Playing Shakespeare

The wait is over.  John Barton's lectures on Playing Shakespeare featuring now world famous RSC actors, 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), and others, will now be available on DVD.  The release date is scheduled for June 2 in the USA:

"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 4 disc, 456 minute set comes with:

• 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

Appreciations:

"If you are interested in Shakespeare and performing Shakespeare, this series is for you. Just about every great British Shakespearian actor/actress is accounted for here acting in various scenes from the plays and discussing/analyzing them at length. Fascinating and informative."

"I'm thrilled that this magnificent collection is now available on DVD. It's such a treat to see young, highly trained actors (McKellen, Dench, Stewart) from the RSC participating in Barton's Shakespeare instructional course. Barton discusses the most basic techniques on how to find clues within Shakespeare's text in order to perform it well. It is truly amazing that by simply approaching Shakespeare in a technical way; finding antithesis, lists, irony, and contrast-helps the actor figure out what is happening in a scene or monologue."

"Through detailed Shakespeare direction, Barton has provided a series that will delight all lovers of the celebrated playwright. Additionally it will encourage the viewer who is newly attempting appreciation of Shakespeare and his works. Novice Shakespearean audiences will want for more, want for a complete play to view."