Peter Brook

This fascinating study chronicles Peter Brook's development, concluding with some of his most recent and innovative work.

Albert Hunt (Author), Geoffrey Reeves (Author)

9780521296052, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 September 1995

308 pages, 20 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.495 kg

'The most complete account so far ... expert illuminating commentary as well as a detailed record of the work itself.' Michael Coveney, The Observer

Peter Brook is regarded as one of the most important and influential directors today. In this fascinating study, Albert Hunt and Geoffrey Reeves chronicle Brook's development beginning with his earliest productions and concluding with some of his most recent and innovative work. The authors trace the director's work from the Birmingham Repertory Theatre to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the establishment of his own company and theatre at the Bouffes du Nord in Paris, and the creation of his unique theatrical style. Reeves and Hunt also focus on Brook outside the theatre including the film version of Mahabharata and his work for the opera house. The book will be of interest to theatre practitioners, students and scholars as well as to the general reader. It includes a chronology of Brook's theatre career and is illustrated with photographs from key productions.

List of illustrations
Prologue
Chronology of work: Stage work, film and television work
1. Playing the field: 1946–56
2. Wanderings in the alien corn: Dürrenmatt
3. Climbing the mountain: King Lear
4. Crucifixion in Paris: Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
5. The embracing of Artaud: the theatre of cruelty
6. The thing itself: The Marat-Sade
7. Zapping the conscience: US
8. The first attempt at ritual: Oedipus
9. Pushing the boat out: The Round House Tempest
10. Shaking hands in the empty space: The Dream
11. Persian tombs at dawn: Orghast
12. Into the deserts: Africa and California
13. Flying over the mountain: The Conference of the Birds
14. Carpet shows at the Bouffes Les Ik and Ubu
15. Popular Shakespeare: Timon d'Athènes, Mesure pour Mesure, Antony and Cleopatra
16. No samovars in Paris and New York: La Cérisaie and The Cherry Orchard
17. Destined to die free: La Tragedie de Carmen
18. Nirvana at last: The Mahabharata
19. Farewell to Shakespeare? La Tempete
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Theatre studies [AN]