By the brook

The Peter Brook of old would have treated The Brothers Karamazov like a cabinet of wonders to be ransacked for juicy stage moments. And in fact, the Brook of old did treat Dostoyevsky’s epic novel that way, in a storied 1946 London production. Since then, Brook has almost single-handedly reshaped the way Western theater conceives of Shakespeare (1970’s mythic, white-cube Midsummer Night’s Dream), modern verse drama (1963’s Marat/Sade) and epic theater (1985’s nine-hour Mahabharata), earning himself the frequently employed title of “the greatest living theater director.” Along the way, he has also overhauled his own approach: Both in his productions and in his book The Empty Space, Brook has pared away the spectacle and embraced an “immediate theater” of vigorously distilled simplicity. The latest example of this ascetic aesthetic is a return to Dostoyevsky—this time, in a focused telling of The Brothers Karamazov’s “Grand Inquisitor” chapter, an extended parable in which a beguilingly persuasive Spanish Inquisition–era cleric grills none other than Jesus Christ, who remains silent for the entire 55-minute piece, until a pivotal final act. (The play’s New York debut is a joint effort from Theatre for a New Audience, which generated the idea, and New York Theatre Workshop, which is housing the production.) The director, 83, spoke with TONY from Paris, where he has lived since 1970.

TONY: The Grand Inquisitor is your second time working with Karamazov.
Yes. The first was about 60 years ago, with a very young man named Alec Guinness. He was fresh out of the Army and played the role of Dmitry, for which he was completely ill suited. He was born to play Alyosha. A highlight, as I recall, was having the curtains open and the actor playing Smerdyakov walk down to the footlights and point two pistols directly at the audience, which got quite a reaction.

Why return to Dostoyevsky after so many years?
It’s hard to find a text as perceptive and challenging. The Grand Inquisitor is not just any old inquisitor; he is the Grand Inquisitor on behalf of the state, which is also the church. This is a man of enormous intellect and enormous authority who is backed up by an enormous power structure.

You’ve toured the world with this production for several years. Is it particularly topical here and now?
The political parallels are there, of course, given the overlap of politics and religion in America. But while there have been many plays about Bush, there isn’t the distance. Dostoyevsky wasn’t writing about the czar and the persecution of his era. He was writing about the 15th century, about a man who feels he is entitled to order the public burning of another individual. And this gives us a similar freedom. Of course, I have a hard time picturing any current heads of state with the Grand Inquisitor’s intellectual command.

Ironically, Laura Bush has stated that “The Grand Inquisitor” is her favorite passage in literature. Tony Kushner even wrote a one-act play about that.
She must have taught her husband some of these lessons. Although he is not silent.

Bruce Myers, who plays the Inquisitor, has worked with you for more than 35 years, but you have frequently used nonprofessional actors as Christ. Why is that?
It’s essential that Bruce have someone who can give him unwavering attention, and sometimes nonprofessionals are more comfortable with being out of the spotlight. We found one of our very best Christs while we were touring in England. We didn’t have a Christ and were pressed for time, and we saw a young stagehand who looked just right for the part. We asked someone about him, and they told us his name was Angel! [Laughs] We hired him immediately, of course.

Is it difficult to theatricalize Christ’s role, given that he has no dialogue?
Not at all. No matter how extraordinarily convincing the Grand Inquisitor is, the final action of Christ—which I won’t explain—goes beyond all forms of self-justification.

You began work on The Grand Inquisitor before Tierno Bokar, yet the latter reached New York in 2005. Why did this take so long?
Simple reasons. First, it’s not spectacular. There’s nothing on the stage here except these two men, and that’s not always so appealing. The other reason is even simpler: [TFANA artistic director] Jeffrey Horowitz invited us. We go where we’re invited.

The Grand Inquisitor plays at New York Theatre Workshop through Nov 30.