On Playing Shakespeare: Advice and Commentary from Actors and Actresses of the Past

(Hardback)

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This compendium opens the stagedoor for those with little or no practical experience in acting. For actors and other theatre specialists grappling with the challenges posed by performing or staging the works of the great Bard, here is useful instruction eloquently expressed that will enrich future interpretation and performance. "On Playing Shakespeare" takes advantage of the long tradition of Shakespearean acting by offering a rich treasury of writings by noted actors who have essayed Shakespearean roles in the past. The perspectives of these thespians offer comprehensive exposure to the challenges of acting in Shakespeare's plays and are emblematic of theatre repertories and popular tastes from the mid-18th century to World War I. Here is Ellen Terry writing on her role as Mamellius in an 1856 production of "The Winter's Tale", Edwin Booth on Iago, Fanny Kemble on Lady Macbeth, and dozens of other actors who made lasting theatrical contributions with their interpretations of Shakespeare. These commentaries also bear witness to the actor's eternal struggle to get on the stage, stay on the stage, and perform Shakespearean roles to varied audiences in sometimes less-than-ideal conditions. The heart of the book, and its climax, deals with matters of interpretation, with actors' differing reactions to the same role placed side-by-side for purposes of clear contrast.

Reviews

In this antihistorical age it is refreshing to come across a work that makes a serious attempt to appreciate the past. Woods seeks to demonstrate that great actors from the last century can offer advice on performing Shakespeare that is relevant and valuable to today's theater practitioner and spectator. The 19th century was rich in great interpreters of Shakespeare's works, and some of that vast resource is here made readily available to the modern reader. Selecting from a variety of sources, many of them out-of-print books and rare periodicals, Woods has compiled a stimulating compendium of actors' remarks and observations. Organized around such topics as qualifications for the stage, actor training, and the ways actors prepared, rehearsed, interpreted, and performed their parts, these selections provide not only excellent insights into how individuals worked, but also invaluable suggestions about how to approach particular plays and roles. Standout contributions include those by Helen Faucit and Ellen Terry on playing Desdemona, Henry Irving and Louis Calvert on Shylock, Edwin Booth on Iago, and Tommaso Salvini on Othello. Using short commentaries, which furnish context and background for the various selections, Woods seeks to serve readers ranging from those with little or no experience of acting to those well versed in performing Shakespeare's plays. All levels.-Choice
"In this antihistorical age it is refreshing to come across a work that makes a serious attempt to appreciate the past. Woods seeks to demonstrate that great actors from the last century can offer advice on performing Shakespeare that is relevant and valuable to today's theater practitioner and spectator. The 19th century was rich in great interpreters of Shakespeare's works, and some of that vast resource is here made readily available to the modern reader. Selecting from a variety of sources, many of them out-of-print books and rare periodicals, Woods has compiled a stimulating compendium of actors' remarks and observations. Organized around such topics as qualifications for the stage, actor training, and the ways actors prepared, rehearsed, interpreted, and performed their parts, these selections provide not only excellent insights into how individuals worked, but also invaluable suggestions about how to approach particular plays and roles. Standout contributions include those by Helen Faucit and Ellen Terry on playing Desdemona, Henry Irving and Louis Calvert on Shylock, Edwin Booth on Iago, and Tommaso Salvini on Othello. Using short commentaries, which furnish context and background for the various selections, Woods seeks to serve readers ranging from those with little or no experience of acting to those well versed in performing Shakespeare's plays. All levels."-Choice

Author Bio

LEIGH WOODS is Associate Professor and Head of Theatre Studies, Department of Theatre and Drama, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His previous book, Garrick Claims the Stage: Acting as Social Emblem in Eighteenth-Century England, was published in 1984 by Greenwood Press. He is also a professional actor.