Written by the only American to direct and fight-choreograph all of Shakespeare’s plays, this text represents an expert and practical guide to the Bard’s oeuvre. From the Henry VI plays through The Tempest, each play is explored in its full theatrical complexity, with particular attention paid to directorial and acting challenges, character quirks and development, and the particularities of Shakespearean language. Directing successes are recounted, but the failures are not shied away from, making this work indispensable for anyone interested in producing plays by Shakespeare.

Paul Barry has spent 60 years as a professional actor and musician on stage and in films, and has directed more than 300 plays and musicals. He lives in Morristown, New Jersey.

Paul Barry
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 252
Bibliographic Info: 41 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4953-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5987-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix

Foreword by Harry Keyishian      1

Introduction      3

1. Actors, Plays, and Playhouses      5

2. The Taming of the Shrew      17

3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream      23

4. Hamlet      31

5. Macbeth      43

6. The Comedy of Errors      53

7. The Two Gentlemen of Verona      57

8. Twelfth Night      60

9. Romeo and Juliet      67

10. Shakespeare’s Warrior Plays      75

11. Troilus and Cressida      80

12. Julius Caesar      84

13. Antony and Cleopatra      89

14. Much Ado About Nothing      93

15. Othello      99

16. The Merchant of Venice      107

17. The Tempest      118

18. As You Like It      123

19. Coriolanus      126

20. Measure for Measure      129

21. The Chronicle Plays      133

22. Richard II      137

23. Henry IV, Part 1      143

24. Henry IV, Part 2      150

25. The Merry Wives of Windsor      154

26. Henry V      157

27. Henry VI, Part 1      162

28. Henry VI, Part 2      168

29. Henry VI, Part 3      172

30. Richard III      175

31. Titus Andronicus      180

32. Love’s Labour’s Lost      184

33. King Lear      188

34. Timon of Athens      201

35. Cymbeline      205

36. Henry VIII      208

37. The Two Noble Kinsmen      215

38. The Winter’s Tale      220

39. All’s Well That Ends Well      228

40. Pericles, Prince of Tyre      230

41. King John      234

Bibliography      237

Index      239

“valuable…insightful…entertaining”—The Shakespeare Newsletter.