Peter Brook

Peter Brook is one of my theatrical heroes.  His body of work, and influence on the theatre community has been so unbelievably significant.  Incredible.

And, tonight, I got to see one of his productions.

I was so excited about this, that I had a hard time focusing on where I was going on my way to the theatre.  Which, was bad, because the production 11 and 12, was at The Barbican Centre.  The Barbican is a huge theatre complex in the City of London, hidden among some backstreets.  Eventually, I had to start paying attention, or I would completely have been wandering around lost.  Very lost.  I did find it without a problem, thankfully.  They used to hand out badges that said "I found the Barbican".  The inside is just as much of a maze.  Maps are available at different information stands around the center.  I found my way without needing one, but it was a close call.

The show was beautiful.  It was about different men in Africa during the French occupation.  It touched on religion and imperialism in ways that effectively communicated its point, but did not hit you over the head with a mallet.  Religious differences were examined in a way that truly points out the absurdity of the inability to accept and coexist.  Metaphoric stories about life were delivered by actors with lovely voices.  The acting was exquisite, but the overall staging and design created a wonderful effect.  I was very affected by this show, in a positive way. Honestly, I feel that any comment I make about the plot or the show in general will be incredibly trite in comparison to the overall meaning.  I am not intelligent enough, nor do I have enough time to do it justice-- I'm just so glad that I went.

Here are a few shots of the show.  Just a note that everything in this post is from Google Images.