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The Empty Space. Peter Brook
by
Peter Brook
Peter Brook's career, beginning in the 1940s with radical productions of Shakespeare with a modern experimental sensibility and continuing to his recent work in the worlds of opera and epic theater, makes him perhaps the most influential director of the 20th century. Cofounder of the Royal Shakespeare Company and director of the International Center for Theater Research in...more
Paperback
Published
June 1st 2008
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1st 1972)
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Um, good... I don't know. I've only been slightly exposed to Peter Brook. I wanted to know more about his experiments with the Theatre of Cruelty but the book offered not much in the way of information. He organizes it around types of theater: deadly, which means empty; holy, which means transcendent maybe but also not necessarily possible; rough, which means accessible and effective, but lacking a bit in polish/grace; and immediate, which while its discussion formed the book's longest chapter, ...more
This book is excellent, but it's hampered by two things. One is Peter Brook's fault and one isn't:
1. It'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.
2. The book is inscrutable ...more
1. It'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.
2. The book is inscrutable ...more
What shines through is the wealth of knowledge and experience Peter Brook has. And so what is most interesting about this book is not just his theories on theatre but the examples he uses from his own history to illustrate his points. A passionate director, his ardent belief in the power of the theatre to change people's lives and to challenge social norms is inspiring. I would slightly disagree with the review on the back saying that anyone could read this book; while not inaccessible, I found ...more
I've only been trying to get around to reading this book for 7 or 8 years...
Brook explores his experience of theatre, though is very specific to state that it is only his experience so far and that everything will change, as theatre is always changing. He breaks theatre down into 4 categories, Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. These, of course, can overlap and interplay at any time. Deadly theatre is theatre that is predicable, set in its ways, repetitive, passionless. It is the...more
Brook explores his experience of theatre, though is very specific to state that it is only his experience so far and that everything will change, as theatre is always changing. He breaks theatre down into 4 categories, Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. These, of course, can overlap and interplay at any time. Deadly theatre is theatre that is predicable, set in its ways, repetitive, passionless. It is the...more
The Empty Space by Peter Brook
This book was very hard to get into for me, but after the first section, I couldn’t put it down, it was very inspiring. The book is divided into four sections about modern theater: Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. I believe the problem in getting into it is Mr. Brook’s decision to begin with Deadly theater, which is essentially a tirade against all of the crap that most theater artists hate about popular, commercial theater. While I can empathize with ...more
This book was very hard to get into for me, but after the first section, I couldn’t put it down, it was very inspiring. The book is divided into four sections about modern theater: Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. I believe the problem in getting into it is Mr. Brook’s decision to begin with Deadly theater, which is essentially a tirade against all of the crap that most theater artists hate about popular, commercial theater. While I can empathize with ...more
This book is always highly recommended by theater folks, but I wasn't as personally impressed by it as I had hoped. Maybe my expectations were too high. Regardless, the book categorizes theater into deadly, holy, rough, and immediate, terms which I will not bother to expound upon here, but make for an interesting and recognizable classification in the world of theater today. These four terms along with the directing exercises he shares, make this book a good read for theater artists.
Brilliant, specific analysis of what's wrong with most theater (the "Deadly"); a non-mysterious explanation of theater that "makes the invisible visible" (the "Holy") with Beckett as the exemplar; a convincing introduction to theater's connection with social issues (the "Rough") with Brecht as exemplar; and a description of the synthesis between the two that Shakespeare and the Elizabethans achieved.
Loses one star for consistently bizarre use o...more
Loses one star for consistently bizarre use o...more
Admittedly, I devoured this book in less than 24 hours and I was not motivated by pleasure or a desire to learn for my own edification. I needed to help one 16 year old child understand it so she could write a cherent paper on the book. Apparently this is a seminal work in understanding 4 types of theater. Ok, I do understand something about theater now that I previously didn't even know existed.
I have to agree with the kid when she said, "The book is dense." It's a sl...more
I have to agree with the kid when she said, "The book is dense." It's a sl...more
This book has really helped to change my perceptions on what theatre is and how it works. The Empty Space clarifies Brook's thoughts on the theatre, expanded from traditional definition, and helps to illustrate some of the visions behind this masterful director's work.
