Director Peter Brook at ArtsEmerson
After 40 Years Returns to Boston with Beckett Project
By: Emerson - Feb 18, 2011
The inaugural season of international theatre programming by ArtsEmerson: The World on Stage continues with a celebration of legendary theatre director Peter Brook, in his first return to Boston in 40 years. The program includes the Boston premieres of two different works: Fragments and The Grand Inquisitor. Performances take place March 23—April 3, 2011 at the Paramount Center (559 Washington Street, in Boston’s Theatre District). Tickets, starting at $25, are on sale now at www.artsemerson.org or by phone at (617) 824-8000.
March 23—April 3, 2011 (Please note date change from earlier releases.)
Fragments (Boston Premiere)
Based on texts by Samuel Beckett
Directed by Peter Brook
Co-directed by Marie-Hélène Estienne
Paramount Mainstage
Performances:
Wednesday, March 23, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 24, 8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 25, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 26, 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 27, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, March 30, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 31, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, 3:30 p.m.
Running time: 1 hour
With his characteristic theatrical alchemy, Peter Brook stages a quintet of works by preeminent playwright Samuel Beckett—Rough for Theatre I, Rockaby, Act Without Words II, Neither, and Come and Go. Brook’s long awaited vision of Beckett’s Fragments illuminates the comedy and courage in Beckett’s characters who dare to face the void. Says Brook, “Today, with the passage of time, we see how false were the labels first stuck on Beckett – despairing, negative, pessimistic. Indeed, he peers into the filthy abyss of human existence. His humor saves him and us from falling in. He rejects theories and dogmas, that offer pious consolations, yet his life was a constant, aching search for meaning.” With renowned international artists Hayley Carmichael, Antonio Gil Martinez, and Bruce Myers, Brook plumbs the depths of Beckett’s sparse, dynamic texts, revealing humor and humanity. Recommended for age 12 and older.
“Don’t miss out. You may never get another chance to see something with this combined pedigree in physical theatre." – The British Theatre Guide (UK)
March 24 – April 3, 2011
The Grand Inquisitor (Boston Premiere)
From The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky
With Bruce Myers
Directed by Peter Brook
Adapted by Marie-Hélène Estienne
Paramount Black Box
Performances
Thursday, March 24, 6:30 p.m. (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, March 26, 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 27, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 29, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 31, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, April 1, 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, 7 p.m.
Running time: 1 hour
Peter Brook directs Marie-Hélène Estienne’s adaptation of The Grand Inquisitor scene from Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, a chilling parable about the perversion of religious faith. The action takes place in Seville during the Inquisition. In his infinite mercy, Christ returns to the world of man in the human form he wore during his 33 years on earth. He enters the burning streets of the city, where the previous day the Grand Inquisitor had sent a hundred heretics into the flames. The Cardinal Grand Inquisitor sees Him and his face darkens. He orders the guards to seize Christ and shut Him in a narrow vaulted cell. In the darkness, suddenly, the iron door opens and the Grand Inquisitor quietly enters. For a long moment, he stays in the doorway, studying the Holy face. Then he draws nearer, saying: “Is it You? You?” Theatricalizing one of the most profoundly moral works in all of literature, Brook has created a one-man show of urgency and intensity. His minimalist staging of the Inquisitor’s monologue is no less than a naked inquisition of our age, our complicity and our answers to his questions. Recommended for age 12 and older.
"Peter Brook coined the term Holy Theatre. And, for all its anti-clerical nature, evenings don't come much holier than this …Brook's production and Bruce Myers's performance have an austere grandeur." — The Guardian
Peter Brook is a giant of contemporary theatre - a creative genius who, through his groundbreaking productions, has reinvented the way actors and directors think about their craft. His influential book, The Empty Space, a standard text for theatre students for many years, explores the nature of theatre, as well as Brook’s theories on the purpose and potential of the theatrical form. Famous for his innovative approach, Brook worked on many productions in Britain, Europe, and the United State, in the 1950’s. In 1962, he joined the newly established Royal Shakespeare Company for which he directed, among other productions, King Lear (1962) and Peter Weiss's Marat/Sade (1964). Hailed as one of the greatest Shakespeare productions of the 20th century, Brook’s 1971 A Midsummer Night’s Dream toured the United States, and was his last production seen in Boston (at the Shubert Theatre). Most of his work in recent decades is done with the Paris-based Centre for Theatre Research, which he founded. Among his films are The Beggar's Opera (1952), Lord of the Flies (1962), and King Lear (1969).