A new work from one of the indisputably great directors is partly a tribute to theater and partly a warning about theatricality.
Though he has been a director for 70 years, Peter Brook doesn’t like to call himself that. He prefers “distiller”: someone who boils away everything extraneous to render the essence of the story he’s telling.
That’s quite a dramatic expression of precision (or modesty) for one of theater’s indisputable greats. And yet, as applied to “Why?” — the new work written and staged by Mr. Brook and his longtime collaborator, Marie-Hélène Estienne — the word “distiller” seems apt. Taking the play in is like sipping a rarefied eau de vie, the kind that scalds as it cools.
READ THE FULL REVIEW IN THE NEW YORK TIMES HERE.