Patrick Stewart on Shylock (Shakespeare On Stage)
By Patrick Stewart and Julian Curry
()
About this ebook
In each volume of the Shakespeare On Stage series, a leading actor takes us behind the scenes of a landmark Shakespearean production, recreating in detail their memorable performance in a major role. They leads us through the choices they made in rehearsal, and how the character works in performance, shedding new light on some of the most challenging roles in the canon. The result is a series of individual masterclasses that will be invaluable for other actors and directors, as well as students of Shakespeare – and fascinating for audiences of the plays.
In this volume, Patrick Stewart discusses playing the role of Shylock in Rupert Goold's production of The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2011.
This interview, together with the others in the series (with actors such as Ian McKellen, Simon Russell Beale, Alan Rickman and Harriet Walter), is also available in the collection Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2 - Twelve Leading Actors on Twelve Key Roles by Julian Curry, with a foreword by Nicholas Hytner.
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart is a distinguished stage and screen actor whose illustrious career spans six decades. A classically trained theater artist who got his start at England’s Royal Shakespeare Company, Stewart’s legendary performances have garnered him three Olivier Awards, Emmy and Tony Award nominations, and a Grammy Award, among countless honors. His beloved screen work, known to audiences worldwide, includes his iconic portrayals of Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men’s Professor Charles Xavier. Follow him on social media at @SirPatStew.
Read more from Patrick Stewart
Shakespeare on Stage
Related to Patrick Stewart on Shylock (Shakespeare On Stage)
Titles in the series (24)
Patrick Stewart on Shylock (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSara Kestelman on Hippolyta and Titania (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZoë Wanamaker on Beatrice (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIan McKellen on King Lear (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChiwetel Ejiofor on Othello (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoger Allam on Falstaff (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlan Rickman on Jaques (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEileen Atkins on Viola (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSimon Russell Beale on Cassius (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrian Cox on Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFiona Shaw on Katherine (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMichael Pennington on Timon of Athens (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDerek Jacobi on Malvolio (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarriet Walter on Imogen (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJudi Dench on Juliet (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRalph Fiennes on Coriolanus (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJude Law on Hamlet (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPatrick Stewart on Prospero (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTim Pigott-Smith on Leontes (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRebecca Hall on Rosalind (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHelen Mirren on Cleopatra (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIan McKellen on Macbeth (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdrian Lester on Henry V (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPenelope Wilton on Isabella (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Roger Allam on Falstaff (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZoë Wanamaker on Beatrice (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarriet Walter on Imogen (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIan McKellen on King Lear (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSara Kestelman on Hippolyta and Titania (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChiwetel Ejiofor on Othello (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlan Rickman on Jaques (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEileen Atkins on Viola (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFiona Shaw on Katherine (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMichael Pennington on Timon of Athens (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSimon Russell Beale on Cassius (Shakespeare On Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare on Stage: Volume 2: Twelve Leading Actors on Twelve Key Roles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoliloquy!: The Shakespeare Monologues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare For Beginners Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Shakespeare on Stage: Thirteen Leading Actors on Thirteen Key Roles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5101 Amazing Facts about William Shakespeare Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare for Every Night of the Year Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSir George Alexander and the St. James’ Theatre Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare on Theatre Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare: The Theatre of Our World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings30-Second Shakespeare: 50 key aspects of his work, life, and legacy, each explained in half a minute Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSweet William: A User's Guide to Shakespeare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meet William Shakespeare: A superbly entertaining one-person play starring The Bard himself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Merchant of Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Taming of the Shrew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julius Caesar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Winter’s Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edward III Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIan McKellen on Macbeth (Shakespeare on Stage) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Shakespeare Hoax Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Performing Arts For You
Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best Women's Monologues from New Plays, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hamlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hollywood's Dark History: Silver Screen Scandals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whale / A Bright New Boise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Robin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fifth Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Is This Anything? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Othello Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yes Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coreyography: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Midsummer Night's Dream, with line numbers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Town: A Play in Three Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Count Of Monte Cristo (Unabridged) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Strange Loop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Woman Is No Man: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enuf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Patrick Stewart on Shylock (Shakespeare On Stage)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Patrick Stewart on Shylock (Shakespeare On Stage) - Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
on
Shylock
Taken from
SHAKESPEARE ON STAGE
Volume 2
Twelve Leading Actors on Twelve Key Roles
by Julian Curry
NICK HERN BOOKS
London
www.nickhernbooks.co.uk
Contents
Dedication
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Patrick Stewart on Shylock
Synopsis of the Play
About the Author
Other Titles in the Series
Copyright Information
For Alex and Torren
hoping their lives will be enriched by Shakespeare as mine is
Introduction
Julian Curry
Much of the brilliance of Shakespeare lies in the openness, or ambiguity, of his texts. Whereas a novelist will often describe a character, an action or a scene in the most minute detail, Shakespeare knew that his scenarios would only be fully fleshed out when actors perform them. He was the first writer to create character out of language. Falstaff has an idiosyncratic way of speaking that is quite distinct from Juliet, as she does from Shylock, and he from Lady Macbeth. An actor receives subliminal clues about their character, merely by the way they express themselves.
George Bernard Shaw wrote long prefaces and elaborate stage directions; his texts are littered with instructions to actors and directors as to how his plays should be done. This can be helpful, but as often as not it’s limiting, even annoying. Shakespeare, conversely, wrote hardly any stage directions. The best known is ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ in The Winter’s Tale – which incidentally is far from proscriptive: is some unfortunate actor bundled into a bear costume? Or is the bear surreal, an effect of sound and lighting? Directors have carte blanche. The only solution rarely adopted is to put a live bear on stage. On occasion Shakespeare does give a precise indication of stage business. In the courtroom scene of The Merchant of Venice, Gratiano says: ‘Not on thy sole but on thy soul, harsh Jew, / Thou mak’st thy knife keen’ [4.1]. Then the actor playing Shylock understands that he should take out his knife and sharpen it on the sole of his shoe. Other stage directions take the form of implicit but less precise suggestions. When Hamlet says to Osric, ‘Put your bonnet to his right use; ’tis for the head’ [5.2], the actor playing Osric knows one thing for sure: his hat is not on his head. How else he is using it is up to him.
There are times when the actor may decide to do the opposite of what the text seems to indicate. For instance, when King Lear exits saying to Goneril and Regan, ‘You think I’ll weep? No, I’ll not weep... this heart / Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws / Or ere I’ll weep’ [2.4], the suggestion appears to be that the actor will remain dry-eyed. Ian McKellen immediately burst into convulsive sobs. I found this very moving.
Shakespeare doesn’t tell his actors how to play their parts; he gives hints but leaves the decisions up to them. My interest in writing this book, and the companion volume that preceded it, is the myriad options available to performers of Shakespeare’s texts, and the choices they