Exquisite... enthralling... This short, modest and brilliant book does more than many more grandiose tomes to renew the reader's fascination with the plays, and the theatre-goer's wonder at the extraordinary and diverse sensations locked up inside the First Folio. It should be required reading at all universities and drama clubs. --Robert McCrum,
Guardian Contains within its scintillating reflections the essence of all that Peter Brook has learned over a lifetime. Whoever imagined that a book about Shakespeare could also be such fun? --John Heilpern,
Wall Street Journal This volume positively seethes and sparkles with ideas... provides not only acute insights into the texts, but intriguing details of performance history, and a few morsels of grand theatrical gossip. --Stuart Kelly,
Scotsman If you want a gift for an actor, look no further than this educative, engrossing, entertaining book. -
The Stage In
The Quality of Mercy, one of the world's most revered theatre directors reflects on a fascinating variety of Shakespearean topics. In this sequence of essays--all but one published here for the first time--Peter Brook debates such questions as who was the man who wrote Shakespeare's plays, why Shakespeare is never out of date, and how actors should approach Shakespeare's verse. He also revisits some of the plays which he has directed with notable brilliance, such as
King Lear,
Titus Andronicus and, of course,
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Taken as a whole, this short but immensely wise book offers an illuminating and provocative insight into a great director's relationship with our greatest playwright.
An invaluable gift from the greatest Shakespeare director of our time... Brook's genius, modesty, and brilliance shine through on every page. --James Shapiro, author of
1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare and
Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? PETER BROOK is one of the world's best-known theatre directors. Outstanding in a career full of remarkable achievements are his productions of
Titus Andronicus (1955) with Laurence Olivier,
King Lear (1962) with Paul Scofield, and
The Marat/Sade (1964) and
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1970), both for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Since moving to Paris and establishing the Centre International de Cr ations Th trales at the Bouffes du Nord, he has produced a series of events which push at the boundaries of theatre, such as
The Conference of Birds (1976),
The Ik (1975),
The Mahabharata (1985) and
The Tragedy of Hamlet (2000). His films include
Lord of the Flies (1963),
King Lear (1970) and
The Mahabharata (1989). His books, especially
The Empty Space (1968), have been hugely influential.
Author: Peter BrookPublisher: Theatre Communications Group
Published: 11/18/2014
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.30w x 0.60d
ISBN13: 9781559364836
ISBN10: 1559364831
BISAC Categories:-
Performing Arts |
Theater | History & Criticism-
Drama |
Shakespeare-
Literary Criticism |
ShakespeareAbout the Author
Peter Brook is one of the world's best-known theatre directors. Outstanding in a career full of remarkable achievements are his productions of Titus Andronicus (1955) with Laurence Olivier, King Lear (1962) with Paul Scofield, and The Marat/Sade (1964) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1970), both for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Since moving to Paris and establishing the Centre International de Créations Théâtrales at the Bouffes du Nord, he has produced a series of events which push at the boundaries of theatre, such as The Conference of Birds (1976), The Ik (1975), The Mahabharata (1985) and The Tragedy of Hamlet (2000). His films include Lord of the Flies (1963), King Lear (1970) and The Mahabharata (1989). His books, especially The Empty Space (1968), have been hugely influential.
