Peter Brook, a British theatre and cinema director whose illustrious and important career saw him win widespread praise, has passed away. He was 97.
The two-time Tony Award winner, who had long since made France his home, also helmed the 1963 film adaptation of Lord of the Flies in addition to his finest stage productions.
He “leaves behind a tremendous artistic legacy,” according to a statement released on Sunday by Brook’s publisher, Nick Hern Books. Brook passed away in Paris, according to French media sources.
Born in London in 1925, Brook later attended Oxford University to further his education and, while still a teenager, directed his first production in London, Doctor Faustus.
His work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, or RSC, notably the Laurence Olivier-starring play Titus Andronicus, helped him become more well-known after serving as director of shows at the Royal Opera House.
He received a Tony Award for best direction in 1966 for his staging of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade and in 1970 for the staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.
Throughout his seven-decade career, Brook also won an Olivier Award, an Emmy, and an International Emmy.
The director established the International Center for Theater Research after relocating to Paris in the 1970s. It was for this organization that he would revitalize the dilapidated Bouffes du Nord theatre in the French capital.
Due to his widespread fame, he was also awarded art prizes, most recently the Princess of Asturias in Spain in 2019 and the Praemium Imperiale in Japan, Italy, and.
Brook was a “giant in our business,” according to British actor Adrian Lester, who collaborated with Brook on several RSC Hamlet performances.
From 1951 until her death due to a stroke in 2015, Brook was married to the actress Natasha Parry. Irina and Simon, who are also directors, are their two surviving children.
