I could not be more sympathetic to Ben Brantley's hagiographic view of eminence grise Peter Brook, whose theatre and film work and written words have and continue to influence the quality of my life as well as the lives of many others. For that reason, I wish Mr. Brook would have expanded on his understanding that one obstacle to the theatre reaching its apotheosis is "if the audience is too stupid." I personally feel Mr. Brook's observation was a refreshing acknowledgement of that particular and most human of our limitations and I assume we can all agree that since all audiences are comprised of people, acknowledging the existence of stupid audiences is, therefore, equivalent to acknowledging the existence of stupid people. Stupid. Now there's a word that's open to interpretation and, as such, and with all due respect to Mr. Brook as well as Howard Gardner, requires clarification. Did it just slip out, Mr. Brook, or would it be possible for you to expand on what particular interpretation of that word your many years of insightful exploration have led you to? Is, for example, King Lear a stupid man? Or Oedipus? Willy Loman, perhaps? Maybe a Donald Trump supporter? What about a Bernie Sanders supporter? Or better yet, can the theatre still play a useful role in the process of an individual recognizing their own stupidity and overcoming it? Or did it ever?
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@Robert harders - a recent example of stupid behavior (in so many of our minds) by an audience member that's made international headlines. As much as it made me feel background checks are now needed for premium seating, it sounds like for her, "Betrayal" became a distaff version of the Bada-Bing club in The Sopranos. She's happy, got what she wanted, and I bet doesn't care what anyone else thinks is stupid. She had a matinee, a Pinter play, etc.
With the news of that lady in the second row seat B3, my mind kept worru=yoingn about the next person sitting in that seat! Since I've been told that as a kid, I heard "With the unrest inside me" in "Juno" as "With the armrest inside me" and asked my Aunt lilli and Grandma Fannie what that meant (though what made me listen to "Juno" at nine years old suggests trouble to follow):
(to "I Wish It So")
(Verse)
Past the armrest beside me
How she squirmed in her seat
Past the armrest beside me
She kept shifting her feet.
She turned left and right
With each dazzling Pinteresque pause.
And the squirming went on til we stood with thund'rous applause.
First, we held it inside us
Words were stuck in our craws.
(Chorus)
Did we wish she’d go?
I ask as I dish it so
Why of all the luck
She was in my row.
There was no thought
I was so distraught
My mind went numb
Though I thought she wasn't dumb,
But as I’ve dished,
I’d wished she’d go.
And that armrest beside me
How I hope it's OK.
even though i have not seen any of his plays--i live in dallas, tx-i enjoyed this interview. he sounds very experimental..
A Midsummer Night's Dream nearly 50 years ago lives still in my mind: one could have dragged in someone who did not understand a word of English, and he would have marvelled at, and fully comprehended, every single word and gesture!
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Over the years I have seen hundreds if not thousands of theatrical productions. But there are only a handful of images that have stayed imprinted in my memory. Among them, scenes from Marat Sade, Midsummer Nights Dream and most of all, Paul Scofield cursing his daughter Goneril (Irene Worth) in K. Lear— a production drenched in emotion yet placed in freezing snow and ice. So brilliant!
How ironic that such a visionary should lose his sight but still able to “see”. Thank you for a wonderful article.
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Magnificent. And enthralling.
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I just feel like telling someone: I had the privilege and challenge, along with many others, to participate in a Toronto fundraiser for the making of Meetings With Remarkable Men. I've never met Peter Brook but this article has me celebrating my very distant connection with him and the project. Thanks you.
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The only time I've ever wanted (desired, yearned) to crawl onto a theater stage and never leave, was during The Mahabharata at BAM. Peter Brooks' theater is elemental, like air or water: it nourishes the soul. THANK YOU!
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Peter Brook...The hunch...yes...
Thank you for this article/interview.
Light in the darkness.
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The Marat/Sade is available on YouTube, worth a view before it disappears.
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So grateful for this article! Just bought a ticket on TDF no less. Very excited to see it. Thanks!
.I have seen many Peter Brook productions over the years, including "The Mahabharata," "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Marat/Sade," but the moment I will never forget is the intermission break during his brilliant staging of King Lear. He broke the play at the moment that Edgar leaves his despondent, recently blinded father sitting under a tree as the battle between England and France rages offstage. Gloucester's blind eyes stare out at the audience as the houselights come on, and he remains onstage during the 20-minute intermission, not moving, just staring. It was difficult to leave one's seat in the presence of this vulnerable, blind old man staring out at you in his helplessness and despair. I can't remember another moment in theater that created so powerful a belief in the reality of an onstage character. (And it was marvelous to watch how--almost stealthily--so many members of the audience kept facing the stage apologetically as they crept backwards toward the lobby's restrooms and refreshment stands. Brook's film version of "King Lear" was brilliant in many ways, and once again featured the great Paul Scofield as Lear, but no moment in it could match the visceral challenge of Gloucester's onstage stare.
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@Alan Levitan
Thank you for sharing that wondrous experience.
I can feel it even now.
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@Alan Levitan How good to see this comment from Alan Levitan, a fine professor of literature who surely won't remember me as one of his many students at Brandeis in the 1960s. I have seen only two of Peter Brook's productions but this sad fact does not prevent me from holding the deepest admiration for him. I am extremely happy that a 1972 photograph of Mr. Brook, his hand on Merce Cunningham’s shoulder backstage at the Théâtre de l’Odéon in 1972 is an important part of my about to be released book of photographs MERCE CUNINGHAM REDUX. In 1968 Mr. Brook wrote “Merce Cunningham has evolved a company whose daily exercises are a continual preparation for the shock of freedom.” It is a thought that applies equally to his own work.
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@James Klosty
James, you were "Jim," then. Of course I remember you! And I remember exactly what you looked like then. I look forward to poring over your book when it comes out. I'm a great admirer of Cunningham, whose dance programs I began attending in New York in the 50's when I was in college. I had rebellious tastes then; I still do. How fine that you have done a book of photographs of this choreographic genius! And good luck to you!
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Oh, how I wish that first extraordinary Benjamin Malapris portrait photo was given to us in colour so that we too could have experienced "those blue, blue, interrogative eyes".
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In our current culture of fame for the sake of fame, where playing to the broadest common detonator is paramount to the risks of creativity and imperfection, Peter Brook stands out as a wonderful example of the world of true creativity as opposed to marketing and branding. He is a wonderful champion of best imagination and innovation have to offer. So many in this world seek the empty spotlights. They seek Instagram followers, and seem to base their worth on quantity. Brook has always been one to focus on quality, on enhancing the moment, and on the power of the arts to enhance audiences. Mention his name to most people and you will get a blank stare. However, I can't think of anyone who has had such an impact on theater and the ways performing arts can be approached in such an effective way. When I was 24 I had little sense of direction. Then I read The Empty Space. I quit my job, moved to a large city, and spent the rest of my life moving from acting into directing to photography to poetry and to music. I'm now 70, and I credit Peter Brook with the spark that opened the doors. I learned never to go for fame, but to focus on doing well, and never stopping. That has made all the difference.
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Peter Brook may believe we are in an age of darkness on a cosmic level, but his work is all done in an age of light theatrically. I saw us US in London when I lived there which simplified the Vietnam War for those who wanted it simple, but ended with the immolation of a butterfly.....shocking to the audience. He has kept us thinking and feeling and puzzling. We must be glad he has lived so long , creating a thread that is both strong and yet tentative of work.
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