Acting Shakespeare

by John Gielgud

From the London ÊSunday TelegraphÊ: ÊActing ShakespeareÊ is extraordinary. The tone of the voice is unmistakably Sir John's the atmosphere congenial. We're in the company of our greatest actor who holds in his hands the last links of a chain of tradition leading to Shakespeare himself ... this book is crucial for anyone who believes that Shakespeare on the stage should be Shakespeare at his greatest ... Gielgud is by turns wise witty and wicked but unfailingly modest.

Genres: Shakespeare, Theatre

274 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor/director/producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm and expressive voice, which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to "a silver trumpet muffled in silk". Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how Gielgud's personality emerges in this collection - witty, honest, modest, and wise. I only wish that there was more in depth discussion of how he interpreted characters and lines, and less haphazard listing of performances and fellow actors. There are many intriguing tidbits, insightful points, and entertaining lines here, but the reader has to slog through a lengthy editorial introduction and some meandering by Gielgud himself to get to them. Gielgud also shows a great interest in costumes and sets, so I wish the photographs had been more numerous and better organized to match those passages. 3.5 stars, because I can't say I loved this memoir, but somehow it still made me adore Gielgud even more.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book for the second time now and it's still fascinating. I love how Gielgud speaks about stagecraft, about the directors and actors he worked with, about his relationship with the Shakespearean text. It's enlightening and fascinating.

[Algernon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sir John Gielgud's reflections on his career as an actor and director of Shakespeare's works will be of great interest to many, in particular those who work in the theatre. On the other hand, as a book, this is not what it could have been.

The book appears to be a memoir dictated to its co-author, and the reflections and remembrances move in a jumbled stream of consciousness, reflecting very lazy organization. The chatty approach makes for a mixed bag, with interesting anecdotes and observations about the theatre, but without a throughline that would help the reader return to these subjects later. Even Gielgud's famously bitchy sense of humor is subdued here, as if he were doing his very best to behave himself.

The photographs are also organized in no apparent order, although for some reason the Hamlet photographs are all together, as are most (but not all) of the Prospero photographs.

[Arnulfo Velasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es, en realidad, una recopilación de textos diversos relacionados con la carrera de actor de Gielgud. Contiene algunos recuerdos, notas personales de su trabajo como actor y director, una recopilación de algunas críticas publicadas en diferentes medios a través del tiempo y relacionadas con sus montajes. Pero, en conjunto, resulta algo muy interesante, pues permite ver la forma como un actor shakesperiano (considerado de los más grandes) asumía su trabajo, y la forma como entendía los textos y al personaje que los escribió. Lo que nos ayuda a nosotros a entenderlos.

[Jim Hunnicutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

If one was to argue as to who was the greatest actor of the 20th century, John Gielgud would be one anyone's list. If the bar was raised to theater, he would stand alone. This book, written by the master himself, tells a tale never before or since told. From emerging in London as a prodigy, to his rise to the top of the Shakespearean world to his infamous movie career, this novel documents a journey that no one else in history has created or been able to follow.

[Rolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this man. He was a treasure trove of theatrical lore. Olivier was the more thrilling actor perhaps but Gielgud was the more soulful. He was also the truer man of the theatre; doing it all out of love and never out of pure unadorned ego. Sorry Larry.