Antony Sher

Year of the Fat Knight (eBook, ePUB)

The Falstaff Diaries

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

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'Antony Sher's insider journal is a brilliant exploded view of a great actor at work - modest and gifted, self-centred and selfless - a genius capable of transporting us backstage' Craig Raine, The Spectator (Books of the Year)

Year of the Fat Knight is Antony Sher's account - splendidly supplemented by his own paintings and sketches - of researching, rehearsing and performing one of Shakespeare's best-known and most popular characters, Sir John Falstaff, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2014 production of both parts of Henry IV, directed by Gregory Doran.

Both the production and Sher's Falstaff were acclaimed by critics and audiences - with Sher winning the Critics' Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance - and the shows transferred from Stratford to London, and then to New York, where Charles Isherwood in the New York Times described Sher's Falstaff as 'one of the greatest performances I've ever seen'.

This fascinating book tells us how Sher had initial doubts about playing the part at all, how he sought to reconcile Falstaff's obesity, drunkenness, cowardice and charm, how he wrestled with the fat suit needed to bulk him up, and how he explored the complexities and contradictions of this comic yet often dangerous personality. On the way, he paints a uniquely close-up portrait of the RSC at work.

Year of the Fat Knight is a terrific read, rich in humour and with a built-in tension as opening night draws relentlessly nearer. It also stands as a celebration of the craft of character acting. It ranks alongside Year of the King - Sher's seminal account of playing Richard III - as a consummate depiction of the creation of a giant Shakespearean role.

'Antony Sher's insider journal is a brilliant exploded view of a great actor at work - modest and gifted, self-centred and selfless - a genius capable of transporting us backstage' - Craig Raine Spectator (Books of the Year)

'A fascinating book, whether you love Shakespeare, whether you love theatre, even if you don't... unfailingly honest... a brilliant portrayal of a character actor' - Claudia Winkelman BBC Radio 2 Arts Show

'A brilliantly full-bodied account that mixes the practicalities of a performance with artistic ambitions. You learn as much about Sher himself as you do about Falstaff... far more instructive about acting than any number of how-to guides' - WhatsOnStage

'A vivid account... Sher has an artist's eye... filled with etacy' - The Times

'Far from simply a primer on the art of acting... [Sher's] tone is relaxed, intimate, even confidential, open about his personal foibles and relationships... a book about life as well as about acting' - The Spectator

'One of the most compelling non-fiction books I've read in a long time... chatty, frank, funny and enlightening... anyone wanting to know exactly how a show is created from beginning to end will find it all here... I enjoyed Sher's earlier book, Year of the King, about his journey to create Richard III, but this is even better' - The Stage

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Nick Hern Books
• Seitenzahl: 224
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. August 2016
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781780016023
• Artikelnr.: 42824728

Autorenporträt

Born in Cape Town, Antony Sher came to London in 1968, and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy. He is now regarded as one of Britain's leading actors, as well as a respected author and artist. Much of his career has been with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he is an Honorary Associate Artist. He has played Richard III, Macbeth, Leontes, Prospero, Shylock, Iago and Falstaff, as well as the leading roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Tamburlaine the Great, The Roman Actor, Tom Stoppard's Travesties, Peter Flannery's Singer, Athol Fugard's Hello and Goodbye, and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

At the National Theatre he played the title roles in Primo (his own adaptation of Primo Levi's If This is a Man) and Pam Gems's Stanley. In the West End, his roles have included Arnold in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, Muhammed in Mike Leigh's Goose- Pimples, and Gellburg in Arthur Miller's Broken Glass. He played Freud in Terry Johnson's Hysteria at Bath's Theatre Royal and Hampstead Theatre.

Film and television appearances include Mrs Brown, Alive and Kicking, The History Man, Macbeth, Primo and J.G. Ballard's Home.

He has written four novels - Middlepost, Indoor Boy, Cheap Lives and The Feast - as well as the theatre journals, Year of the Fat Knight, Year of the King, Woza Shakespeare! (co-written with his partner, the director Gregory Doran), Primo Time and his autobiography, Beside Myself. His plays include I.D. (Almeida Theatre, 2003) and The Giant (Hampstead Theatre, 2007).

He has published a book of his paintings and drawings, Characters (1989), and held exhibitions of his work at the National Theatre, the London Jewish Cultural Centre, the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and the Herbert Gallery in Coventry. Among numerous awards, he has won the Olivier Best Actor Award on two occasions (Richard III/Torch Song Trilogy and Stanley), the Evening Standard Best Actor Award (Richard III), the Evening Standard Peter Sellers Film Award (for Disraeli in Mrs Brown) and the Critics' Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance (for Falstaff). On Broadway, he won Best Solo Performer in both the Outer Critics' Circle and Drama Desk Awards for em>Primo. In 2000 he was knighted for his services to acting and writing.