The Best Books on Acting Shakespeare
When I was nine, I told my mum that I’d been hiding a terrible secret. I was truly wracked with guilt. When I finally mustered up the nerve to tell her, I sobbed my way through the confession:
“I’ve been - SOB - reading - SOB - in the dark!” SOB SOB SOB.
Yes, my unforgivable transgression was that I had been creeping up to the edge of my bed each night after bed time, where a little crack of light came through from the hallway, and reading Alice in Wonderland.
I truly was a terrible child.
In all seriousness, I’ve always loved books, and my love of books has helped me learn a lot about Shakespeare. While I learned a lot “on the job” from directors and mentors, I also spent my free time gobbling up all the best books on Shakespeare.
And I still do - my bookshelf is starting to be a problem…
But my (husband’s) loss (of space on the bookshelf) is your gain, because I can tell you all about my favourite books, so you can pick a good one for yourself.
Here they are, bunched loosely into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.
Beginner
Mastering Shakespeare: An Acting Class in Seven Scenes by Scott Kaiser
Mastering Shakespeare is highly practical and easy to read. It’s written in the style of a script, with each concept being explained as dialogue between the students and teacher in an acting class. The teacher walks the students through the key concepts of Shakespeare by asking one student at a time to come to the stage and perform a monologue.
Pros: Very clearly structured, layering on increasingly concept techniques in each chapter. It’s designed to be accessible to beginners. If you find Shakespeare hard or overwhelming, you could just dip into a few chapters and still benefit. The “dialogue” makes it very easy to read and absorb.
Cons: The “acting class” premise feels a little clunky sometimes.
Verdict: Highly recommended for actors who are new to Shakespeare.
Playing Shakespeare by John Barton
Playing Shakespeare is often considered the “Shakespeare bible” for actors. It’s similar to Mastering Shakespeare in that it’s written as the dialogue of a bunch of actors and their teacher/director - except this dialogue is taken directly from the video series of the same name, created by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1980s. You might spot some familiar names in the group of actors: Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet (to name a few).
Pros: The actors reflect on their experiences with the material, and their teacher/director/mentor John Barton, responds to their reflections, and (gently) critiques their performances. There are a few moments of “here’s some dialogue I prepared earlier” but on the whole, it feels like a genuine conversation about a topic they’re passionate about. If you like the idea of being a fly on the wall in a rehearsal room, you’ll probably enjoy this. You can also purchase the DVD with the book if you want to watch the series in action.
Cons: I hesitated to put this book in the “beginners” pile, because there’s just a lot of stuff in it! It’s very in-depth, so there is the risk of overwhelm with this one, however the videos could help you through that. The other problem I have with this book is that it is really just theory, with no practical exercises. You have to take the concepts and figure out how to apply them yourself. And that can be wee bit tricky as a beginner!
Verdict: Indispensable if you plan to continue your Shakespeare journey in the long term. Don’t be afraid to take it a bit at a time - I’ve returned to this book (and the series) again and again over the last twenty years.
Intermediate
Speaking the Speech by Giles Block
A fellow Shakespeare specialist mentioned Speaking the Speech as one of their favourite books on Acting Shakespeare, so I reluctantly ordered it and half-heartedly began reading, not expecting to find anything new in it. Well, I was wrong. Giles Block has a way of encapsulating ideas that literally makes me exclaim out loud, “Yes, that’s exactly it!”
Pros: He’s very specific about the technical concepts, in a slightly different way to many of the others. He has useful, bold statements (as in, they are literally in bold font), like “End stopped verse is the sound of confidence”. I underlined a lot of stuff in that book, and it stuck with me because it was so clear.
Cons: I put this in the intermediate pile because it jumps into the technical stuff pretty quickly. As someone who has worked with Shakespeare for a while, I loved how he explained things, but I think someone who is new to Shakespeare might find it a bit intense to begin with. So having a little bit of Shakespeare knowledge under your belt is useful if you’re reading this one.
Verdict: A great addition to your bookshelf if you’ve done a bit of Shakespeare before and are ready to go deeper.
Speaking Shakespeare by Patsy Rodenburg
This was another late entry to my bookshelf, also recommended by another Shakespeare specialist. I like Patsy’s non-nonsense approach to the text. It feels very clear, and learn-able, with the way she writes. Where Giles Block feels gentle and supportive, Patsy feels direct and dry - in a good way. It feels like she’s in the room, telling me off when I stuff up “the iambic”, as she calls it. As someone who also likes to cut through the BS that surrounds Shakespeare, it appealed to me.
Pros: It’s clear and direct. Like Mastering Shakespeare, it feels like she is layering on the concepts step by step.
Cons: While there are lots of examples, I wish there were more practical exercises. Personally, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, I love it when a book says, “Just go do this”. That usually moves me from just being academic about it and actually doing the thing.
Verdict: A great pick if you’ve just started acting training.
Advanced
The Actor and the Text by Cicely Berry
OK, so this book is technically not a Shakespeare book… but it may as well be. Cicely Berry was the voice director for the Royal Shakespeare Company for roughly one thousand years and written approximately one million books. Just kidding - but seriously she was there a long while so she knows her stuff. I’m honestly not sure why this doesn’t have “Shakespeare” in the title.
Pros: Contains a practical section with of exercises. Yippee!
Cons: Many of those exercises are for groups. Waaah! Also, it’s quite dense. Her writing is soooo insightful, but if you’re new to acting or new to Shakespeare, you might be like, “Whaaaaat?”
Verdict: Excellent if you’re at drama school or you have a bunch of mates that you can get together with in a room and try some things. Also good if you’re a drama teacher wanting to advance yourself or your students.
Freeing Shakespeare’s Voice by Kristin Linklater
You might know the name “Linklater” associated with a particular approach to vocal work - and yes, this is the same Linklater. (Not the director Richard Linklater.) In this book, she foc
Pros: Lots of exercises, and quite interesting ones. Great if you like to work imaginatively.
Cons: The theory feels pretty intense. Actually, it is quite philosophical to begin with. For example, “If we could actually experience that we live in a universe made of sound and light waves, there might be a reunion between the body and brain and the world around us”. Insightful? Yes, definitely. Easy to read? Not so much.
Verdict: This is definitely the most advanced of the books I've mentioned here. I’d recommend it mostly to actors who are already working professionally in contemporary material or fairly experienced with Shakespeare, or if you’re in your last few years of drama school. Give yourself plenty of time to work through this one, and make sure you get up on the floor and try the exercises, so you don’t get lost in the theory.
OK friends, have you tried any of these books? What did you think? Let me know below!
