Letters from an Actor

by William Redfield and William Redfield

Book Overview

The legendary 1964 Broadway run of Hamlet directed by John Gielgud is one of the most famous productions of Shakespeare's most important play. Audacious for its time in concept and execution, it placed the actors in everyday clothes within an unassuming "rehearsal" set, with the Ghost of Hamlet's father projected as a shadow against the rear wall and voiced by the director himself. It was also a runaway critical and financial success, breaking...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1493084607
• ISBN13: 9781493084609
• Release Date: March 2024
• Publisher: Applause Books
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Truly an exceptional book about acting

I've worked in professional theatre for over 30 years. This should be mandatory reading for anyone becoming an actor. Or a director, for that matter, as the pasages about Sir John's eccentric directing style are priceless. As for theatre patrons, if you really want to know what its like preparing a difficult drama like Hamlet ... or are of an age that you remember Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in their crazy primes, or Marlon Brando in his ... this is an incredible read. I'm still not sure if this is in print. Are there really "new" versions of this available from resellers?

A Theatre Classic!

I read this book when I was in high school. More than thirty years later, I took it off the shelf and couldn't put it down. Wity and insightful, William Redfield's Letters from an Actor may be the best book I've read on what it's like to be a working actor in the theatre (I stress "theatre" beacuse Mr. Redfield has some interesting thoughts on film acting.) From frustrating rehearsals to nerve-wracking performances, this unique book puts the reader right on the stage with Mr. Redfield and the cast of Burton's Hamlet. Unfortunately, the theatre that William Redfield knew and loved no longer exists. Fortunately, this book captures an era --probably the end of it--when there was still an audience for dramas and comedies on Broadway, and still outstanding actors to perform in them. I can't think of a better theatre companion than William Redfield. This is a book the needs to be back in print. A great book and great fun!

The BEST BEST BEST BEST book in the world!!!!!!!!

William Redfield was the BEST actor in the WORLD!!!! And his book "Letters From an Actor" is one of my favorite books in the WORLD!!!! It is funny and fast-reading and I wish it would continue on forever. Anyone who is considering a career in the theatre should definitely read this book. Anyone who isn't considering a career in the theatre should definitely read this book. After you read this book, you feel like you know William Redfield. And everyone, John Gielgud, Richard Burton, etc., were correct when they said that William Redfield and Clem Fowler were the best Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. I recently bought the "Hamlet" DVD with William Redfield. It is one of my favorite movies. And William Redfield and Clem Fowler are the best. And the best parts are the parts with William Redfield, because William Redfield is the best actor in the world!!!!!!!!

One of the best theatre books ever

I can do nothing more than echo the praise of the other reviewers. This very personal account of the rehearsal process and out-of-town tryout of the 1964 Broadway production of "Hamlet" that starred Richard Burton and was directed by John Gielgud is truly fascinating. William Redfield was a superb actor who could also write well, even though there are a handful of passages that perhaps should have been edited out. I don't know of any book that gives you a better feeling of what it's like to be in rehearsal and trying to piece together a performance as everyone around you is trying to do the same. Redfield's account of a group of major actors--apart from Redfield and Burton, the cast included Alfred Drake, Hume Cronyn, Eileen Herlie, John Cullum, George Rose, George Voskovec, and Barnard Hughes--working under a director of undoubted genius who is somehow not really helping anyone much definitely makes you feel what it must have been like to be part of that.If you're an actor, a director, or just love theatre, you will probably find this book fascinating.

college time well spent

I read this book in the La Salle College library in 1965 or 1966, when I was supposed to be in class. I made the right choice. The memory of the description of Richard Burton being booed still brings a smile to my face. Mr. Redfield's witt is a source of constant pleasure throughout. I fondly remember William Redfield as a superbly entertaining guest on many talk shows, during that golden era of talk shows that was the 1960's.