Playing Shakespeare: An Actor's Guide (Methuen Paperback)

Barton, John

ISBN 10: 0385720858 / ISBN 13: 9780385720854

Published by Anchor, 2001

About this Item

This copy has clearly been enjoyedâ expect noticeable shelf wear and some minor creases to the cover. Binding is strong, and all pages are legible. May contain previous library markings or stamps.

Seller Inventory # DBV.0385720858.A

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Playing Shakespeare: An Actor's Guide (Methuen Paperback)
• Publisher: Anchor
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385720858
• ISBN 13: 9780385720854
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: acceptable

About this title

Synopsis

Playing Shakespeare is the premier guide to understanding and appreciating the mastery of the world’s greatest playwright.

Together with Royal Shakespeare Company actors–among them Patrick Stewart, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsley, and David Suchet–John Barton demonstrates how to adapt Elizabethan theater for the modern stage. The director begins by explicating Shakespeare’s verse and prose, speeches and soliloquies, and naturalistic and heightened language to discover the essence of his characters. In the second section, Barton and the actors explore nuance in Shakespearean theater, from evoking irony and ambiguity and striking the delicate balance of passion and profound intellectual thought, to finding new approaches to playing Shakespeare’s most controversial creation, Shylock, from The Merchant of Venice. A practical and essential guide, Playing Shakespeare will stand for years as the authoritative favorite among actors, scholars, teachers, and students.

About the Author

John Barton has been associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company for more than thirty-five years and has directed more than fifty productions. He lives in London and conducts Shakespeare workshops throughout the U.K. and the U.S.