Battlefield, Young Vic

Battlefield is the major surprise of the Young Vic’s recent programming announcement; seemingly out of the blue, international-superstar veteran director, Peter Brook, is returning to his famous treatment of the Mahabharata, as the basis for a new play at the London theatre. Battlefield will premiere at the Young Vic for a super short three week run in February 2016.
As a show with a long lineage in 20^th century theatre history, it will be of huge excitement to artists practising in Britain today, anyone who has enjoyed his Young Vic productions, The Suit and The Valley of Astonishment in recent years, and everyone who would like an insight into a show that will receive worldwide attention.
The 90-year-old director established his central role in the hearts and minds of theatre practitioners worldwide with the publication of his text The Empty Space, a handbook and source of great theatre wisdom. But it is his 9-hour version of the ancient Sanskrit epic, which really put Brook in the history books. It required 250 tons of sand, 140 tons of clay, and cost around £350,000 per staging, but was never performed in London; Glasgow was its only UK stop during a four-year tour.
And now, 30 years later, the director returns to the same text, concentrating on a key central section documenting the Bharata family as they come to terms with the personal and ethical impact of the horrors of war. Long-time collaborator Marie-Hélène Estienne has linked this decision with the state of the world today, and indeed, this is a text which, like the Greek tragedies, can be used to speak of current issues.
Following 2015's impressive Greek season at the Almeida, we are thrilled that the Young Vic, as usual, are providing us with an epic from an alternative tradition. The relationship between the theatre and this director is crucial, drawing him to London from Paris, which has been his home for over forty years. We are certainly grateful, and cannot wait for a truly historic premiere in February. Book tickets quick; Battlefield is bound to sell out.