Irina Brook
Daughter of director [Peter Brook] and actress Natasha Parry, Irina Brook virtually grew up in theatres. Born in Paris, she grew up between England and France and at eighteen she went to New York to study drama with Stella Adler. She played in several off off-Broadway shows. A couple of years later,she returned to Paris to act in her fathers’ production of the Cherry Orchard followed by Molière’s Don Juan at the Bouffes du Nord .
She then moved to London,where she played in films,tv and numerous theatre productions.
In the mid 90’s, she directed and produced her first show, at the BAC,London: Beast on the moon by Richard Kalinoski. She also directed Madame Klein by Nicholas Wright(Watford) and Shakespeare All’s Well that Ends Well(Oxford).
In 1998, she directed the French version of Beast on the moon at the Theatre de Vidy- Lausanne and Bobigny,Paris
A few years later,after several lengthy national and international tours, the show returned for a six month sell-out at the Theatre de l’Oeuvre ( Paris), where it won five prestigious “Moliere” theatre awards (including best director and best show).
She also directed the TV version of the play, for which she was awarded the prix Mitrani at the F.I.PA .(Biarritz film festival)
She is one of the only directors ever to be invited by Ariane Mnouchkine to direct her Theatre du Soleil company, with whom she put on a French version of “All’s Well that Ends Well” for the Avignon Theater Festival.
Meanwhile she premiered a new American play Resonance (Morphic Resonance), by Katherine Burger at the Theatre de l’Atelier ,for which she also received a Moliere award and the prestigious SACD (society of authors) award for new talent.
She created a version of Homers’ Odyssee for young audiences at the Sartrouville Theater Festival, followed by Romeo and Juliette (retitled:”Juliette et Romeo”) for Lausanne and the National Theatre of Chaillot (Paris)
For the same coproducers, she directed Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel, which was then invited to perform in Tokyo.
She returned to the Atelier Theatre with the Glass Menagerie of Tennessee Williams (also coproduced by Vidy-Lausanne) ,which was invited to play in Moscow.
In the last few years, she has directed Brecht’s the Good Person of Szechuan for Lausanne and the national theatre of Chaillot, followed by a highly successful year-long tour.
She then adapted Thornton Wilder’s novella, The Bridge of San Luis Rey for Vidy-Lausanne and the Theatre de Sceaux.(Paris)
Last year she directed Marivaux L’ile des esclaves , for the Atelier Theatre (Paris)
In February 2006 she was invited to recreate her production of the Glass Menagerie with Japanese actors at the New National Theatre of Tokyo.
Her most recent production is a version of a Midsummer Nights Dream for six men, which was first produced by the Festival Dedans-Dehors (Bretigny) and performed outdoors in France and Switzerland .
It will play this summer for three weeks at the Avignon Festival ,followed by a year long tour , in an indoor theatre version .(including a month at the Bouffes du Nord (dec;2007)
She has also ventured successfully into the world of opera.
She started with The Magic Flute in Holland (Reisopera),codirected by her partner Dan Jemmet.
She was then invited to direct Eugene Onegin, for the Aix en Provence Festival.
This was followed by a Cenerentola,for the Theatre des Champs Elysees(Paris) and the Teatro Communale(Bologna.)
Last year she directed La Traviata ,also for Bologna, which was coproduced by the Opera de Lille ,where it has just finished playing to packed houses and unanimous critical acclaim.
Last season she directed Haendel’s Giulio Cesare at the Theatre des Champs Elysees.
Her Cenerentola will be performed again next spring at the Royal Opera House of Stockholm.
She has been invited, this autumn ( 2007 ) to the Teatro Real,Madrid, to direct Il Burbero di Buon Cuore,by Martin y Soler.
In 2002, she was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.