As we've established numerous times before, I love behind-the-scenes books that recount the process of bringing Shakespeare to life on the stage. My shelves are overflowing with the memoirs and diaries of Shakespearean actors ruminating on their past productions. Possibly the best of these is actor Antony Sher's Year of the King, recounting the agony and ecstasy of starring in the famous "Richard III on Crutches" production at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1984.
It is something of a disservice to call Sher merely an actor. He is also a masterful author and artist, and he uses all those skills in crafting this fascinating and somewhat harrowing account. Punctuated with his own illustrations (ranging from amiable caricatures to haunting images of physical and mental deformity, this diary charts the development of one of the most notable productions of Richard III(directed by Bill Alexander).
Sher takes us through each step of the production - from the haggling involved in accepting the role, to the decision to play the hunchbacked king on crutches, to the thorough researching of both the psychological and physical elements of the character, to the practical concerns of creating the correct kind of costumed hump. While he downplays his relationship with his then-boyfriend (a sign of the times in which he was working), he is brutally honest in all other aspects, detailing conversations with his therapist and freely exploring his insecurities and neuroses as he puts together the character of Richard.
Going back to it now, I realize that the actual rehearsals for Richard III don't start until two-thirds of the way through the book. This is indicative of how much work goes into a performance before anyone sets foot in a rehearsal room. Normally I would be impatient at having to slog my way through so many preliminaries before getting down to what I would perceive as the actual performing part, but Sher makes it clear that his performance was being created even before he officially agreed to play the part. Everything informs his acting choices, from an injury sustained while acting in King Lear to a trip back to South Africa to visit his family. The result is a great tapestry of experience that coalesces into one of the most critically acclaimedRichard IIIs in (relatively) recent memory.
This is frequently hailed as one of the best books about the acting profession ever written. It very probably is.
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