South Bank Show Special - Word of Mouth RSC (1979)

The Royal Shakespeare Company gives a workshop on Shakespeare's verse before an invited audience. It is led by RSC joint artistic director Trevor Nunn, with fellow directors John Barton and Terry Hands.
The actors are Alan Howard, Jane Lapotaire, Ian McKellan, Michael Pennington, Patrick Stewart and David Suchet.'
'The Royal Shakespeare Company gives its second masterclass on performing Shakespeare before an invited audience.
Director John Barton works on a scene from 'Troilus and Cressida' with Alan Howard, Michael Pennington, Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart and David Suchet.
Ian McKellan describes the thoughts and ideas that run through an actor's mind as he prepares for a major soliloquy, and Patrick Stewart contrast two different performances of the speech by Enobarbus from 'Antony and Cleopatra.'
The programme is introduced by Trevor Nunn.

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

Alan Howard's voice was honey nectar of the gods. I was saddened to hear of his passing last month. One of the great Shakespearean actors of last century.

[@danielgrimston5767]

Alan Howard really is something... He barks like a wolf and burns like the moon.

[@kurtisstraub2574]

Thank you so much for posting this! I've only seen Sir Ian explicating Macbeth from this program -- and they threw in Captain Picard, Poirot, and Coriolanus as well! Not to mention the commander of the 2nd Death Star. Wonderful to see great actors at their craft.

[@davidsh752]

Alan Howard's Achilles really is something. I wish we'd have more of his performances still.

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

Is that why mine were hurting last year?

[@wendyhunter5913]

I thought the very same thing. This clip showed me his brilliance that I hadn't seen before.

[@davidscohen9933]

To the Alan Howard fans below: Have you seen the BBC version of "Coriolanus" that stars him in the title role? You'll not be disappointed!

[@abdullwahab_q8526]

I saw it twice years ago, but sadly I tried to look for it for two days and I couldn't find it sadly.

[@geoffberesford]

What a privilege to be able to see such an outstanding group of thoroughly great actors performing together in this way under one roof! I did get to watch it on television at the time of its first broadcast, but seeing the full production again emphasises just what a one-off opportunity it had been to get such unique talent together in one room like this for a TV recording session. I could listen to any of these actors speaking Shakespeare all day long, but for me, it is Alan Howard who truly stands out in so far as his ability, (even in studio rehearsal conditions) to seize an audience in the manner in which he invariably does and to carry them with him from the very first moment he begins to speak. It does seem a great pity that more was not done to preserve at least some of his complete theatrical performances for the visual media. All the same, thank you, Sir Trevor for pulling the whole thing together for the benefit of us all in this way! Cheers to you and to the whole cast!

[@ashleyfain]

This was my introduction to Alan Howard and I can't remember the last time an actor so immediately wowed me. His chilling portrayal here of Achilles is just stunning.

[@geoffberesford]

It certainly is indeed and it leaves you wanting much more, doesn't it?

[@MrDavey2010]

Alan Howard was a wonderful actor who never received proper recognition.

[@andrewdeakin7078]

Fantastic program - the scene from Troilus and Cressida is especially insightful. McKellen's Nestor is wonderfully comic character acting. Pennington's Hector and Howard's Achilles squaring off is a great example of the dramatic tension that close attention to the text can deliver. The playing reminded me that this scene is constructed and written to display the key warriors of the Trojan War in all their nobility, strength, and brute contention, and that T&C is much more than just a satire on war, and, like everything in Shakespeare, too complex and comprehensive to categorise simply.

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

Nice

[@dramaqueen5748]

blimey look at patrick stewart

[@HalfManThirdBiscuit]

I love the awkward silence after every comment from Stewart.

[@marypagones6073]

John Barton’s Playing Shakespeare, Michael Pennington’s books on Shakespearean plays, and above all Trevor Nunn’s productions were foundational in how I read and write literature today. But Terry Hands smoking and talking about breathwork is soooo 1979.😂

[@cowboynyc]

This "Surrey," to whom John Barton attributes the invention of blank verse, was Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey--son of the Duke of Norfolk that we know (or think we know) from "A Man For All Seasons." A running gag in Hilary Mantel's "The Mirror and the Light" has it that Surrey is a poet wannabe, but his rhymes are uniformly lousy. Surrey did eventually adapt Petrarch's unrhymed Italian verse to English, and translated a few books of the "Aeneid" into what is now known as "blank verse," earning himself a place in the Silver Age of early modern English poetry. Unfortunately, the Earl was entangled in the sexual scandals of his cousin, Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, and had his head cut off. Thomas Wyatt, another "Silver Age" poet, adapted Petrarch's sonnet form to rhyme-poor English, although Shakespeare gets all the credit. Wyatt was the childhood sweetheart (and maybe more) of Anne Boleyn, but managed to keep his head because Thomas Cromwell owed his father a favor.

