Beckett by Brook

What is it about?

This article considers Samuel Beckett through the lens of theatre director Peter Brook. More specifically, it looks at the ways in which Brook engages with Beckett, both in his theoretical writings, and in his stage productions. What becomes apparent is not only that Brook highly values Beckett personally, but that he is especially taken with his dramaturgy, the particular quality of which lies, in Brook’s eyes, in its capacity to rid itself of all superfluous trappings to express what is essential. Brook’s admiration does not, however, lead him to direct Oh les beaux jours (1995), Glückliche Tage (2003), and Fragments (2006, 2015) in a faithfully subservient manner, but rather to adopt a pragmatic approach to staging these texts, akin to what, in translation studies, is referred to as ‘abusive fidelity’, and which consists in moving away from the precise stage directions in order to find new means of expressing what is at stake in the plays.

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Why is it important?

There has not been much work on Peter Brook and Samuel Beckett. Yet, the pair have a lot in common. Understanding how Brook staged Beckett says a lot about contemporary and modern theatre.

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