2nd Edition

Secrets of Acting Shakespeare The Original Approach

By Patrick Tucker Copyright 2017
    394 Pages
    by Routledge

    394 Pages
    by Routledge

    Secrets of Acting Shakespeare isn’t a book that gently instructs. It is a passionate, yes-you-can guide designed to prove that anybody can act Shakespeare.

    Patrick Tucker’s classic manual encourages trained and amateur actors alike to look to the original practices of the Elizabethan theatre for inspiration. He explores the ‘cue scripts’ used by actors, who knew only their own lines, to demonstrate the extraordinary way that these plays work by ear.

    This updated second edition includes:

    • A section dedicated to the modes of address 'thee‘ and 'you‘
    • A brand new chapter on Original Practices and cue scripts
    • An expanded genealogical chart, showing the interrelations of 92 different characters from the history plays
    • A new discussion of Elizabethan acting spaces – balconies, gates, ramparts and even backstage areas

    Secrets of Acting Shakespeare is a must-read for actors intrigued by the ‘Original Approach’ to acting Shakespeare, or for anyone curious about how the Elizabethan theater worked.

    CONTENTS

    Preface to the Second Edition

    Introduction

    Chapter 1 The 30 Secrets

    Chapter 2 The Research

    Starting Off

    Rehearsals

    Preparations in Shakespeare’s Time

    The Platt of The Seven Deadlie Sinnes

    Parts Played in One Afternoon

    Chapter 3 The Evidence

    The Tomb Scene from Romeo and Juliet

    Rosalind, Celia – and the Duke

    Viola, the Captaine – and the Saylors

    Original Elizabethan Language

    Chapter 4 The Experiment

    Chapter 5 The Performances

    Chapter 6 The First Folio

    Heminge and Condell’s Introduction to the First Folio

    The Folio Secrets

    Chapter 7 Original Practices

    The Platt of England’s Joy

    Modern Original Practices

    Actors’ Responses

    Chapter 8 Understanding through acting

    The Acting Shakespeare Checklist

    Chapter 9 The Secrets Expanded and Explained

    Chapter 10 The Plays and the Clues

    Epilogue

    Appendix 1 Folio Examples:

    Romeo and his Starres

    The five letters in The Merchant of Venice

    Appendix 2 Platts:

    As He Liked It (Haymarket, London)

    A Midsommer Nights Dreame (Neuss, Germany)

    The Merchant of Venice (Neuss, Germany)

    As you Like it (Toronto, Canada)

    A Midsommer Nights Dreame (Sydney, Australia)

    As you Like it (Globe, London)

    King John (Globe, London)

    The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Jerash, Jordan)

    Cymbeline (Globe, London)

    Romeo and Juliet (Jerash, Jordan)

    Appendix 3 Genealogical Tables:

    The Wars of the Roses Notes

    The Wars of the Roses Table

    The Wars of the Roses Dates

    The Plantagenets Notes

    The Plantagenets Table

    The Scottish Kings Notes

    The Scottish Kings Table

    The Scottish Kings Dates

    Bibliography

    Index of Shakespeare’s Plays and Characters

    General Index

    Biography

    Biography

    Patrick Tucker is Director of London’s Original Shakespeare Company. He is on the Globe Council of Shakespeare’s Globe, London.