Peter Brook: A Biography

Peter Brook: A Biography

by Michael Kustow (Author)

Synopsis

Peter Brook is one of the most influential directors of our time, whose productions are a byword for imagination, energy and innovation. He was born into a Russian emigre family in London and, after a turbulent time at Oxford University, he veered between directing West End comedy, new work from abroad and opera at Covent Garden. By the 1960s he was moving towards greater experimentation, with controversial works like The Marat/Sade, films like Lord of the Flies, and landmark stagings of Shakespeare of which the most famous was the 'white box' production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 1970, at the height of his success, he moved to Paris and immediately set off with a group of actors to Persia, Africa, Mexico and the USA in an attempt to discover a universal language of theatre. Since then, Brook has continued pushing at the boundaries of theatre and film. In this first authoritative biography, arising out of an association and friendship with Brook of more than forty years, Michael Kustow tells the revealing story of a man whose life has been a never-ending quest for meaning.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 20 Mar 2006

ISBN 10: 074757913X
ISBN 13: 9780747579137
Book Overview: Hardback received massive critical acclaim This is the only definitive Peter Brook biography Published the day before Peter Brook's 81st birthday

Media Reviews
'Indispensable I defy anyone to read the book and not come away thinking better of the theatre, its scope, its passion, its contribution' Simon Callow, Guardian 'Kustow has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Brook's work: he has seen everything, read everything, met everybody' Sunday Times 'The great man, who is impatient with criticism and critics, will have no quarrel with Kustow's sympathetic and comprehensive celebration of a remarkable life in the theatre. It provides what the critics will require - an accurate picture of what Brook has done and said' Economist 'Kustow offers a balanced, authoritative assessment of Brook's career over sixty years The biography concentrates on Brook's work. Kustow expertly shows how Brook's critical writings fed into his productions' Independent
Author Bio
Michael Kustow has been working at the leading edge of innovation in theatre, performing arts, film and television for four decades, working at the RSC, the ICA and the National Theatre, and for eight years as Channel 4's first Commissioning Editor for Arts.