Peter Brook, influential theatre visionary, dies aged 97

The director's landmark achievements include a nine-hour Mahabharata, putting Shakespeare on trapezes and directing Olivier, Gielgud and Scofield at the RSC

• Mark Lawson on Peter Brook: the great seeker of British theatre

The groundbreaking British theatre director Peter Brook, whose huge influence reached around the world, has died at the age of 97. His death on Saturday was confirmed by his assistant, Nina Soufy.

Brook redefined the way we think about theatre with his productions at Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Company; at the Bouffes du Nord, the dilapidated Parisian music hall which he made his base for more than 30 years; in African villages, where his actors improvised performances; and on the stages both grand and modest visited by his globetrotting ensemble.