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Peter Brook Biography (1925-)

Full name, Peter Stephen Paul Brook; born March 21, 1925, in London, England;son of Simon (a chemist) and Ida (a chemist; maiden name, Jansen) Brook; married Natasha Parry (an actress), November 3, 1951; children: one son, one daughter. Addresses: Office: CICT, 56 rue de l'Universite, 75007 Paris.

Nationality

English

Gender

Male

Occupation

director, designer, producer for stage, film, television

Birth Details

March 21, 1925

London, England

Famous Works

• Credits; Stage Work; Director
• Dr. Faustus, Torch Theatre, London, England, 1943.
• Man and Superman, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, London, 1945.
• King John, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 1945.
• The Lady from the Sea, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 1945.
• The Barretts of Wimpole Street, "Q," Theatre, London, 1945.
• The Infernal Machine, Chanticleer Theatre, London, 1945.
• The Brothers Karamazov, Lyric Theatre, London, 1946.
• Love's Labour's Lost, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Statford-on-Avon, 1946.
• Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1947.
• Men without Shadows, Lyric Theatre, 1947.
• The Respectable Prostitute, Lyric Theatre, 1947.
• Boris Godunov, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 1948.
• La Boheme, Covent Garden, 1948.
• Dark of the Moon, Ambassadors' Theatre, London, 1949.
• The Marriage of Figaro, Covent Garden, 1949.
• The Olympians, Covent Garden, 1949.
• Salome, Covent Garden, 1949.
• Ring 'Round the Moon, Globe Theatre, London, 1950.
• The Little Hut, Lyric Theatre, 1950.
• Measure for Measure, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1950, then Paris, France, 1970.
• Salome, Royal Opera House, 1950.
• Penny for a Song, Haymarket Theatre, London, 1951.
• The Winter's Tale, Phoenix Theatre, London, 1951.
• Figure of Fun, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1951.
• La Mort d'un commis voyageur, Theatre National, Brussels, Belgium,1951.
• Colombe, New Theatre, London, 1951.
• (U.S. stage debut) Faust, Metropolitan Opera House, New York City,1953.
• Venice Preserv'd, Lyric Theatre, 1953, then New York City, 1953.
• The Dark is Light Enough, Aldwych Theatre, 1954.
• Both Ends Meet, Apollo Theatre, London, 1954.
• House of Flowers, Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1954.
• The Lark, Lyric Theatre, 1955.
• (And designer) Titus Andronicus (also see below), Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1955.
• Hamlet, Phoenix Theatre, 1955, then Mayakovsky Theatre, Moscow, U.S.S.R (now Commonwealth of Independent States), 1955.
• The Power and the Glory (also see below), Phoenix Theatre, 1956.
• (And set designer) The Family Reunion, Phoenix Theatre, 1956.
• (And designer) A View from the Bridge, Comedy Theatre, London, 1956, then Theatre Antoine, Paris, 1958.
• (And designer) La Chatte sur un toit brulant (title means "Cat ona Hot Tin Roof"), Theatre Antoine, 1956.
• (And designer) The Tempest (also see "Writings" below), Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1957.
• Eugene Onegin, Metropolitan Opera House, 1957.
• The Visit, Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, 1958, then Royalty Theatre, London, 1960.
• Irma La Douce, Lyric Theatre, 1959, then Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1960.
• The Fighting Cock, ANTA Theatre, New York City, 1959.
• (And designer) La Balcon (title means "The Balcony"), Gymnase Theatre, Paris, 1960.
• (And designer) King Lear (also see below), Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, 1962, then Aldwych Theatre, 1962, later New York StateTheatre, New York City, 1964.
• (With Clifford Williams) The Tempest, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1963.
• (And designer) Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, Theatre de l'Athenee, Paris, 1963.
• Marat/Sade (also known as The Persecution and Assassination ofMarat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade; also see below), Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1964, then Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1965.
• The Physicists, Martin Beck Theatre, 1964.
• The Investigation, Aldwych Theatre, 1965.
• U.S. (also see below), Aldwych Theatre, 1966.
• (And designer) Oedipus, Old Vic Theatre, London, 1968.
• The Tempest, Round House Theatre, London, 1968.
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1971, then Billy Rose Theatre, New York City, 1971, later Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles,CA, 1973.
• (And producer, with Ted Hughes) Orghast, International Centre of Theatre Research (ICTR), staged at the site of the ancient Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran, 1971.
