Peter Brook.

At age seven, Peter Brook directed and performed every role in an uncut version of Hamlet for his parents. He was born in London, England, on March 21, 1925, and educated at Westminster School and Magdalen College, Oxford.

Brook began his career directing for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, then moved to Stratford-upon-Avon and Broadway. In 1962, the Royal Shakespeare Company appointed him Director, a role he held for two decades. During his tenure, he staged Peter Weiss’s Marat/Sade in 1964, the first English-language production, which won him a Tony Award for Best Direction in 1966. He repeated this success with William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1971, earning another Tony. His other major stage works include The Tempest, King Lear, and Irma La Douce. Brook also directed films and documentaries, appearing in Looking for Richard 1996 among others.

Brook married actress Natasha Parry on November 3, 1951, and they remained together until her death on July 22, 2015. The couple had two children: Irina Brook, a theatre director, and Simon Brook, a filmmaker. His brother Alexis Brook was also a theatre professional. He was the ex-father-in-law of actor Neil Mullarkey.

Peter Brook’s innovative approach to Shakespeare and modern drama influenced generations of directors and actors, including Paul Scofield and Glenda Jackson. He received numerous international honors: the Praemium Imperiale, the International Ibsen Award, and the Companion of Honour 1998. In 2021, India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contributions to art. He died in Paris in 2022 at age 97.