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The Empty Space

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The Empty Space

By: Peter Brook
Narrated by: Adrian Lester
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About this listen

The hugely influential classic of theater writing—now available for the first time as an audiobook, read by award-winning actor Adrian Lester.

Peter Brook's seminal book, The Empty Space, sets out many of the ideas about theater which have informed his lifelong work as a theater director, from his iconic "white box" production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and his groundbreaking adaptation of The Mahabharata, to his ongoing work at the International Centre for Theatre Research.

More than 50 years on from its first publication in 1968, The Empty Space remains a cornerstone of thinking about theater. Written with refreshing clarity, and full of personal insights, it sets out Brook's influential concept of the four different types of theater—the deadly theater, the holy theater, the rough theater, and the immediate theater—and investigates the evolution of theatrical ideas, from Stanislavsky and method acting to Brecht and happenings, as well as examining different ways of playing Shakespeare.

Read by Adrian Lester—who played the title role in Brook's acclaimed production of Hamlet in Paris, London, and New York—this new unabridged audiobook of The Empty Space will continue to inspire and instruct new generations of theater-makers everywhere.

©1968 Peter Brook (P)2022 Nick Hern Books
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deadly book

this was really difficult to finish.

there are nuggets of insight. but they are hidden amongst dense and pretentious complaints about the state of theatre in the 1960s.

it often just feels too serious. the use of "deadly" from the start puts the subject of theatre on a pedestal it could not climb onto unaided. deadly theatre is probably best translated by understanding it's opposite, lively. deadly theatre is theatre that is not-lively. his criticism, really, is that too often theatre does not make its audience and actors feel alive.

but he is clearly an ultimate talent. he cares deeply. he makes the argument for focusing on what really matters, ignoring the distractions that surround theatre, finding the deepest truths within each of us and bringing them to the surface for a fleeting, shared, moment.

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