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A review by girlpdf
The Empty Space by Peter Brook
5.0
Contains perhaps my favourite summary of Artaud's philosophy ever: "A theatre working like the plague, by intoxication, by infection, by analogy, by magic…"
Still startling, even now, decades past what really should be its use-by-date. Brook writes for the director, the playwright, the actor, the critic, and the audience. He balances Marxist realism with hedonistic idealism; luxurious adoration of the past with urgent celebration of the present and future of theatre. Despite the many ways Brook's own practice failed us, there is so much to celebrate here: unwavering belief in the magic of theatre; great ammunition for a fierce defence of Beckett; meditations on architecture (a highlight—why are we building venues for rituals before the rituals exists?)
His work on the importance of an unreconcilable, internal opposition of Rough and Holy Theatre within a play is particularly fascinating, and is probably the first piece of writing championing the "uniqueness'" of Shakespeare that I've actually believed. Really, in and of itself, that's a feat to be celebrated.
Still startling, even now, decades past what really should be its use-by-date. Brook writes for the director, the playwright, the actor, the critic, and the audience. He balances Marxist realism with hedonistic idealism; luxurious adoration of the past with urgent celebration of the present and future of theatre. Despite the many ways Brook's own practice failed us, there is so much to celebrate here: unwavering belief in the magic of theatre; great ammunition for a fierce defence of Beckett; meditations on architecture (a highlight—why are we building venues for rituals before the rituals exists?)
His work on the importance of an unreconcilable, internal opposition of Rough and Holy Theatre within a play is particularly fascinating, and is probably the first piece of writing championing the "uniqueness'" of Shakespeare that I've actually believed. Really, in and of itself, that's a feat to be celebrated.