The Empty Space (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Then there is Holy Theatre. This is when, as Mr Brook puts it: it could be called The Theatre of the Invisible-Made-Visible: the notion that the stage is a place where the invisible can appear has a deep hold on our thoughts. It's when we see theatre performed with beauty and with love (which) fires the spirit and gives them a reminder that daily drabness is not necessarily all. Life as it out to be lived, for the moment, or for the value we bring to others. Brook, Peter (1968). The Empty Space: A Book About the Theatre: Deadly, Holy, Rough, Immediate. ISBN 978-0-684-82957-9

I am most interested in Brook's interpretations of Shakespeare and this book expostulates on the possibilities of what a Shakespearean play could be or how it could be staged, or how it so often, to the chagrin of Brook, falls into the realm of Deadly Theater (gaudy, costumes, overly heightened, etc.) and how to move away from that. Taking Brook on his own terms and then reading Shakespeare will transform your understanding of Shakespeare, at least it did to me. If anyone knows of any other great imaginers of the Bard, please do let me know. Giorgetti, Sandra (9 November 2014). "Empty Space... Peter Brook Awards 2014". British Theatre Guide . Retrieved 25 September 2021. Since there is no one on the theatrical scene quite like Brook, there is no other book quite like this one. A must for any and every college library." – Choice Peter Brook speaks of the theater of the past and the present, of its changes, of its various forms, of what he has seen and sees and of his own work. He speaks with the eloquence, and with the excitement of the explorer finding his way into a vast unknown but, he believes, knowable world… The Empty Space is a brilliantly written, even ecstatic book, full of information of the world’s theater and of this ecstatic book, full of information of the world’s theater and of this leading worker in the theater.” –Herman Shumlin, Chicago Sun-Times The Empty Space is defined by Brook as "[A]ny space in which theatre takes place." "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged". [3] Empty Space Peter Brook Award edit Sam Walters and Auriol Smith receiving the Empty Space Award for the Orange Tree Theatre in 2006 Sasha Regan, Union Theatre, London November 2008It's a book about the current state of theater, written in 1968. As I was born in 1984, the author has literally no knowledge of any performance I have ever seen in my life, nor have I seen any of the performances he describes. So it's hard to relate his opinions about the state of theater to today, not knowing if I agree with his assessment of 1968.

I think I read this chap-book manifesto 25 years ago. I know it was talked about a great deal by teachers of drama who got their degrees/ diplomas in the 1970s.

Customer reviews

p33 relays, 'Outstanding actors, like all real artists, have some mysterious psychic chemistry, half conscious and yet three-quarters hidden, that they themselves may only define as "instinct", "hunch", "voices", that enable them to develop their vision and their art'. This is refreshing to hear, as at least the author is not psychiatrist, recognising such things as 'voices' as a necessary part of artistry. All too often theatre is sprinkled with psychiatrisms, which in many ways are far worse than misogyny. 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. A classic...a hugely influential analysis of the problems confronting contemporary theatre. It's a powerful expression of the belief that it is performance, not a play text in the abstract, that is the essence of stage art." –Paul Taylor, The Independent

A timeless classic on the art of theatre from the most influential stage director of the twentieth century. No real hope in making changes through the theatre, even to Peter Brook’s mindset, and, certainly an excuse for not stopping things like misogyny, racism, the psychiatric regime, through a production, but rather perpetuating ridiculous stereotypes through Peter Weiss Marat/Sade productions. P111, ‘In most regimes, even when written word is free, it is still the stage that is liberated last. Instinctively governments know that the living event could create a dangerous electricity – even if we see this happen all too seldom.’Empty Space… Peter Brook Awards – Winners 2010". Westendtheatre.com. 2 November 2010 . Retrieved 25 September 2021. A brilliant book ... should be read by the many besides the passionate few to whom it will be required reading' The book is inscrutable and high-minded to a fault. I can't decide if I agree with him if I can't understand what the hell he's saying.

This is a brilliant book, and should be read by many besides the passionate few to whom it will be required reading.” –W. A. Darlington, The Daily Telegraph (London) Empty Space… Peter Brook Awards – Winners 2012". Westendtheatre.com. 6 November 2012 . Retrieved 25 September 2021.

Table of Contents

Theatergoers who care about the nature and destination of contemporary drama will be drawn to The Empty Space with ravenous interest.” – Time Peter Brook is a world-renowned theater director, staging innovative productions of the works of famous playwrights. A native of London, he has been based in France since the 1970s. Bowie-Sell, Daisy (31 October 2017). "Peter Brook Empty Space Awards to end as 2017 winners announced". What's On Stage . Retrieved 7 October 2019.