Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1

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 pers...

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Main Author: Dominic Glynn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Liverpool University Press 2020-06-01
Series:Francosphères
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/franc.2020.5
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author Dominic Glynn
author_facet Dominic Glynn
author_sort Dominic Glynn
collection DOAJ
description 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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spelling doaj-art-cdef532c18a9434ea05d42379643e4972025-08-20T02:24:58ZengLiverpool University PressFrancosphères2046-38202046-38392020-06-0191556910.3828/franc.2020.5Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1Dominic Glynn0City University of Hong KongThis 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.http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/franc.2020.5BeckettPeter Brookstagingabusive fidelityfragmentsBeckett
spellingShingle Dominic Glynn
Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
Francosphères
Beckett
Peter Brook
staging
abusive fidelity
fragments
Beckett
title Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
title_full Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
title_fullStr Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
title_full_unstemmed Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
title_short Beckett by Brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
title_sort beckett by brook or theatre uplifted by abusive fidelity1
topic Beckett
Peter Brook
staging
abusive fidelity
fragments
Beckett
url http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/franc.2020.5
work_keys_str_mv AT dominicglynn beckettbybrookortheatreupliftedbyabusivefidelity1