British theater legend and one of the 20th century’s most famous directors, Peter Brook, has died at the age of 97, people close to him told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.

The playwright, born in London on March 21, 1925, spent most of his creative career in France, where he founded the theater “Les Beauves du Nord”, revived the art of theater directing, freed it from in the traditional scene.
Brook is best known for his 1985 masterpiece The Mahabharata, a nine -hour version of a Hindu epic. He surprised audiences in London and New York with the 1964 Tony-winning Marat/The Garden, and in 1968 he wrote Empty Space, one of the most influential theatrical texts, whose editorial has been a mantra for a generation. . young actors. And what he said: “I can take any vacant space and call it abstract theater.”
For many, Brook’s stunning production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1970) for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the gym was a turning point on the world stage. The play inspired actress Helen Mirren to give up her fast -paced career and join her budding experimental troupe in the City of Lights.