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Great Shakespeare Actors: Burbage to Branagh
£11.60£16.10 (-28%)
Great Shakespeare Actors offers a series of essays on great Shakespeare actors from his time to ours, starting by asking whether Shakespeare himself was the first–the answer is No–and continuing with essays on the men and women who have given great stage performances in his plays from Elizabethan times to our own. They include both English and American performers such as David Garrick, Sarah Siddons, Charlotte Cushman, Ira Aldridge, Edwin Booth, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Edith Evans, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft, Janet Suzman, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Kenneth Branagh. Individual chapters tell the story of their subjects’ careers, but together these overlapping tales combine to offer a succinct, actor-centred history of Shakespearian theatrical performance.
Stanley Wells examines what it takes to be a great Shakespeare actor and then offers a concise sketch of each actor’s career in Shakespeare, an assessment of their specific talents and claims to greatness, and an account, drawing on contemporary reviews, biographies, anecdotes, and, for some of the more recent actors, the author’s personal memories of their most notable performances in Shakespeare roles.
Stanley Wells examines what it takes to be a great Shakespeare actor and then offers a concise sketch of each actor’s career in Shakespeare, an assessment of their specific talents and claims to greatness, and an account, drawing on contemporary reviews, biographies, anecdotes, and, for some of the more recent actors, the author’s personal memories of their most notable performances in Shakespeare roles.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Illustrated edition (23 April 2015), OUP Oxford |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 336 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0198703295 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0198703297 |
| Dimensions | 21.84 x 3.05 x 14.22 cm |
by G Pelloni
An interesting, though very personal, view on great Shakespeare actors. Though one may not agree about some evaluations and, even more so, some exclusions (e.g. Glenda Jackson, Diana Rigg, Albert Finney), it is informative.
It is also quite odd that the American side is almost ignored and stops at John Barrymore. Recent great American actors (e.g. James Earl Jones, Christopher Plummer) are totally ignored.
by Gillian Smith
A very informative and enjoyable read.
by sue whitehead
Bought as a gift. Arrived quickly even though it was near to Christmas. Recipient was thrilled with the book
by john williams
An informative and interesting account of the actors down the ages.
by Patricia
Fascinating insight into Shakespearean actors and a stage history of performance and yes, women, American and black actors are included. There are good quotes from contemporary reviews and some photos though more would have been nice.
Only one gripe. Why oh why no Alan Howard? Most compelling Shakespearean actor I’ve seen in 65 years of theatre going!
by Roman Clodia
This is a set of potted biographies and memoirs by Stanley Wells on the people who have acted Shakespeare from the sixteenth century to today. Many will be familiar: David Garrick, Sarah Siddons, Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier, down to Simon Russell Beale and Kenneth Branagh – but others might be less known to a non-academic audience: Will Kemp, Ira Aldridge, Thomas Betterton.
This isn’t really an academic piece but offers information that might not always interest the general reader. The premise that Shakespeare’s plays are merely scripts and that acting is a ‘creative art’ is hardly the innovative thought that this books seems to think, but this is an affectionate look back at how Shakespeare’s characters have been created and re-created on stage.
It’s a little difficult to know quite who to recommend this book to: in some ways it’s a potted history of Shakespearean performance, in others a set of brief biographies of notable stage actors – and, in the latter stages, Wells brings his own memories into play on actors and performances he himself has seen. So a bit of a mixed bag overall – perhaps good to dip into in idle moments rather than to read cover to cover.
(I received a review copy via Netgalley)
by francis
A most interesting survey of great Shakespearian actors across the centuries containing many fair and entertaining reminiscences of performances seen by the author who is an eminent scholar in the field.