“His life was a constant, aching search for meaning. He shares their uncertainties, their pain…he enters the rare passage that links the ancient Greek theatre through Shakespeare to the present day in an uncompromising celebration of one who looks truth in the face, unknown, terrible, amazing...”

“Don’t miss out. You may never get another chance to see something with this combined pedigree in physical theatre." – The British Theatre Guide (UK)

With his characteristic theatrical alchemy, Peter Brook stages a quintet of works by preeminent playwright Samuel Beckett—Rough for Theatre I, Rockaby, Act Without Words II, Neither, and Come and Go. Brook’s long awaited vision of Beckett’s FRAGMENTS illuminates the comedy and courage in Beckett’s characters who dare to face the void. Featuring renowned international artists Hayley Carmichael, Yoshi Oida, and Bruce Myers, Brook and his actors plumb the depths of Beckett’s sparse, dynamic texts, revealing humor and humanity.

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Meet the Masters

Sunday, 03.27 :: Following the 2PM performance :: Paramount Mainstage
Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear from three of the most distinguished theatre practitioners living today. Join Fragments cast members and internationally acclaimed artists Hayley Carmichael, Bruce Myers, and Yoshi Oïda to explore their unique backgrounds and experiences. From England to Paris to Boston and beyond, these globetrotting actors have performed all over the world in a wide variety and productions and won awards, taught students, written books, and more along the way.

HAYLEY CARMICHAEL
Born in Croydon in England, Hayley Carmichael is cofounder of the company Told By An Idiot and has both devised and performed in almost all of their productions. Their most recent performances have been The Fahrenheit Twins at the Barbican London and Comedy of Errors with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1999, Carmichael won the TMA (Theatrical Management Association) and the Barclays Theatre best actress awards for her performances in His Man Matti, Mr. Putil, I Weep at my Piano and The Dispute. For the latter, she also won the Time Out Best Actress Award. Other theatre credits include: Sweet Nothings (Young Vic); Bliss (Royal Court); The Firework Maker’s Daughter (Sheffield Crucible); Theatre of Blood, Street of Crocodiles, The Birds (National Theatre); Cymbeline (Royal Shakespeare Company/Kneehigh); Mother Courage (Shared Experience); King Lear (Young Vic); and Gormenghast (David Glass Ensemble). On television, she was seen in “Garrows Law,” “Tunnel of Love,” “Life’s a Bitch and So Am I” and “The Bill.” For cinema, she acted in The Emperor's New Clothes, National Achievement Day, Simon Magus and Anazapta.

BRUCE MYERS
Born in England, Bruce Myers studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before working at the Liverpool Everyman. In 1968 he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which he left in 1970 to join the International Centre for Theatre Research, created in Paris by Peter Brook. He took part in all the theatre adventures of the Centre. Memorable journeys include: Iran, Orghast for the Festival of Shiraz; crossing Africa from Algiers to Lagos; and a long stay in California working with Luis Valdez’s Teatro Campesino, followed by workshops at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. In 1977, he performed in The Dibbuk at New York’s Public Theater, then created his own version, Un dibbouk pour deux, in Paris. In 1992 in Lausanne, he directed Le Puits des Saints and in 1993 acted in Quelle Tristesse/La Fin de l’Allée. Myers has participated in nearly all the productions created at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. For nearly three years, from 2005 to 2008, he toured around the world in a solo performance created by Peter Brook: The Grand Inquisitor (after Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky). In 2009 he performed in Brook’s Love is My Sin. Recently, he played George Soros in The Power of Yes at the National. On film: Myers played Krishna in the screen version of The Mahabharata. He also appeared in Présumé Dangereux (1990) by Georges Lautner, Disparus (1998) by Gilles Bourdos and made three films with Michel Deville: Eaux Profondes (1981), Toutes Peines Confondues (1992) and Un Monde Presque Paisible (1997). He made two films with Philip Kaufman: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1987) and Henry & June (1990). For several years Bruce Myers has directed workshops with students and young actors. His last projects took place in Rome, Turin and Prato. Myers was awarded an Obie and a Time Out award for Dibbuk, and was made a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in 1991.

YOSHI OÏDA
Yoshi Oïda was born in 1933 in Kobe, Japan. He obtained excellent actor training in the Japanese traditional theatre which focuses equally on self-expression through movement, bodily exercise and spiritual technique. In 1968, on the recommendation of Jean-Louis Barrault, Yoshi Oïda first worked with Peter Brook. Their encounter later resulted in an experimental version of The Tempest by William Shakespeare performed at the Round House in London. In 1970 he became a member of Peter Brook’s newly founded International Centre for Theatre Research, based at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris. Following the example of Bruce Myers, he became one of Peter Brook’s favorite interpreters. Their collaboration was punctuated with several major productions that made a mark on contemporary theatre. Beginning in 1971, Yoshi Oïda played in Orghast, a saga performed in Persepolis in Iran. Then in 1972, he took part in an expedition to Africa, a journey which gave birth to the first version of The Conference of the Birds in 1973, later adapted by Jean-Claude Carrière and directed by Peter Brook at the Avignon Festival in 1979. Since that time, he was seen in a number of other productions directed by Peter Brook, notably Les Iks, The Mahabharata, The Tempest, The Man Who, Qui est la? and Tierno Bokar. In 2003, invited by Joseph Nadj, he performed in Il n’y a Plus de Firmament, a production of the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne. In 2005 he played in Jossy Wieler’s play, Yotsuya Kaidan. In 2008 he appeared in Shun-Kin, an adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki’s novel, directed by Simon McBurney. Yoshi Oïda has also directed a number of productions: in 1975 Hannya Shingyo, written by Shogo Ota and Takuro Endo; in 1978 Amé Tsuchi for the Festival d’Automne in Paris; in 1979 in addition to his role in The Conference of the Birds, he directed Interrogations, performed at the Festival d’Avignon. His other directorial credits include: The Tibetan Book of Dead, The Divine Comedy, The Walk of the Cameleon, The Guide of the other World, Madame de Sade, Endgame by Samuel Beckett and The Misunderstanding by Albert Camus. He has also directed operas, notably Curlew River by Benjamin Britten, The Nightingale by Igor Stravinsky and recently, Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart. Yoshi Oïda is also author of the trilogy, L’acteur Flottant, L’acteur Invisible and L’acteur Ruse. He has received two distinctions in arts from Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and from Officier des Arts et des Lettres.