The Empty Space

Shot in 1975, this day-in-the-life of a workshop conducted by Peter Brook (Marat/Sade, The Mahabharata) and his theatre troupe is, in addition to being profoundly boring and fatuous, proof positive that the world is not necessarily getting dumber every day. Watching The Empty Space it's clear that we were pretty stupid back in 1975. Basically, we watch actors exercising their limbs and vocal cords (they make sounds, not actual words) for the better part of an hour while Brook babbles on about the metaphysical aspects of what are--to the naked eye--simple stretching exercises, which gradually metamorphose into truly embarrassing displays. Occasionally there's a sliver of insight advanced here (but, hey, you expect that at least once or twice in an hour with one of the world's premier stage directors), but on the whole the only real enjoyment to be had is watching Helen Mirren and Elizabeth Swados (who both grew up and went on to more popular pursuits such as acting on TV and scoring children's videos, respectively) blathering on about Working With Peter. Theatre classes might find some use in such an exceptionally vapid documentary, but all others can ignore The Empty Space. [Note: this is being sold for $29.95 to consumers.] (R. Pitman)