Playing Shakespeare – John Barton

Playing Shakespeare – John Barton

Led by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s John Barton, the series features nine master classes on Shakespearean performance with 21 of Britain’s finest actors, including Oscarr winners Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List), and Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, Gods and Monsters), Patrick Stewart (X-Men), and David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot). The enlightening series aired on PBS in the mid-1980s and its companion book remains a popular acting guide to this day. Bonus features include a 20-page viewer’s guide and exclusive extras that take the educational experience beyond the screen.

Amazon.com

The Royal Shakespeare Company founder John Barton holds a master class featuring…
JUDI DENCH
IAN MCKELLEN
PATRICK STEWART
BEN KINGSLEY
DAVID SUCHET

Sit in on nine intensive acting workshops conducted by the legendary John Barton of the Royal Shakespeare Company. How does this world-renowned troupe make classic plays accessible to modern audiences, without compromising the text’s integrity? How do actors search Shakespeare’s verse for hidden clues to their characters’ motivations? How do they balance intellect and passion to make theatre’s most famous soliloquies seem fresh?

The answers come from Barton and 21 of Britain’s finest actors, including Oscar® winners Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List), and Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, Gods and Monsters), Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot).

Also starring Sinéad Cusack, Susan Fleetwood, Sheila Hancock, Alan Howard, Donald Sinden, Michael Williams, and more.

(SDH subtitles)

BONUS FEATURES

• 20-page viewer’s guide includes key points, discussion questions, avenues for further learning, a history of the RSC, and “Vocabulary of Verse and Stage.”
• Actor biographies and RSC stage credits
• Exclusive web extras

Cofounder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, John Barton directed productions there for over 40 years. In 2001, he received the Sam Wanamaker Award from Shakespeare’s Globe for his pioneering contributions to Shakespearean performance.

View an Excerpt from the Guide Included with Playing Shakespeare