The holy grail of theatre texts. I've read The Empty Space a few times, and on this read, I found myself really appreciating the latter half of the book, where Brook gets more into the nature of creating living theatre. Starting the book on a negative note somehow tells me things I've already learned instinctually, and I wonder now if it's the best tack to take, if it's best to draw people into the theatre world by telling them how badness abounds and what to avoid. But I can't really look at...more
A thoughtful discussion of the theatre from one of its masters. Brook's views on what makes theatre relevant, effective, and necessary are just as powerful now as when first written. The division of Deadly, Holy, Rough, and Immediate Theatre allows his discussions to be specific and clear with the broadest possible topics. Highly recommened.
So-so. Brook has some neat ideas, and an elegant way of expressing them. But when I need to get inspired about what theater should be and why I love to do it, it's still gotta be Robert Edmund Jones.
Brook examines theater from an observant, intelligent, and unique eye. I found the book to be very inspiring. Even though it was written in the late 60s, the ideas are timeless. Definitely worth a read, whether you are a director, actor, designer, or playwright.
Exploresrelationship between audience and players. Talks about what makes theatre alive. Good shor insightful book about this subject
The Empty Space : A Book About the Theatre: Deadly, Holy, Rough, Immediate by Peter Brook (1995)
"The Empty Space: A Book About the Theatre: Deadly, Holy, Rough, Immediate by Peter Brook (1995)"
When we read this in college during our history of drama class, we were asked to underline passages that seemed to ring true or that we wanted to further discuss. I know I wasn't the only one to cover my copy with underlines, jotted notes in the margins, and page references.
I don't agree with everything in here, in fact some of it reads like self-indulgent drivel, but it really doesn't matter. It provokes discussion and serious thought about the theatrical craft and reinforces the ...more
I don't agree with everything in here, in fact some of it reads like self-indulgent drivel, but it really doesn't matter. It provokes discussion and serious thought about the theatrical craft and reinforces the ...more
This is a seminal book in Theatre. A must read for anyone interested in Theatre.
my first grad school required book is finished! i learned that theater is hard.
I like my theater like I like my men: deadly, rough, holy, and immediate.
The most perceptive modern analysis of the art of stagecraft bar none
A fine book that applies to ANY art form.
Alternately brilliant and boring. I think that Peter Brook is actually a profound man, but his writing on the theory of theatre gets tedious when he starts soliloquizing and forgets to include any means for the reader to put his abstractions into practice. At those times the book gets a self-infatuated tone, and loses believability. I spent most of the book slogging through, one paragraph at a time. That said, there are penetrating insights lodged within, and many times I felt he had unearthed a...more
genius
This classic of theatre aesthetics and theory written from a highly practical point of view from the great theatre director Peter Brook, is an essential teaching on what theatre can aspire to and a developed warning of where theatre can die and go terribly wrong. The book does not seem to date 40 years on (despite a sometimes holier than thou tone and an archaic theatre world that Brook was coming from - the essence is there loud and clear!)
60s-licious!
In my mind this is the book, the word on dramatic theory, and there isn’t a close second. Even when I don’t agree with Brook’s points, I have to concede that he is spot on in his approach to the creation of theater. This should be mandatory reading for anyone remotely connected with the business of theater, dance, performance art, etc.
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This book asserts everything I feared was so about doing theater, but makes it feel worthwhile anyway. "Compared with the cinema's mobility, the theatre once seemed ponderous and creaky, but the closer we move towards the true nakedness of theatre, the closer we approach a stage that has a lightness and range far beyond film or television."
Peter Brook helped shape me into the starry-eyed nut I am. I will always believe in the capacity of theater to do something great because of this book. The saddest part is, it's supremely outmoded by now. Yet I still hope... my generation will be the one to make it happen!
A classic. I read it out of compulsion, but was not in any way disappointed. This man has some great, living things to say about theatre, and they resound even to today. A mandatory read for theatre practitioners.
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| brook: political and aesthete at the same time! | 1 | 1 | Nov 01, 2007 12:29pm |
Peter Brook (born 1925) was a world renowned theater director, staging innovative productions of the works of famous playwrights.
Peter Brook was born in London in 1925, the son of immigrant scientists from Russia. A precocious child with a distaste for formal education but a love of learning, Brook performed his own four-hour version of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the age of seven. After s...more
More about Peter Brook...
Peter Brook was born in London in 1925, the son of immigrant scientists from Russia. A precocious child with a distaste for formal education but a love of learning, Brook performed his own four-hour version of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the age of seven. After s...more
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