• (And producer, with Hughes) The Conference of the Birds (also seebelow), ICTR, Theatre Bouffes du Nord, Paris, France, 1972, then Australia and New York, 1980.
• Kaspar, ICTR, Mobilier National Theatre, Paris, 1972.
• Timon of Athens, ICTR, Theatre Bouffes du Nord, 1974.
• Les Iks, ICTR, Theatre Bouffes du Nord, 1975, then London, 1976.
• Ubu au Bouffes, La Mama Theatre, New York City, 1977, then Paris,1977, later Young Vic Theatre, New York City, 1978.
• Measure for Measure, Theatre Bouffes du Nord, 1978.
• Anthony and Cleopatra, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1978, then Aldwych Theatre, 1979.
• Conference of the Birds (part of double bill), Avignon Festival, Paris, then Majestic Theatre, New York City, later Australia, 1979-80.
• The Cherry Orchard, Paris, 1981, then Majestic Theatre, New York City, 1988.
• La Tragedie de Carmen (also see below), Paris, 1981, then Vivian Beaumont Theater, New York City, 1984, later Tramway Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland, 1989.
• Tchin, Tchin, Theatre Montparnasse, Paris, 1984.
• The Mahabharata (in French; also see below), Theatre Bouffes du Nord, 1985, then (in English) Majestic Theatre, New York City, 1987-88, later Glasgow, 1988.
• Also directed The Vicious Cycle in London, 1946, and Time and Again, 1957.
• Credits; Major Tours; Director
• Pygmalion, Entertainments National Service Association, tour for British armed forces, 1945.
• Titus Andronicus (also see below), London and European cities, 1957.
• Irma La Douce, U.S. cities, 1962.
• (And producer) The Conference of the Birds, five West African countries, 1972-73, and included in presentation at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, 1973.
• Directed tour of The Perils of Scobie Prilt, 1963; directed and produced tour of The Mahabharata in European cities. With InternationalCentre of Theatre Research, produced numerous world tours throughout the 1970s.
• Credits; Film Work; Director
• Sentimental Journey, Oxford University Film Society, 1944.
• The Beggar's Opera, Warner Brothers, 1953.
• Moderato Cantabile (also see below), Royal International, 1960.
• (And editor) Lord of the Flies (also see below), Continental Distributing, 1963.
• Marat/Sade (also known as The Persecution and Assassination ofJean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton underthe Direction of the Marquis de Sade), United Artists, 1967.
• (And producer) Tell Me Lies, Continental Distributing, 1968.
• King Lear (also see below), Altura, 1971.
• Meetings with Remarkable Men (also see below), Libra, 1979.
• La Tragedie de Carmen (also see below), MK2/Alby Films/Antenne-2,1983.
• The Mahabharata (also see below), Reiner Moritz, 1989.
• Credits; Television Work; Director
• Box for One (also see below), BBC, 1949.
• King Lear (also see below), Ford Foundation Program, 1953.
• Heaven and Earth, ABC, 1957.
• The Mahabharata (three part mini-series; also see below), PBS, 1990.
• Credits; Television Appearances
• The Magic of Peter Brook, Camera Three, CBS, 1971.
• Credits; Stage Scripts
• U.S., Aldwych Theatre, 1966.
• (With Jean-Claude Carriere and Marius Constant) La Tragedie de Carmen (adapted from the novel by Prosper Merimee), Paris, 1981, then Vivian Beaumont Theater, 1984, later Tramway Theatre, 1989.
• (With Carriere) The Mahabharata (adapted from the original Sanskrit poem; also see below), Bouffes du Nord, 1985.
• Credits; Stage Scores
• Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1955.
• The Power and the Glory, Phoenix Theatre, 1956.
• The Tempest, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1957.
• Credits; Film Scripts
• (With Marguerite Duras and Gerard Jarlot) Moderato Cantabile (adapted from the novel by Duras), Royal International, 1960.
• Lord of the Flies (adapted from the novel by William Golding), 1962.
• King Lear (adapted from the play by William Shakespeare), Altura,1971.
• (With Jeanne de Salzmann) Meetings with Remarkable Men (adapted from the book by G. I. Gurdjieff), Libra, 1979.
• La Tragedie de Carmen, MK2/Alby Films/Antenne-2, 1983.
• (With Volker Schlondorff, Carriere, and Marie-Helene Estienne) Swann in Love (adapted from the novel Un Amour de Swann by Marcel Proust), Orion Classics, 1984.
• (With Carriere and Estienne) The Mahabharata (also see below), Reiner Moritz, 1989.
• Credits; Television Scripts
• Box for One, BBC, 1949.
• King Lear, Ford Foundation Program, 1953.
• (With Carriere and Estienne) The Mahabharata, PBS, 1990.
• Also author of television play, The Birthday Present, for television, broadcast in 1955.

Further Reference

Books

• Celebrity Register, 5th edition, Gale, 1990, p. 55.
• Contemporary Authors, Volume 105, Gale, 1982, pp. 87-89.

Periodicals

• New York Times, January 22, 1989; September 28, 1989.
• New York Times, January 15, 1971.
• Times (London), April 2, 1989, p. C9.
• Voice, February 2, 1988, pp. 97, 100.