An accessible and practical introduction into ways in which Stanislavskian method can be applied to Shakespeare.
Subtitled ‘A practical guide for actors, directors, students and teachers,’ Annie Tyson's welcome book does exactly what it claims. It dispels the old myth that the Stanislavskian method cannot be applied to Shakespeare and demonstrates that all the acting choices in the plays of Shakespeare relate to action and character, exactly as they would in plays by other playwrights.
Anyone who has to teach Stanislavsky as a practitioner while also helping students to study Shakespeare, whether from an English or theatre studies perspective, will find plenty of useful information, ideas and activities here. Shakespeare and Stanislavsky should not be categorised as irreconcilable forces. Taken together, these two men probably influenced drama development more that anyone else in the history of theatre. Of course there can – and should – be cross-fertilisation.
It's a very hands-on, sometimes witty, book too. At its centre are 60 pages (out of 184) devoted to practical exercises: warming up and then working on Shakespeare. For example: ‘Consider the outer and inner characteristics of characters such as Iago and Isabella’; ‘Work out what happened to the child Lady Macbeth says she bore – one of the play's darker mysteries. It wasn't a stillbirth or childbirth death because she suckled him or her. Cot death? Infection? Infanticide?’; ‘Study the minor characters in any play you're working on and devise their life stories.’ Tyson gives you plenty of starting points and suggestions.
In her opening section Tyson explains – in pleasingly accessible language – what Stanislavsky said, did and wrote, and how the application of his theories evolved during the twentieth century. We talk about his work so much in theatre and drama circles that a return to the basics is a refreshing and useful reminder.
The final section, after the exercises, presents an anthology of personal views taken from the author's interviews with actors, directors and other practitioners. Simon Callow, for instance, values Stanislavsky's focus on the idea of objectives on actions and David Thacker identifies Stanislavsky as a major influence on his work.
Annie Tyson is an actor and director who has taught at both RADA and Drama Studio London. Her new book is part of Methuen Drama's (Bloomsbury) series Arden Performance Companions.