Somewhere in the world, a man sits alone outside a prison. Who is he, and why is he there? Is it a choice, or a punishment?

With The Prisoner, the internationally renowned theatre director Peter Brook and his long-time collaborator Marie-Hélène Estienne ask provocative and profound questions about justice, guilt, redemption — and what it means to be free.

The Prisoner opened at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, in March 2018, before an international tour which included performances at the Edinburgh International Festival, the National Theatre of Great Britain, and Theatre for a New Audience in New York.

‘The most pioneering theatre director of the twentieth century’ Independent on Peter Brook

‘Only its mystery equals the simplicity of this strange fable’ — Le Monde

‘The force of the show lies precisely in its ellipses, the empty spaces it offers to our emotions, sensations and to our intelligence’ — Télérama

‘During one hour and fifteen minutes, the Earth stops spinning at its maddening speed, to allow Brook to whisper in our ear one of his beautiful universal stories’ — Les Echoes

‘The work of an artist for whom the human heart has no secrets and who knows the revealing and consoling force of theatre’ — Le Figaroscope

The Quality of Mercy