'There is no acting, only reacting to the space.'In his bestselling book The Actor and the Target, Declan Donnellan laid out a fresh and radical approach to acting that has inspired actors around the world.Now, in The Actor and the Space, he develops and extends those ideas, exploring that most profound source of vitality in life as well as performance: the space around us.Tackling fundamental questions that face any actor – What makes per...

A gritty adaptation of Dickens' least sentimental love story with a cast of some of his most unforgettable characters.Whilst at his parents' graveside, Pip is accosted by Magwitch, a convict escaped from one of the prison ships. Terrified, he is forced to help the man to get away. An unexpected invitation to the house of rich old Miss Havisham forces him into the path of her beautiful, cruel niece Estella and their strange, ruthless games. After an anonymous benefactor grants him a...

A revised and updated edition of Declan Donnellan's bestselling book, a fresh and radical approach to acting by a world-famous director.'Cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics' Peter Brook'Explains Donnellan's highly practical system and sheds unique light on one of the greatest directors of acting in our time' Le Monde'Hugely practical and never gets lost in theory'

“Acting is a reflex, a mechanism for development and survival.... It isn’t ‘second nature,’ it is ‘first nature.’” —Declan DonnellanThis immensely popular and ever-practical book on acting takes a scalpel to the heart of actors’ persistent fears, helping them to release their talent on stage. It is straightforward and unpretentious, with a spirit of artistic and personal freedom.This audiobook is expertly read by Adrian Lester, with audio engineering by The Strathmore Studi...

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul are two books of poetry by the English poet and painter, William Blake. Although Songs of Innocence was first published by itself in 1789, it is believed that Songs of Experience has always been published in conjunction with Innocence since its completion in 1794.Songs of Innocence mainly consists of poems describing the innocence and joy of the natural world, advocating free love and a closer relations...

Shakespeare's plays are usually studied by literary scholars and historians and the books about him from those perspectives are legion. It is most unusual for a trained philosopher to give us his insight, as Colin McGinn does here, into six of Shakespeare's greatest plays–A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest.In his brilliant commentary, McGinn explores Shakespeare's philosophy of life and illustrates how he was influenced, for example, by ...

Shakespeare's Sonnets are as important and vital today as they were when first published four hundred years ago. Perhaps no collection of verse before or since has so captured the imagination of readers and lovers; certainly no poem has come under such intense critical scrutiny, and presented the reader with such a bewildering number of alternative interpretations. In this illuminating and often irreverent guide, Don Paterson offers a fresh and direct approach to the Sonnets, asking what t...

A passionate exploration of the process of comprehending and speaking the words of William Shakespeare. Detailing exercises and analyzing characters' speech and rhythms, Linklater provides the tools to increase understanding and make Shakespeare's words one's own.

"A workhorse of a workbook!"-Library Journal. American actors, fear Shakespeare no more! Through a series of inspiring, easy-to-follow exercises, an acclaimed director and drama coach shows both students and experienced actors how to break down the verse, support the words, understand the images, and use the text to create vibrant, living performances. This popular guide-more than TK,000 copies sold-has been revised and expanded to include the unique challenges facing teachers and their st...

In The Quality of Mercy, one of the world's most revered theatre directors reflects on a fascinating variety of Shakespearean topics.In this sequence of essays, Peter Brook debates such questions as who was the man who wrote Shakespeare's plays, why Shakespeare is never out of date, and how actors should approach Shakespeare's verse. He also revisits some of the plays which he has directed with notable brilliance, such as King Lear, Titus Andronicus and, ...

"There is a mystery in every play that is written, no matter whether classical and poetic or modern and demotic, and it is the sound and the rhythm of the writing which take us there."Cicely Berry, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Voice Director, has been working alongside some of Britain's greatest actors and directors for over fifty years and is widely regarded as one of the most significant voice teachers in the world.From Word to Play draws on Cicely's extensive experien...

The best-selling guide to acting Shakespeare in a new smaller and lighter handbook size.Shakespeare tells the actor when to go fast and when to go slow; when to pause, when to come in on cue and when to accent a word. His text is full of such clues. He tells the actor when but never tells him why or how. That is up to the actor. Much like bringing a musical score to life, Peter Hall guides us to 'speak the speech'.An essential text for classical training at drama school and...