ABSTRACT

Secrets of Acting Shakespeare isn’t a book that gently instructs. It is a passionate, yes-you-can guide designed to prove that anybody can act Shakespeare.

Patrick Tucker’s classic manual encourages trained and amateur actors alike to look to the original practices of the Elizabethan theatre for inspiration. He explores the ‘cue scripts’ used by actors, who knew only their own lines, to demonstrate the extraordinary way that these plays work by ear.

This updated second edition includes:

  • A section dedicated to the modes of address 'thee‘ and 'you‘
  • A brand new chapter on Original Practices and cue scripts
  • An expanded genealogical chart, showing the interrelations of 92 different characters from the history plays
  • A new discussion of Elizabethan acting spaces – balconies, gates, ramparts and even backstage areas

Secrets of Acting Shakespeare is a must-read for actors intrigued by the ‘Original Approach’ to acting Shakespeare, or for anyone curious about how the Elizabethan theater worked.

chapter |3 pages

Introduction: the question

chapter 1|18 pages

The 30 secrets

chapter 2|15 pages

The research

chapter 3|17 pages

The evidence

chapter 4|6 pages

The experiment

chapter 5|88 pages

The performances

chapter 6|25 pages

The First Folio

chapter 7|21 pages

Original Practices

chapter 8|7 pages

Understanding through acting

chapter 9|78 pages

The secrets explained and expanded

chapter 10|61 pages

The plays and the clues