The Open Circle: The Theater Environment of Peter Brook

by Andrew Todd

Peter Brook is one of the world's great theater directors. Responsible for historic productions of Midsummer Night's Dream, Marat/Sade, The Mahabarata, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and The Cherry Orchard, Brooks's main concern has always been the space occupied by both the actors and the audience. In this beautifully illustrated book, Andrew Todd and Jean Guy Lecat explore the evolution of Brooks's productions and his theories of theater design. They look at his work in the early days of the Royal Shakespeare Company and his fascinating white box Dream as well as his madhouse production of Marat/Sade. They explore in detail his Theatre Bouffe du Nord in Paris where he staged The Mahabarata and the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater where he first staged it in the US. This is a book that every serious theatergoer will want on his shelf.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2003

Reviews

[Dcw]

- Someone starts performing in a level public space.
- People start to notice and crowd around.
- More often that not, this crowd will (naturally) take the shape of... an open circle.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most helpful resource for theatre people ever (quite possibly).

I read this book before actually working with Jean-Guy Lecart. Honestly the man is a genius though Way extremely difficult to understand. This man has been working his whole life towards making the actual theatre a part of the theatre and making the theatre itself support the story and welcome the audience to the performance. A concept that in it's simplicity sounds so simple. But in reality is extremely difficult and complex, as I found out when trying to put what he was telling us into practise.

This book has SO SO SO SO many gems in it that every theatre maker or theatre lover should have one in their own collection. It also holds a lot of information about Peter Brook from someone who has worked so closely with him for such a long time.

Jean-Guy come back to NZ and work with us again, we miss you!