Brook, who has been based in Paris (where he runs the Bouffes du Nord Theatre) for the last 35 years, came to a private lunchtime event, held at the National Theatre, to receive the award on May 12, which was presented to him by Charles Spencer, President of the Critics' Circle (and theatre critic of the Daily Telegraph), with Michael Billington, a Trustee of the Circle and theatre critic of The Guardian, offering the celebratory speech in Brook's honor. Brook's Broadway credits include productions of the plays The Little Hut (1953), The Visit (1958, starring Alffred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne), The Fighting Cock (1959), The Physicists (1964), The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade (1965, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1971, a second Tony for Best Direction of a Play), the musicals House of Flowers (1954), Irma la Douce (1960), the musical revue The Hollow Crown (1963) and the opera La Tragedie de Carmen (1983).

In addition to many productions for the RSC, including Measure for Measure and The Winter's Tale (both with John Gielgud), Titus Andronicus with Laurence Olivier and King Lear with Paul Scofield, Brook has also directed "Lord of the Flies," "King Lear," "La Tragedie de Carmen" and "The Mahabharata" on film.