[@ashleyfain]

This is a real treasure. I had goosebumps several times throughout. Thank you very much for sharing it.

[@janiakowska]

sir Ian Mackellen is so brilliant !

[@duben55]

One marvel of a voice after another; as if I hear Shakespeare's lines for the first time! Thank you.

[@Thriller94]

Jane Lapotaire and Alan Howard are so wonderful.. They have a wonderful handle on the "underneath" of a text and their execution is brilliant. Sir Ian is such a bitch hahah, I love how he just gets up and says, "if you learned anything in this class, it should be that everything that was taught is not correct for me". Hahahah that's hilarious.

[@emblem1980]

Prof X and Magneto likes Shakesphere

[@ElectroIsMyReligion]

Gandalf and Sauron in one setting!

[@zeddeka]

Prophetic words from Trevor Nunn about how what they were doing then in 1979 would seem quaint by the start of the next century, which would have been 2000. Watching this, I can't help but think of French & Saunders' 1995 sketch with Helen Mirren, mocking the pretentiousness and tedious, esoteric micro-analysis that this particular kind of approach engendered. Fry and Laurie also did an excellent spoof of it. It lent itself very well to mockery. It's something that is very much less fashionable than it once was.

[@canarddefer3574]

Hm. The presentation may be a little dated, but not what they're discussing. Actors today discuss exactly the same things in exactly the same way. It's a necessary part of the process.

[@AntKneeLeafEllipse]

Anybody have access to Pennington's Hamlet? Just incredible in these snippets, and I love his book on Hamlet.

[@marypagones6073]

As do I! My copy worn through! I’ve only seen small clips of his performance in Barton’s Playing Shakespeare, alas.

[@Currabell]

All men chattering and only one woman. Otherwise, a terrific programme.

[@Zenmyster]

Interesting combo. Explication, English theory, an actor's Worksop, all done on television. They don't even do this on PBS.

[@nashferguson3117]

Is that @Daniel Day-Lewis? 34:22

[@deckarde4919]

The reading of the exchange between Achilles and Hector is magic. And this is just a workshop.

[@w.m.aslam-author]

What a wonderful treasure of a programme! This is why I love KZbin!.Thank you for uploading.

[@douglasmilton2805]

John Barton very impressive as a director here, so insightful but so gentle with his suggestions. He must have been a joy to work with. I loved the Troilus and Cressida rehearsal, learned so much.

[@douglasmilton2805]

PS: Ian McKellen’s Macbeth exegesis was fantastic as well, he just inhabited every word of those lines.

[@infograffitrees5879]

Thank you RSC. Thank you for sharing. subscribed

[@julyandavis8528]

So interesting. Thanks for posting this.

[@angelahope7944]

WOW that takes me back seeing the old LWT titles.Love the south bank show too.

[@arrystophanes7909]

Is it me or is John Barton of rather vinegar aspect on this occasion ?

[@Jeremy0459]

I listen to Ian McKellen's Nestor and I just hear Gandalf lol.

[@WelshIron]

I really enjoyed that. Thank you so much for uploading it.

[@Nelsonhojax15]

I would give me left hand to go back in time and have an entire production of Troilus and Cressida filmed, featuring these actors. Pennington, Suchet, Stewart, McKellen, Howard, etc. The absolute heavyweights of their age. T&C is an all time favorite of mine, but no one ever does it, or does it right at least. Here, the dialogue sings perfectly. That balance of tension, dread, tragedy and humor effortlessly mixed.

[@miguelangeldemiguelylorenz4564]

I don´t like chategorizaiting people,or actors,and this is one other lecture that is needed to do. And i felt very wrong,very bud, seeing all of them ,(over all Ian,adore him),under any comand or order from a "more expert" as a child....; This is a constructure that is given always, but not necesarily the best for all, us ,them , and art too. So i think they are afraid of being rejected always and this is not good for their inner children as actors...nor persons....not anybody...and i am tired of this "profesional system" of competition,so exclusive and les considerable with all. I think we need a deep reform or reformulation of the art of theatre practing as a whole,as a humanistic practise itself that works?sometimes,as a self destroing organization of human rights, that works as "the mine is better" or "i am better than you " (not different ) Necessary ? Sorry put the focus in other places...but i defend the actor as an adult in a system interested in treating him or her as ,only a child with skills. Nothing to do,and the fault is on the actor/actress too ;because a righteous director, need an "alumn" actor. So that ´s a play together played.

[@zeddeka]

Hilarious that Alan Howard has his cigarette in a cigarette holder. A lot of comedy has since been based on the Shakespearian actors of that era.

[@imaniushindifanga127]

'how to play" is a big deal for these men. this is an hour + on "how to play". What version of how to play will get the best positive reactions. It would be better if they showed it more than having all this speech mediating what they are trying to relay to interested parties.

[@infograffitrees5879]

With respect, 06:36 and 10:39 mark (at least) two 'funny moments'. Thank you for sharing this marvelous document.

