Jonathan Croall

Performing Hamlet (eBook, ePUB)

Actors in the Modern Age

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Hamlet is arguably the most famous play on the planet, and the greatest of all Shakespeare's works. Its rich story and complex leading role have provoked intense debate and myriad interpretations.

To play such a uniquely multi-faceted character as Hamlet represents the supreme challenge for a young actor. Performing Hamlet contains Jonathan Croall's revealing in-depth interviews with five distinguished actors who have played the Prince this century:

Jude Law: 'You get to speak possibly the most beautiful lines about humankind ever given to an actor.'

Simon Russell Beale: 'Hamlet is a very hospitable role: it will take anything you throw at it.'

David Tennant: 'No other part has been so satisfying. It was tough, but utterly compelling.'

Maxine Peake: 'Hamlet was a way of accessing bits of me as an actress I've not been able to access before.'

Adrian Lester: 'Working with Peter Brook on Hamlet changed me as an actor, and for the better.'

The book benefits from the author's interviews with six leading directors of the play during these years: Greg Doran, Nicholas Hytner, Michael Grandage, John Caird, Sarah Frankcom and Simon Godwin. Many other productions are described, from those starring Michael Redgrave, Alec Guinness and Paul Scofield in the 1950s, to the performances of Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Scott and Paapa Essiedu in recent times. The volume also includes an updated text of the author's earlier book Hamlet Observed, and an account of actors' experiences of performing at Elsinore.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 208
• Erscheinungstermin: 23. August 2018
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781350030749
• Artikelnr.: 54673978

Autorenporträt

Jonathan Croall is a distinguished biographer and theatre historian. He is the author of over twenty-five books, notably the acclaimed biographies John Gielgud: Matinee Idol to Movie Star (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama) and Sybil Thorndike: A Star of Life. His other titles include The Coming of Godot: A Short History of a Masterpiece (short-listed for the 2005 Theatre Book Prize); The Wit and Wisdom (and Gaffes) of John Gielgud and In Search of Gielgud: A Biographer's Tale; two collections of his theatre journalism, Buzz Buzz! Playwrights, Actors and Directors at the National Theatre and Closely Observed Theatre: From the National to the Old Vic; and three books in the series The National Theatre at Work - Hamlet Observed, Peter Hall's 'Bacchai', and Inside the Molly House.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Reflections Introduction Stage History 1 The Fifties: Michael Redgrave 1
Alec Guinness
Richard Burton
Paul Scofield
Michael Redgrave 2 2 The Sixties: Jeremy Brett
Peter O'Toole
David Warner
Nicol Williamson 3 The Seventies: Alan Howard
Ian McKellen
Albert Finney
Ben Kingsley
Derek Jacobi
Frances de la Tour 4 The Eighties: Jonathan Pryce
Michael Pennington
Anton Lesser
Roger Rees
Kenneth Branagh 1
Mark Rylance 1
Daniel Day
Lewis 5 The Nineties: Kenneth Branagh 2
Alan Cumming
Stephen Dillane
Ralph Fiennes
Alex Jennings
Paul Rhys 6 The Noughties: Mark Rylance 2
Adrian Lester
Samuel West
Michael Maloney
Ben Whishaw
Jamie Ballard
David Tennant
Jude Law 7 The Teens: Rory Kinnear
Michael Sheen
Jonathan Slinger
Maxine Peake
Benedict Cumberbatch
Paapa Essiedu
Andrew Scott 8 Simon Russell Beale, Hamlet Observed: The National Theatre at Work 9 Hamlets at Elsinore Main Sources Further Reading Bibliography Index