest director the world has ever seen’ – actors salute Peter Brook, 4 July). My brother and I worked with him as nine-year-olds in his film of Lord of the Flies, playing the twins “Samneric”. We were invited for a screen test that was held in a roof garden atop an apartment block in New York.
The casting director sat us down and, pointing to the garden, said that he thought there was pig hiding in there. We were asked to go into the garden, hunt it down and then “kill” it. Eventually we rooted out a jolly man in summer casuals and started to pummel him. He roared with laughter and we were introduced to Peter Brook. We got the parts and have many happy memories of the experience.
Simon Surtees
London
