Synopsis
The Prisoner
Peter Brook & Marie-Helene Estienne
Published by Nick Hern Books
4 Male 1 Female
Somewhere in the world a man sits alone outside a prison
Who is he?
And why is he there?
Is it a choice?
Or a punishment?
With The Prisoner, the internationally renowned theatre director Peter Brook and his long-time collaborator Marie-Hélène Estienne ask provocative and profound questions about justice, guilt, and redemption
And what it means to be free
Runs about 75 minutes
The Prisoner opened at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, in March 2018, before an international tour which included performances at the Edinburgh International Festival, the National Theatre of Great Britain, and Theatre for a New Audience in New York
REVIEWS
"Only its mystery equals the simplicity of this strange fable" ~ Le Monde
"The most pioneering theatre director of the twentieth century" ~ Independent on Peter Brook
"Achieves a magnificent balance of stillness, relaxation and narrative tension; compelling us to pause, to breathe and to reflect, but also moving the story towards its end with the inevitability and energy of a natural force, harnessed by an absolute master" ~ Scotsman
"Elliptical and surprisingly witty there is a delicious lightness at play, however profound the play's contemplations" ~ Herald
"The force of the show lies precisely in its ellipses, the empty spaces it offers to our emotions, sensations and to our intelligence" ~ Télérama
"During one hour and fifteen minutes, the Earth stops spinning at its maddening speed, to allow Brook to whisper in our ear one of his beautiful universal stories" ~ Les Echoes
"The work of an artist for whom the human heart has no secrets and who knows the revealing and consoling force of theatre ~ Le Figaroscope