France-based British theater director Peter Brook, who revolutionized the stage with radical interpretations of the classics before returning drama to its simplest roots, and had a huge influence reached around the world has died at the age of 97. Brook’s death on Saturday was confirmed by his assistant, Nina Soufy.
Born in the United Kingdom but resident in France for decades, Brook redefined the way of theatre with his productions at Stratford’s Royal Shakespeare Company.
He is also renowned for his iconic 1963 film version of the novel “Lord of the Flies” about schoolboys who are marooned on an island and descend into savagery while many of his productions were celebrated .
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Brook rose to fame in the U.K. as a young director who put a radical, and sometimes bloody, spin on classics including the works of Shakespeare and was one of theatre’s most visionary and influential thinkers.
He wrote several publications including The Empty Space (1968), the opening of which outlined his vision: “I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space, whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged” and also worked with actors who would later become themselves legends.
