Peter Brook is a world renowned legendary theatre director. The 90 years old elderly British theatre legend was internationally known for a long nine-hour production on Mahabharata in 1985 which was cited by many to be one of the greatest productions in modern theatre. This new play Battlefield, although much shorter than Mahabharata, (about 70 minutes of the actual play without intermission), is able to capture the audience attention with a philosophical story line and lots of personal reflections on stage.
Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is proud to have co-commissioned Peter Brook’s new play, Battlefield, which premiered at the Theatre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris. It will have its international premiere in Singapore from 17 – 21 November 2015 before it tours the world.
Photo Credit: Caroline Moreau
This Battlefield play is set towards the end of the Mahabharata, with the storyline of the conflicts in the West Asia during the period. The play is co-commissioned by the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), Battlefield will run for five nights here. Peter Brook’s style of presenting the play in a very simplistic truthful manner without the fancy backdrops and music. Many film critics find this way of presentation impressive as it allows the audience to focus on the key storyline without distractions.
In the Mahabharata, the story was a great war which tore apart the Bharata family. Both warring sides destroyed each other. At the end, the Pandavas win and the eldest of the family, Yudhishthira – was to become King. In Battlefield, the new King is trying to find inner peace amidst all the destructions. There are only 5 persons on the stage. The three male actors are Jared McNeill, Ery Nzaramba and Sean O’Callaghan. The only female actress is Carole Karemera and music which is in the form of drumming is provided by Toshi Tsuchitori.
In the play, we are exposed to the good and evil of humanity, to be immersed in the tensions among the characters to reflect on their lives. It’s like the saying “Not all good is good, not all evil is evil”. If you are looking for a light hearted theatre play, then this is not the one to go. But for those of us who are looking for a deep and intense play, with interest on the speech and poet, this will certainly be ranked as one of the good theatre plays to go in Singapore. After Singapore, the play will go on an international tour in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, amongst other cities.
This is an opportunity not to be missed to catch the world renowned legendary theatre director Peter Brook’s Battlefield in Singapore from now till 21 November 2015!
More information on the play is available at the SRT website below:
http://www.srt.com.sg/materials/186-productions/current-season/1625-peter-brook-s-battlefield.html
Additional Information:
Peter Brook’s Battlefield
Event Date:
Tuesday, 17 – Saturday, 21 November 2015
Tuesday – Friday: 8pm
Saturday: 3pm & 8pm
Venue:
Capitol Theatre
Ticket Pricing:
(Excludes Booking Fee)
Tuesday – Saturday (8pm)
Standard: S$108, S$88, S$78, S$15 (SRT Youth)
Saturday (3pm) Matinee
Standard: S$88, S$68, S$48, S$15(SRT Youth)
Tickets can be purchased at : http://sistic.com.sg/events/battle1115
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His credits include co-commissioning Battlefield, legendary director Peter Brook’s coda to his epic Mahabharata, staged here in 2015. Another high-profile endeavour was the three-year Bridge Project collaboration between The Old Vic in London and BAM in New York, directed by the well-known British director Sam Mendes. From 2009 to 2011, the project staged classic Shakespearean plays here with Hollywood actors such as Ethan Hawke and Kevin Spacey.