My Shakespeare: A Director’s Journey through the First Folio: Greg Doran: Methuen Drama

My Shakespeare

A Director’s Journey through the First Folio

My Shakespeare

A Director’s Journey through the First Folio

Description

THE TIMES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

This book charts the personal and professional journey of Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2012 until 2022 and "one of the great Shakespearians of his generation" (Sunday Times).

During his illustrious career, Doran has directed or produced all of the plays within Shakespeare's First Folio -- a milestone reached in the same year that the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of its original publication.

Each chapter looks at a different play, considering the choices made and weaving in both autobiographical detail and background on the RSC, as well as giving insights into key collaborations, including those with actors such as Judi Dench, David Tennant, Harriet Walter, Patrick Stewart, Simon Russell Beale, Paterson Joseph and Doran's husband, the late Antony Sher, as well as seminal practitioners such as Cicely Berry, John Barton and Terry Hands. The book also includes 16 striking pages with stills from some of the RSC plays.

Through Doran's account of this extraordinary journey, we see how Henry VIII, initially regarded as a poisoned chalice, became his lucky break; how the tragedy of 9/11 unfolded during a matinee of King John and how the language of the play went some way in helping to articulate the unfathomable; how a RSC supporter bequeathed their skull to the company to be used as Yorick in Hamlet; how meeting Nelson Mandela inspired the production of Julius Caesar; how Falstaff was introduced to China for the very first time; and how arachnophobia informed the production of Macbeth.

This book uniquely captures the excitement, energy, surprises, joys and agonies of working on these greatest of plays; sheds new light on these plays through Doran's own research and discoveries made in the rehearsal room; and gives unprecedented access into the craft, life and loves of this exceptional director.

My Shakespeare is also available in audiobook format from audiobook retailers.

Chapter Page
Introduction 8
1 Romeo and Juliet: A Prologue 9
2 Titus Andronicus 23
3 Henry VIII, or All is True. 31
4 The Merchant of Venice 39
5 The Winter's Tale 45
6 Timon of Athens 50
7 Macbeth 55
8 As You Like It 65
9 King John 69
10 Much Ado About Nothing 75
11 The Taming of The Shrew 85
12 All's Well That Ends Well 92
13 Othello 98
14 Venus & Adonis 110
15 A Midsummer Night's Dream 116
16 Antony & Cleopatra 127
17 Merry Wives: The Musical 134
18 Coriolanus 139
19 Hamlet 144
20 Love's Labour's Lost 153
21 Twelfth Night 161
22 Julius Caesar 168
23 Richard II 176
24 Henry IV Part One 183
25 Henry IV Part Two 200
26 Henry V 203
27 King Lear 209
28 The Tempest 217
29 Troilus and Cressida 225
30 Measure for Measure 231
31 The Comedy of Errors (a lockdown chapter) 235
32 Henry VI Part One 240
33 Henry VI Part Two 249
34 Henry VI Part Three 253
35 Richard III 255
36 Cymbeline: An Epilogue 268

Product details

Published	Apr 20 2023
Format	Hardback
Edition	1st
Extent	376
ISBN	9781350330191
Imprint	Methuen Drama
Illustrations	32 colour illus
Dimensions	9 x 6 inches
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

This career retrospective, centred on the Folio, reflects Doran's temperament: decent, diligent, likeable, lucid. It's openly learned, plunging into a close reading of Romeo and Juliet's prologue, but it's also candid.

Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph
It has given me so much joy to read the story of Greg Doran's journey through these great plays. Fantastic, informative, revealing, occasionally gossipy and thoroughly engrossing, this is a remarkable memoir of a remarkable career. Greg Doran's brilliance, clarity of thought and – most of all – his humanity shines through.

David Tennant
One of the distinctive achievements of Greg Doran's recently concluded term as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company was to direct all the plays in the First Folio, creating a deposit of excellent, thoughtful renderings. His recollections and reflections on these productions are collected in My Shakespeare. Some chapters are almost entirely anecdotal, but there are few if any that fail to cast some new light on the drama under discussion.

Rowan Williams, New Statesman
Doran reflects with intelligence and grace and wit on himself and those with whom he has worked, and on the ways in which they sought to breathe fresh life into a series of plays that, for the most part, audiences think they know well … You'll find it an informative-instructive delight.

Rhodri Lewis, Prospect Magazine
This year marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, which was met with a deluge of accompanying books. This is the best and most fun.

The Times, Best Poetry and Literature Books of the Year
A revelatory and revolutionary breakdown of the canon in a way that works for both the professional and uninitiated. His (obviously tight) grip on Shakespeare's universe is permeated by reverence and deference, but what seeps through the pages is his pure love for his language and characters … It's a joy to (re)discover Shakespeare's plays through his eyes.

Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World