Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2

'This book gives some of the very best of Shakespeare's twenty-first-century colleagues an opportunity to share insights that can only come from playing him' Nicholas Hytner, from his ForewordTwelve leading actors take us behind the scenes of landmark Shakespearean productions, each recreating in detail their memorable performance in a major role.Roger Allam on his

Falstaff in both

Henry IV plays at Shakespeare's GlobeEileen Atkins on

Viola in two productions of

Twelfth Night seventeen years apartSimon Russell Beale on

Cassius in Deborah Warner's modern-dress

Julius CaesarChiwetel Ejiofor on his Donmar Warehouse

Othello, directed by Michael GrandageSara Kestelman on

Hippolyta and

Titania in Peter Brook's iconic white-box

DreamIan McKellen on one of Shakespeare's most demanding of roles:

King LearMichael Pennington on stepping in at the eleventh hour as

Timon of AthensAlan Rickman on re-evaluating the melancholic

Jaques in

As You Like ItFiona Shaw on Shakespeare's

Shrew,

Katherine, in Jonathan Miller's productionPatrick Stewart on his Las Vegas-set

Shylock, a role he has played many timesHarriet Walter on

Imogen in Shakespeare's late romance,

Cymbeline, at the RSCZoë Wanamaker on her National Theatre

Beatrice, directed by Nicholas HytnerEach actor leads us through the choices they made in rehearsal, and how the character works in performance, shedding new light on some of the most challenging roles in the canon. The result is a series of individual masterclasses that will be invaluable for other actors and directors, as well as students of Shakespeare – and fascinating for audiences of the plays.Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2 was shortlisted for the 2018 Theatre Book Prize.'Absorbing and original… Curry's actors are often thinking and talking as that other professional performer, Shakespeare himself, might have done.' TLS on

Shakespeare On Stage: Vol. 1