1st Edition
Peter Brook and the Mahabharata Critical Perspectives
First published in 1991, Peter Brook and the Mahabharata is a collection of essays which contextualizes the production of Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata. Written by both scholars and collaborators on Brook’s production, these essays seek not only to discuss such issues as the politics of theatre interculturalism, but to describe the nature of the working process, and detail the technical problems engendered by touring a production of this size and complexity. Furnished with a new preface by the editor, the book continues to be crucial research work devoted to unravelling the mesmerising as well as the polarising enigma known as Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata. Thoroughly heterogenous and controversially irreverent, this book will be of interest to students of theatre, performance art, literature, South Asian studies and media studies.
List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgements 1. Theatre of Innocence and of Experience: Peter Brook’s International Centre – An Introduction David Williams 2. A Narrative Synopsis of The Mahabharata 3. The Presence of India: An Introduction Peter Brook 4. The Language of Stories Peter Brook interviewed by Georges Banu 5. Theatre, Popular and Special, and the Perils of Cultural Piracy Peter Brook interviewed by David Britton 6. What is Not in The Mahabharata is Nowhere J.-Claude Carriere 7. The Bridge of Sand J.-Claude Carriere interviewed by Georges Banu 8. Fluidity and Openness Chloe Oblensky interviewed by Georges Banu 9. Sensitivity and Listening Toshi Tsuchitori interviewed by Georges Banu 10. Musical Bricolage Vincent Dehoux 11. Malleability and Visibility Jean Kalman interviewed by Georges Banu 12. Energy and the Ensemble: Actors’ Perspectives Extracts from interviews with Andrzej Seweryn, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Mallika Sarabhai, Sotigui Kouyate, Yoshi Oida 13. The Great Poem of the World: A Descriptive Analysis David Williams 14. The Great Indian Epic and Peter Brook Vijay Mishra 15. Interaction-Interpretation: The Mahabharata from a Sociocultural perspective Maria Shevtsova 16. A View from India Rustom Bharucha 17. Something More Volcanic Michael Kustow 18. Peter Brook’s ‘Orientalism’ Gautam Dasgupta 19. Brook’s Six Days: Theatre as the Meeting Place Between the Visible and the Invisible Georges Banu 20. Mahabharata Production Details 21. The World Tour: Logistics and Economics Bibliography Index
Biography
Edited by David Williams