[@peterhagan8454]

What a brilliant insight and lesson am going to dust up on my complete works of william Shakespeare (audible) as i am visually impaired and decante these forms

[@wildandbarefoot]

Really anoyed I'm so enjoying this and yet it's so inconvenient to my late hour. Damn. Love the Roy Kinear tale

[@jeffcd3559]

That sonnet would work perfectly in a mildly yiddish accent.

[@glennmiddleton3324]

The South Bank show always tried to make the arts accessible.

[@luciano9009]

Sir Patrick looks like Shakespeare.

[@Efelblumfever]

Didn't he play Shakespeare in Bond's Bingo?

[@compagniaelvira]

3:42 I love the fact Eric Shorter's quote is actually shorter than the previous one.

[@josephkarl2061]

7:55 Shakespeare and the Grand National in one speech - impressive!

[@Tokiofritz]

I knew that was the guy from Return of the Jedi!

[@kommissar.murphy]

3.35 lol, They totally got Patrick Stewart to voice the Telegraph's theatre critic. Patrick is always on the lookout for those side gigs!

[@ennesshay5040]

Today, when asked where he and McKellen first met he always says on X-Men. How could he forget this ?!

[@whatshisname3304]

my past awakened,,,, thank you...

[@brendansmith379]

holy man the animation at the start is top notch

[@Splurgendii]

Was the entire workshop deleted?

[@baldrbraa]

How did PS look that old in 1979?

[@kevinlaing8550]

What does 'coin' the words mean? Anybody know?

[@canarddefer3574]

As in 'to coin a phrase', i.e., make the words sound new-minted, as if you are speaking your thoughts as they occur.

[@MTitterington]

1:20:00 TIIIIIIIIIME!

[@TheRagBag]

What if they've all got the wrong end of the stick and Shakespeare never meant any of this analysing shit?😆

[@lameduck3630]

Shakespeare was black, Trans, and Lesbian and a revolutionary socialist.

[@adscri]

Analysis of the sonnet. It is a certainty that words with a double meaning today in fact had the same double meanings in Shakespeare’s day?

[@MJSalls]

This may be the best thing on KZbin.

[@23strawbale]

Something tells me that this not how they approached the plays when they were first performed. Neither the received English accent, nor the deep analysis.

[@zeddeka]

Well, the received pronunciation accent didn't exist back then, so it's a pretty safe bet to say they didn't perform it like that

[@canarddefer3574]

You're right: no one believes that Shakespeare's actors had time to discuss their plays in this sort of detail, but it's generally accepted that they were, of necessity, fast thinkers who developed their characterisations on the fly. In any case, Shakespeare gave them all the clues they needed in his writing. Modern actors working to tight deadlines work the same way.

[@aaronbazil]

In my early 20s,I used to hold these videos as the holy grail when I was studying Shakespeare before performing it. Now, as I approach the semi-seasoned age of 30, I just now FEEL like they do too much. They're like scholars of jazz, whereas Jazz music is supposed be felt. It's not intellectualized. Once you learn the form through playing it, it reveals itself but not by sitting down and analyzing every chord progression, mode changes, and harmonic or melodic choices. It's not explained, and those who can explain it rarely play it that well. They are good teachers, but not original creators. Now i understand that later on experienced players can attempt to intellectualize what they've been intuitively doing/feeling while playing jazz, but that's only an approximation of how it really is. Just play, man.

[@zacknicley8150]

I appreciate your comment. But you’re saying that the best cannot articulate/explain what they do and if you can articulate/explain well how to do it you won’t be one who does it well? That’s kinda harsh.

[@aaronbazil]

@@zacknicley8150 it's rare, bro. If they can, usually they're not that great. The more you know the more you realize how much you don't know. Some shit is just magic bro. Inexplicable. Intuitive. Felt. From somewhere else. Etc. Look at that interview where they ask Michael Jackson what he's thinking about when he's dancing. What does he say: "I'm not thinking at all." Lol. I can link you to some interviews of some of the greatest people in all fields and the answers are very similar bro... and if you're a creative yourself you know this to be true. Look into it.

[@alfredthomas2030]

Soooo middle class. About as far from Shakespeare's theatre as can be imagined.

[@buckleygeneration]

Well, what can you do. Shakespeare is old, and today’s working class is just less likely to gravitate towards it.

[@KorAnos1]

@@buckleygeneration Also, much of Shakespeare's original audience _was_ , in fact, middle class, and several of his later plays were written to be performed at court, even _further_ up the social hierarchy, so I don't see the relevance of the criticism here.

[@retribution999]

But the lines are the same and the audience in Shakespeare's time must have had the intelligence to understand it. Its not middle class, its just not dumbed down and debased like all else

[@douglasmilton2805]

Only the middle classes use ‘middle class’ as an insult. Most odd. Particularly prevalent in The Guardian.