Peter Brook

In a reaction to Realism, some artists like Peter Brook or the Living Theatre, deemphasized the realism of theatre.  Instead, they preferred to emphasize the communication between the actors and the audience.  This focus, summed up in Antonin Artaud’s phrase “Theatre of Cruelty,” was directed at eliciting the greatest emotional reaction from audience members.  In other words, make them squirm uncomfortably in their seats.  Some of these directing exercises show this change in focus, as they try to get actors to go beyond the “text,” expressing emotions much more physically. 

Brook believed that when the audience can sympathise with the actors emotions, they have succeeded. When the audience sits bored, listening to an emotionless recital of words, the actor has failed. 

If the actor is not 100% committed to the role, and has not invested the emotional depth and beleif in the character then they are not going to make a connection with their role, causing them not to make a connection with the scene parters, the play and furthermore the audience. In The Devils the audience have to be on Grandier’s side and they have to emotionally invest in him/ sympathise with him for the play to work. George who plays Grandier has the toughest job of investing everything he has into the role so that the end is as hard hitting as intended and the audience feel helpless and grief at the fact that innocence has been murdered. If the actor is simply acting the part the audience will look at them as exactly that and detach from the play and their character ultimately failing their duty as an actor.

To Brook, the human connection is the essence of good theatre. And to establish the human connection, that it can only be achieved through relatable everyday life. Otherwise known as naturalism.

The naturalistic approach can be used in the scenes vocally and atmospherically, although physically we are going for more of an exaggerative look. The naturalistic nature of the conversations and the manner in which they are had create the human connection and can become relatable to the audience this way. The element of naturalism also keeps the play from being too over the top and allows us to tell the story in a clear way that is understood by the audience.

What he is describing is non-directional directing. In order for the actor to authentically feel what his character is intended to feel, he must explore those emotions on his own, without the director telling him what they are, for example "how do you think your character is feeling?”

We have been pushed by our director to do as much exploration on our characters as we possibly can and that this is very much a 50/50 play, the director can only do his half the rest is completely up to us. Through using Objectives, Actioning, Research and experimentation with physicality i have been able to work more and more into my character without having my directors help, allowing me to do a lot of work out of rehearsal time and being able to always bring something new to the process.