Peter Brook – författare

Adapted from a series of four lectures, originally delivered as the first of the Granada Northern Lectures Peter Brook's The Empty Space is an exploration of four aspects of theatre, 'Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate', published in Penguin Modern Classics.'I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage'In The Empty Space, groundbreaking director Peter Brook draws on a life in love with the stage to explore the issues facing any theatrical performance. Here he describes important developments in theatre from the last century, as well as smaller scale events, from productions by Stanislavsky to the rise of Method Acting, from Brecht's revolutionary alienation technique to the free form Happenings of the 1960s, and from the different styles of such great Shakespearean actors as John Gielgud and Paul Scofield to a joyous impromptu performance in the burnt-out shell of the Hamburg Opera just after the war. Passionate, unconventional and fascinating, his book shows how theatre defies rules, builds and shatters illusions and creates lasting memories for its audiences.Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH CBE (b. 1925) is a highly influential British theatrical producer and director. During the 1950s he worked on many productions in Britain, Europe, and the USA, and in 1962 returned to Stratford-upon-Avon to join the newly established Royal Shakespeare Company. Throughout the next the 1960's he directed many ground breaking productions for the RSC before in 1970 forming The International Centre for Theatre Research in Paris. If you enjoyed The Empty Space, you might like John Berger's Ways of Seeing, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'A brilliant book ... should be read by the many besides the passionate few to whom it will be required reading'Daily Telegraph

Hailed as "the theatrical event of this century" (Sunday Times), Peter Brook's unique dramatisation of India's great epic poem, The Mahabharata played to ecstatic audiences worldwide. In The Shifting Point, his first book since The Empty Space, Brook assesses the lessons of his pioneering work from his brilliant debut at Stratford and the West End in the 1960s to the triumphant success of The Mahabharata. With the bravura and insight of a great practitioner and explorer he reveals some of the inspiration behind his extraordinary career."The great thing about Brook is that, in a medium where others provide answers, he keeps asking questions. This sage and stimulating book shows that, inside a sophisticated adult mind, lurks the intemperate curiosity of a child; which is the mark of genius." (Michael Billington, Listener)

Peter Brook is the most consistently innovative director in Western theatre. In these three essays he returns to the concept of his first book The Empty Space and examines what that means for the life of a production. How can a company establish its own "empty space" - a rehearsal and performance environment which will encourage the actors to abandon the security of the hackneyed and release their true creativity?The potency of Brook's writing lies in his ability invest general truths with fresh vigour and to be as simple as he is profound.

The theatre's greatest contemporary director tells the story of his life Peter Brook is the modern stage's greatest inventor. For over fifty years he has held audiences spellbound with his critically acclaimed productions. Now he has finally written an account of his life. Born in 1925 in London, at twenty-one Brook became the enfant terrible of British theatre directing major post-war productions of Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, opera at Covent Garden and new plays in London's West End. He even made films. In 1964 he produced Peter Weiss's Marat/Sade for the RSC and his whole approach to theatre became radicalised. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Brook began exploring the roots of non-Western theatre which once again changed his view of what theatre could be for actors and audiences. His journey took him to Paris where he founded a company at the Bouffes du Nord theatre where he still works today. Brook's biography charts all the stages of his aesthetic and spiritual journey, and touches on all parts of a career that has been widely reported but never previously talked about from his personal perspective." First there was the master conjurer adept at musicals, farces, opera and Shakespeare.Then there was the philosopher-king...who has devoted his energies to a quest for a theatre that was simple in form and rich in meaning" (Michael Billington)

This unusually candid volume of Brook in dialogue provides an uninhibited encounter with contemporary theatre's most influential director The result of twelve hours of spontaneous question and answer sessions, Between Two Silences shows Brook responding to points raised by students and lecturers about his work and ideas. Ranging widely over many topics, he talks about his innovative and award-winning production of The Marat/Sade, his film and stage versions of King Lear, and his nine-hour production of the Indian epic The Mahabharata. With passion and clarity he discusses acting, directing, auditions, film versus the stage, his responses to the work of other theatre figures like Grotowski and Artaud, and the multiculturalism which characterises his most recent work. Between Two Silences offers a rare insight into Brook's beliefs and thoughts on theatre, giving straightforward answers to the often complex questions which his work and writings have raised."Brook is someone prepared to dream, take risks, fail and then try again, succeed and still try again: a genius, and a creative one." Benedict Nightingale, (Times Literary Supplement)

A new work from Peter Brook - the contemporary theatre's greatest inventor Whatever the social and national barriers, we all have a brain and we think we know it. But, the moment we go inside, we find we are on another planet. Using Oliver Sacks' neurological study The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat as its inspiration, The Man Who offers a series of fascinating Doctor/Patient scenarios that examine our attempts to understand the workings of the brain. In turn, these case studies become Brook's starting point in his search for a new theatre form. "Peter Brook is not only one of the truly outstanding directors of our time, he is also, undoubtedly, the only one whose skill as a writer equals his genius as a practitioner of the theatre" - Martin Esslin

