Generations of actors joining the RSC have benefited from John Barton's teaching" Trevor Nunn " One of the sanest wisest & most practical volumes I have ever read about Shakespeare" Michael Billington John Barton is Advisory Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company & has directed some of the greatest Shakespeare productions of our time. His book Playing Shakespeare is a transcript of his televised workshops with some of our finest Shakespearean actors: Peggy Ashcroft Judi Dench Ian Mc Kellen Ben Kingsley Patrick Stewart & David Suchet. " What the programmes & published text reveal is the method & principle approach of acting Shakespeare which has been fundamental to the Royal Shakespeare Company since it was formed" Trevor Nunn. This new edition contains a DVD with 80mins of video featuring John Barton in conversation with Judi Dench Ian Mc Kellen Patrick Stewart & Jane Lapotaire discussing changes in approaches to Shakespeare's text since the book first published. This edition also features a foreword by Michael Boyd. A highly readable & non-academic approach to understanding Shakespeare's text
- unlocking the hidden stage directions & actors clues that reside in his verse. " When an actor becomes aware of them s/he will find that Shakespeare himself starts to direct them" John Barton."