The Empty Space

'I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage.'

Peter Brook's seminal book, an acknowledged classic of theatre writing, sets out many of the ideas about theatre which have informed his lifelong work as a theatre director, from his iconic 'white box' production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and his ground-breaking adaptation of The Mahabharata, to his ongoing work at the International Centre for Theatre Research.

Available as an ebook for the first time since its original publication in 1968, The Empty Space remains a cornerstone of thinking about theatre. Written with a refreshing clarity, and full of personal insights, it sets out Brook's influential concept of the four different types of theatre - The Deadly Theatre, The Holy Theatre, The Rough Theatre and The Immediate Theatre - 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.

Firmly rooted in Brook's own experience as a ceaselessly questing theatre-maker, The Empty Space continues to inspire and instruct new generations of theatre-makers everywhere.

Auteur

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 International Centre for Theatre Research in 1970 and the International Centre for Theatre Creation when he opened the Bouffes du Nord in 1974, he has produced a series of events which push at the boundaries of theatre, such as Conference of the Birds (1976), The Ik (1975), The Mahabharata (1985) and The Tragedy of Carmen (1981) to name but a few. His films include Lord of the Flies (1963), King Lear (1970), The Mahabharata (1989), Tell Me Lies (restored 2013) and Meetings with Remarkable Men (restored 2017). His hugely influential books, from The Empty Space (1968) to The Quality of Mercy (2013) to Tip of the Tongue (2017), have been published in many languages throughout the world.