Tip of the Tongue: Reflections on Language and Meaning

A thoughtful and deeply personal book by a master theatre-maker.

In Tip of the Tongue, Peter Brook takes a charming, playful, and wise look at topics such as the subtle, telling differences between French and English, and the many levels on which we can appreciate the works of Shakespeare. Brook also revisits his seminal concept of the ＂empty space,＂ considering how theatre--and the world--have changed over the span of his long and distinguished career. Threaded throughout with intimate and revealing stories from Brook’s own life, Tip of the Tongue is a short but sparkling gift from one of the greatest artists of recent times.

Tip of the Tongue is part of Peter Brook’s ＂Reflections＂ trilogy, along with The Quality of Mercy and Playing by Ear.

Peter Brook
was one of the most influential and important figures in
twentieth-century theatre. Outstanding in a career full of remarkable
achievements were his productions of Titus Andronicus (1955) with Laurence Olivier, King Lear (1962) with Paul Scofield, and The Marat/Sade (1964) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1970),
both for the Royal Shakespeare Company. After moving to Paris and
establishing the International Centre for Theatre Research in 1970 and
the International Centre for Theatre Creation when he opened the Théâtre
des Bouffes du Nord in 1974, he produced a series of events which
pushed at the boundaries of theatre, such as The Conference of the Birds (1976), The Ik (1975), The Mahabharata (1985) and The Tragedy of Carmen (1981) to name but a few. His films include Lord of the Flies (1963), King Lear (1970), The Mahabharata (1989), Tell Me Lies (restored 2013) and Meetings with Remarkable Men (restored 2017). His hugely influential books, from The Empty Space to The Quality of Mercy, Tip of the Tongue, and Playing by Ear, have been published in many languages throughout the world.