Playing Shakespeare
1982: John Carlaw, Peter Walker
Veteran actor and producer John Barton presides over a very penetrating discussion, aimed at actors, but also worth the attention of anyone aspiring to understand the plays of Shakespeare and how they work. Barton challenges his actors — many of them at the peak of their powers — to find more in their roles. We get the chance to see and occasionally compare various performances of the same roles by different artists. There’s nothing else quite like this out there. Not all bits of it are equally brilliant, of course, but the whole is sufficiently challenging that I’d recommend it heartily to any Shakespeare enthusiast.
Complete in nine episodes:- The Two Traditions
- Using the Verse
- Language and Character
- Exploring a Character
- Set Speeches and Soliloquies
- Irony and Ambiguity
- Passion and Coolness
- Rehearsing the Text
- Poetry and Hidden Poetry
Herself: Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Herself: Jane Lapotaire
Herself: Judi Dench
Herself: Lisa Harrow
Herself: Peggy Ashcroft
Herself: Peggy Ashcroft
Herself: Sheila Hancock
Herself: Sinéad Cusack
Herself: Susan Fleetwood
Himself: Alan Howard
Himself: Ben Kingsley
Himself: David Suchet
Himself: Donald Sinden
Himself: Hugh Laurie
Himself: Ian McKellen
Himself: John Barton
Himself: Michael Pennington
Himself: Michael Williams
Himself: Mike Gwilym
Himself: Norman Rodway
Himself: Patrick Stewart
Himself: Richard Pasco
Himself: Roger Rees
Himself: Stephen Fry
Himself: Tony Church
Watch Playing Shakespeare on streaming video from Amazon