Battlefield

for a previous production "The paradox of Brook is that it takes great skill to do something so straightforward; so straightforward, in fact, that it can look simplistic…As ever with Brook, the actors' precision and purpose carries its own meaning…Brook does the bare minimum. His stagecraft allows him to speak plainly…’Battlefield’ invites personal reflection and it's on each of us to find wisdom and weight in stories that can seem childish and slight. It's an intensely theatrical experience—albeit a self-contained one." Full Review

for a previous production "Judged purely as a piece of stagecraft, the work is breathtaking...The simplest means are used to tell the text’s unfolding stories…At a time when theatre is giddy with technology, you are struck by the way economical means are used to maximum effect…The result is a dazzling piece of theatre that makes us contemplate the endless cycle of human destruction but induces a sense of resignation rather than rousing us to action." Full Review

for a previous production "Everything about this staging is distilled…It is delivered with remarkable grace and deceptive lightness of touch by the cast…There is a childlike mischief to this role-play that pulls against the serious and sometimes ponderous nature of the script. But it also drives to the heart of the matter: the role of storytelling in attempting to comprehend experience…The wearying recurrence of war, the inevitability of mortality: this low-key piece invites you simply to stop and reflect on them." Full Review

for a previous production "Parched of contextual information, and with the translation at times bordering on the monsoon side of heavy-weather, you could disengage, sneer even. Yet go with the flow, and you might–as I did–enter a different zone, getting a potent glimpse of another way of doing theatre, of looking at life, even at the end a fleeting intimation of some ‘cosmic’ otherness. Much of this is down to the luminous charm of the players…Something profound is felt on the pulse here; I cannot quite say what." Full Review

for a previous production "The luminous acting by the barefoot, multi-ethnic cast of four beautifully serves the production's beguiling mix of grave sorrow and mischievous levity, its shifting moods underscored by a virtuosic Japanese percussionist...The proceedings unfold with a limpid minimalism...The perspective has a strange, uplifting charm to the comfortably off. The wisdom of renunciation and resignation might not feel so appealing to a crowd of desperate Syrians." Full Review

for a previous production "All the actors move with an impressively controlled stillness of being, confident and smooth as if in the grip of a kind of perfection that you rarely see…Amid the stillness, there are some memorable moments...The message of acceptance and resignation is a bit hard to stomach. Are we really supposed to accept that the plight of Syrian refugees is just another example of the wheel of fortune and to relinquish any agony that we, or they, might feel?" Full Review

for a previous production "There's a distinct aesthetic harmony to the production that feels not only refreshing, but also allows for a mostly clear understanding of this important and timely production…At times I found it too relaxing and longed for a shift in pace…The staging is enchantingly simple, yet continually surprising…That said, Brook's formidable shadow hangs over the piece so firmly that you can't help wonder if audiences would respond the same way were his name not attached as a seal of approval." Full Review

for a previous production "The fluidity of the language and the vivid images the actors create are what drive this performance…The actors paint the rich world for us with warmth and mystery…Brook’s style is clear as ever and with the language of 'Battlefield' so beautifully enriched, we do get the sense of being transported…However, as the production has been cut out from the original epic we lose a sense of the overall arch of the story, and we are left with a sense of disconnection." Full Review

for a previous production "There is no denying that his quartet of actors have tremendous presence with nothing to get in their way…Yet the idea that the great truths are simple does not make all simple truths great and revering Brook should not blind one to the show’s shortcomings. The truths offered here as profundities, as food for thought, are familiar…But they fail to nourish because, in this show, these truths have nowhere to go: this is thin fare, exquisitely served – although, at times, simplicity is a fetish." Full Review

for a previous production "A seamless ensemble cast…The imagination on show here pushes beyond the space of the stage, and permeates the time left after the actors retreat…‘Battlefield’ captures the spirit and romance of this Indian saga, translating its otherworldly and spiritual elements to the stage without falling into the easy traps of cultural appropriation or cliché. This is an allusive and emotional play…The beauty and purity of this piece is evident in the tears it causes at something never quite articulated." Full Review