About the Book:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

"You would search in vain for anything as striking as that in this innovative series of books, called 'Actors on Shakespeare'." — The Guardian

The "Actors on Shakespeare" series draws on the contemporary relevance of, and enjoyment to be found in, Shakespeare. Each book provides an introduction to a particular play from an individual actor's perspective; here Harriet Walter offers her view of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.

Dame Harriet Walter, one of the greatest actors of her generation, has played Lady Macbeth and here she delves into the heart and mind of the character and her relationship to Macbeth and considers a personal approach to the play. She takes you with her on an all-encompassing search for the reality behind the enigma that is Lady Macbeth, and on the way draws us into a sparkling and illuminating dissection of the actor's craft and the art of the play.

Shakespeare's work is important in shaping our language and character. The enduring popularity and success of Shakespearean productions in theatre and on film is a truly international and cross-cultural phenomenon. The aim of the "Actors on Shakespeare" series is to provide a unique and accessible contemporary commentary to each of the plays via top-class actors who have performed in them.

What people say:

"Harriet Walter compares Lady Macbeth to "a mountainous wave" about to engulf her. Shipwrecked on the Shakespearean ocean, the drowning actors snatch at any flotsam to keep afloat: psychology, social history, anthropological archetypes, shelves from the ship's library - and, now and then, garbage from the galleys. [Her] commentary is exemplary. She registers significant metrical pauses, verbal echoes that ricochet between the Macbeths, the minute sub-textual signs of their fluctuating sympathy and final estrangement." — The Guardian

"Harriet Walter is the best Lady Macbeth I've seen since Judi Dench. The heroine's suppressed hysteria, the erotic relief she finds in collaborative violence are at once ruthlessly unsentimentalised by Walter's performance and achingly sad." — The Independent

"These books are travellers' tales; fascinating stories of personal attempts to colonise the infinitely receding Shakespearean landscape." — The Daily Telegraph

"These little books should be thrust into the hands of every student. They bring the plays alive precisely because these performers, with their minds and bodies, spend their lives trying to make it happen." — The Spectator

"There is much to enjoy here. The writing preserves the individuality of the actors, while at the same time retaining their clarity and intelligence." — The Independent

About the Author:

Dame Harriet Walter is a renowned British actress, best known for her work in the theatre. She trained at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and started with fringe groups such as Joint Stock before moving on to the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the National Theatre. On TV she is best-known as Amy in the sitcom Unfinished Business and as Harriet Vane in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Films include Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility and Louis Malle's Milou in Mai. She was made a Dame in 2011 for services to drama.