Full Product Details
Author: Greg Doran
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 3.00cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.627kg
ISBN: 9781350457034
ISBN 10: 1350457035
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 11 July 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
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 * Whether you are looking for insights into both major and minor works by the Bard, the story of two theatrical giants or a history of the RSC over the last few decades, My Shakespeare is a must-read and must-buy, since this is the kind of thoughtful, well-written and consistently entertaining book that any lover of serious theatre would be delighted to read or receive as a gift. For any budding director who wants to bring Shakespeare to the stage, it could also act as a highly readable manual, offering morsels of intelligent guidance that only come with a lifetime’s experience. -- Philip Fisher * British Theatre Guide * What runs through this fascinating book is not only [Doran’s] passionate commitment, but his belief that Shakespeare holds up a mirror to all our lives and to the tumultuous times in which we live … The results are constantly illuminating … This is a very good book that reminds us that practitioners often make the best commentators … [A] thought-provoking journey through the First Folio. -- Michael Billington * Country Life * Greg Doran’s My Shakespeare generously offers us all the most intimate understanding of what the works of Shakespeare can give us; life with all its tragic and comic masks. Doran writes for the lover of Shakespeare, but allows those tentative about Shakespeare's genius to understand why his storytelling is miraculously both universal and local. My Shakespeare is a worthy addition to the study of Shakespeare’s plays in performance - and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t make me itch to get on stage again, to exercise my acting muscles in the greatest poetry-gym in the English language. * Paterson Joseph * Greg Doran’s writing, like his productions, comes from an honest, ungimmicky place. He infects the reader with his own curiosity about the world that gave birth to Shakespeare and how and why he still connects with us. He combines an unostentatious erudition with stories of a deeply personal journey from schoolboy visits to the RSC at Stratford to becoming its Artistic Director. I am so glad everyone can now be let in on his revelatory insights and not just those of us who have been lucky enough to be in a rehearsal room with him. * Harriet Walter *
"""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 ""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 ""Whether you are looking for insights into both major and minor works by the Bard, the story of two theatrical giants or a history of the RSC over the last few decades, My Shakespeare is a must-read and must-buy, since this is the kind of thoughtful, well-written and consistently entertaining book that any lover of serious theatre would be delighted to read or receive as a gift. For any budding director who wants to bring Shakespeare to the stage, it could also act as a highly readable manual, offering morsels of intelligent guidance that only come with a lifetime's experience."" --Philip Fisher, British Theatre Guide ""What runs through this fascinating book is not only [Doran's] passionate commitment, but his belief that Shakespeare holds up a mirror to all our lives and to the tumultuous times in which we live ... The results are constantly illuminating ... This is a very good book that reminds us that practitioners often make the best commentators ... [A] thought-provoking journey through the First Folio."" --Michael Billington, Country Life ""Greg Doran's My Shakespeare generously offers us all the most intimate understanding of what the works of Shakespeare can give us; life with all its tragic and comic masks. Doran writes for the lover of Shakespeare, but allows those tentative about Shakespeare's genius to understand why his storytelling is miraculously both universal and local. My Shakespeare is a worthy addition to the study of Shakespeare's plays in performance - and I'll be damned if it doesn't make me itch to get on stage again, to exercise my acting muscles in the greatest poetry-gym in the English language."" --Paterson Joseph ""Greg Doran's writing, like his productions, comes from an honest, ungimmicky place. He infects the reader with his own curiosity about the world that gave birth to Shakespeare and how and why he still connects with us. He combines an unostentatious erudition with stories of a deeply personal journey from schoolboy visits to the RSC at Stratford to becoming its Artistic Director. I am so glad everyone can now be let in on his revelatory insights and not just those of us who have been lucky enough to be in a rehearsal room with him."" --Harriet Walter ""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 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 * 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 * Whether you are looking for insights into both major and minor works by the Bard, the story of two theatrical giants or a history of the RSC over the last few decades, My Shakespeare is a must-read and must-buy, since this is the kind of thoughtful, well-written and consistently entertaining book that any lover of serious theatre would be delighted to read or receive as a gift. For any budding director who wants to bring Shakespeare to the stage, it could also act as a highly readable manual, offering morsels of intelligent guidance that only come with a lifetime’s experience. -- Philip Fisher * British Theatre Guide * What runs through this fascinating book is not only [Doran’s] passionate commitment, but his belief that Shakespeare holds up a mirror to all our lives and to the tumultuous times in which we live … The results are constantly illuminating … This is a very good book that reminds us that practitioners often make the best commentators … [A] thought-provoking journey through the First Folio. -- Michael Billington * Country Life * Greg Doran’s My Shakespeare generously offers us all the most intimate understanding of what the works of Shakespeare can give us; life with all its tragic and comic masks. Doran writes for the lover of Shakespeare, but allows those tentative about Shakespeare's genius to understand why his storytelling is miraculously both universal and local. My Shakespeare is a worthy addition to the study of Shakespeare’s plays in performance - and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t make me itch to get on stage again, to exercise my acting muscles in the greatest poetry-gym in the English language. * Paterson Joseph * Greg Doran’s writing, like his productions, comes from an honest, ungimmicky place. He infects the reader with his own curiosity about the world that gave birth to Shakespeare and how and why he still connects with us. He combines an unostentatious erudition with stories of a deeply personal journey from schoolboy visits to the RSC at Stratford to becoming its Artistic Director. I am so glad everyone can now be let in on his revelatory insights and not just those of us who have been lucky enough to be in a rehearsal room with him. * Harriet Walter * 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 * In his riveting book, Doran writes with elegance and palpable emotion as he weaves his personal life with that of his staging of 36 of Shakespeare’s extraordinary dramatic creations * The Epoch Times *
Author Information
Greg Doran has been described as “one of the supreme Shakespeare directors of our era” (Financial Times) and “one of the finest present day directors of Shakespeare” (Sunday Telegraph). He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as an actor in 1987 and became its Artistic Director in 2012. He has directed and/or produced every single play in the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays at Stratford-upon-Avon. His 2012 production of Julius Caesar was described by theatre critic Michael Billington as one the ten best productions in the 60-year history of the RSC and as one of his ten best nights in the theatre ever. Doran delivered the prestigious Richard Dimbleby Lecture on BBC One in 2016. He was awarded the Sam Wanamaker Prize for pioneering work in Shakespearean theatre in 2012 and won a special Olivier Award for outstanding achievement for a season of Jacobean plays in 2002. His writing credits include the book Woza Shakespeare!, co-authored with Antony Sher.
