In Modern Hamlets and Their Soliloquies (Iowa, 1992), Mary Maher examined how modern actors have chosen to perform Hamlet’s soliloquies, and why they made the choices they made, within the context of their specific productions of the play. Adding to original interviews with, among others, Derek Jacobi, David Warner, Kevin Kline, and Ben Kingsley, Modern Hamlets and Their An Expanded Edition offers two new and insightful interviews, one with Kenneth Branagh, focusing on his 1997 film production of the play, and one with Simon Russell Beale, discussing his 2000-2001 run as Hamlet at the Royal National Theatre.
Mary Z. Maher (Ashland, OR) is the author of the performance classic Modern Hamlets and Their Soliloquies and the biography Nicholas Pennell: Risking Enchantment, as well as several articles on Shakespeare in performance on stage, film, and television. After a teaching career at the University of Arizona, she retired as professor emerita to the home of the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival and continues teaching, coaching, lecturing, and writing."