The Empty Space is a 1968 book by the British directorPeter Brook examining four modes or points of view on theatre: Deadly; Holy; Rough; and Immediate.
The book is based on a series of four lectures endowed byGranada Television and delivered at Manchester,Keele,Hull, andSheffield Universities in England. The first lecture, on The Deadly Theatre, was delivered on 1 February 1965 atManchester University. The lecture series helped to fund his long-planned trip toAfghanistan.[1]
The work was considered controversial when first published in 1968 and received mixed reviews. However, it is now widely taught in higher education theatre studies courses and is regarded as "the seminal text of modern theatre".[2]
The Empty Space is defined by Brook as "[A]ny space in which theatre takes place." "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged".[3]
The Empty Space Peter Brook Award was an annual prize awarded to a theatre in recognition of pioneering concepts and innovations in theatre achieved in smaller venues and inventive spaces which receive minimal or no public funding. Award categories included regional theatres and up-and-coming theatre. Winners include theOrange Tree Theatre,Richmond, London (2006 and 2015), theFinborough Theatre,West Brompton, London (2010[4] and 2012),[5] the Shed at theNational Theatre, London (2013)[6] and theUnicorn Theatre,Southwark, London (2014),[7] and The last award, toThe Yard Theatre inHackney Wick, London, was made in 2017.[8]
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