Hailed as 'the theatrical event of this century' (Sunday Times), Peter Brook's unique dramatization of India's great epic poem, The Mahabharata played to ecstatic audiences worldwide. In The Shifting Point, one of theatre's great visionaries assesses the lessons of his pioneering work from his brilliant debut at Stratford and the West End in the 1960s to the triumphant success of The Mahabharata. With the bravura and insight of a great practitioner and explorer he reveals some of the inspiration behind his extraordinary career.Published in Bloomsbury's Revelations series, Brook's account covers many of the groundbreaking productions that cemented his reputation as 'one of the artistic geniuses of our time' (San Franciso Herald): his controversial productions of King Lear and Romeo and Juliet; the three-month period in Africa which culminated in The Conference of the Birds; Marat/Sade; filming King Lear and Lord of the Flies, and the epic The Mahabharata. With Brooks's reflections on the problems of Shakespeare and opera, and on a range of modern theatre artists including Grotowski, Gordon Craig and Samuel Beckkett, The Shifting Point provides a uniquely revealing account of 4 decades of artistic exploration.'The great thing about Brook is that, in a medium where others provide answers, he keeps asking questions. This sage and stimulating book shows that, inside a sophisticated adult mind, lurks the intemperate curiosity of a child; which is the mark of genius.'(Michael Billington, Listener)

This book discusses transformative approaches to psychology, social work, and education. Addressing these disciplines’ entanglements with oppressive structures, the contributors aim to reconcile individual support with social justice. In current times of accelerating crises, professionals often see only few opportunities to influence the conditions of their work. Thinking and acting beyond adaptation, authors from seven countries provide inspiration for researchers, practitioners, and students who want to be more than brokers of a broken system.Cultural-Historical Theory is a powerful framework that can depict the dynamic of individual minds in society. Building on this, Critical Psychology has formulated an elaborate theory of human agency. Linking individual and social change needs such theorizing. This volume is a rare intellectual exchange by scholars drawing on these traditions. An alternative to both control science and abstract criticism, it inquires the capacity to act.The editors took part in organizing the Summer School Critical Psychology in Berlin, which inspired this volume.

In The Quality of Mercy, one of the world's most revered theatre directors reflects on a fascinating variety of Shakespearean topics.In this sequence of essays, Peter Brook debates such questions as who was the man who wrote Shakespeare's plays, why Shakespeare is never out of date, and how actors should approach Shakespeare's verse. He also revisits some of the plays which he has directed with notable brilliance, such as King Lear, Titus Andronicus and, of course, A Midsummer Night's Dream.Taken as a whole, this short but immensely wise book offers an illuminating and provocative insight into a great director's relationship with our greatest playwright.'An invaluable gift from the greatest Shakespeare director of our time... Brook's genius, modesty, and brilliance shine through on every page' James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

A thoughtful and deeply personal book by a master theatre-maker.In Tip of the Tongue, Peter Brook takes a charming, playful and wise look at topics such as the subtle, telling differences between French and English, and the many levels on which we can appreciate the works of Shakespeare. Brook also revisits his seminal concept of the 'empty space', considering how theatre – and the world – have changed over the span of his long and distinguished career.Threaded throughout with intimate and revealing stories from Brook's own life, Tip of the Tongue is a short but sparkling gift from one of the greatest artists of recent times.

'Destruction never approaches weapon in hand. It comes slyly, on tiptoe, making you see bad in good and good in bad.'The devastation of war is tearing the Bharata family apart. The new king must unravel a mystery: how can he live with himself in the face of the devastation and massacres that he has caused.In Battlefield, the internationally renowned team of Peter Brook, Marie-Hélène Estienne and Jean-Claude Carrière revisit the great Indian epic The Mahabharata, thirty years after Brook's legendary production took world theatre by storm.An immense canvas in miniature, this central section of the ancient text is timeless and contemporary, asking how we can find inner peace in a world riven with conflict.It was first performed at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, in 2015, before an international tour including a run at the Young Vic Theatre, London, in 2016.

Somewhere in the world, a man sits alone outside a prison. Who is he, and why is he there? Is it a choice, or a punishment?With The Prisoner, the internationally renowned theatre director Peter Brook and his long-time collaborator Marie-Hélène Estienne ask provocative and profound questions about justice, guilt, redemption – and what it means to be free.The Prisoner opened at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, in March 2018, before an international tour which included performances at the Edinburgh International Festival, the National Theatre of Great Britain, and Theatre for a New Audience in New York.'The most pioneering theatre director of the twentieth century' Independent on Peter Brook

‘Listen!’In this collection of new essays, the world-renowned director Peter Brook offers unique and personal insights into sound and music – from the surprising impact of Broadway musicals on his famous Midsummer Night's Dream, to the allure of applause, and on to the ultimate empty space: silence.It is studded throughout with episodes from the author's own life and career in opera, theatre and film – including working on many of his most notable productions, and intimate first-hand accounts of collaborating with leading figures including Truman Capote, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh – and ranges across musical styles and cultures from around the world.Playing by Ear is full of Brook's shafts of insight and perception, and written with his customary wit and wisdom. It is a rich companion to his earlier reflections on Shakespeare in The Quality of Mercy and on language and meaning in Tip of the Tongue.

The text of a talk given by renowned theatre director Peter Brook in Berlin in 1998, addressing essential questions about performing Shakespeare today. Brook invites us to consider the actual conditions of the Elizabethan theatre and the actual qualities of Shakespeare's language.Published as part of the Dramatic Contexts series: important statements on the theatre by major figures in the theatre.