Brook, who was regarded as one of the most innovative British stage directors after World War II, passed away on July 03, 2022 at the age of 97. Brook was renowned for his innovative approach to theatre and for staging powerful plays in unexpected locations, such as gyms, abandoned factories, schools, and petrol stations. Over the years, Peter Brook has become well-known for his faultless play writing and directing.
“We have lost a beacon”- Michelle Terry (Shakespeare’s Globe’s Artistic Director)
Shakespeare’s Globe’s artistic director Michelle Terry reacted on twitter “We have lost a beacon,” she said. “He didn’t just believe in the profound humanity and transformative power of theatre and Shakespeare, he put it into action. He was a true and rare practitioner and his legacy must live on in those of us who humbly follow in his eternal summer.”
The person who taught the world and the theatre activists across the globe that the theatre is efficient enough and a great tool to question conservative values and their practices. The British director used the world as his stage mounting productions ranging from challenging versions of Shakespeare through international opera to Hindu epic poems.
When he said – ‘I Can Take an Empty Space and Call It a Stage’
Brook through his works mostly focused on renovation of theatre, its space and time. He was the person who gave new meaning to theatre of cruelty. He also criticized old practices costumes. He has strongly believed in the stage as a flexible space.
He introduced the absurd and existentialist ideas in theatre. And termed as inventor of absurd theatre by many. The Respectful Prostitute and Men Without Shadows of written Jean Paul Sartre are the two plays produced by him that given the world an angle of decoding existentialism.
The Mahabharata and Peter Brook
His adaptation of The Mahabharata in 1985, with selected actors across the globe (Naseeruddin Shah from India was part of that paly) is one of the master piece of his work that showed his strengths and diversity an adapting any story.
The play in India got phenomenal reception. This adaptation of the Sanskrit epic, was produced by the Brook in which the Gender was a key factor.
The show travelled the world for four years. Not only this but also the show was presented in both French and English for two long years. That’s how Brook took an Indian epic to the world. That was the time when TV was getting popularity and Indian entertainment industry has started working on its literature.
When he refused to cater to popular culture
Peter Brook performed his own four-hour version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the age of seven. In Titus Andronicus and King Lear, respectively, he directed plays starring eminent performers Laurence Olivier and Paul Schofield. One of Peter Brook’s seven films, the spooky Lord of the Flies version directed by Peter Shaffer, was released in 1961. He described this opera experience as “deadly theatre” to conclude.
The director was recognized as the greatest theatre personality of our time because of the wide breadth of his work. Although Brook was well regarded in the theatre community, the general public was unaware of his excellent works because he refused to cater to popular culture.
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