{"product_id":"9781848422933","title":"Brutus and Other Heroines","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A part we have played is like a person we once met, grew to know, became intimately enmeshed with and finally moved away from. Some of these characters remain friends, others are like ex-lovers with whom we no longer have anything in common. All of them bring something out in us that will never go back in the box.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a varied and distinguished career, Harriet Walter has played almost all of Shakespeare's heroines, notably \u003cstrong\u003eOphelia\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eHelena\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003ePortia\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eViola\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eImogen\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eLady Macbeth\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eBeatrice\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eCleopatra\u003c\/strong\u003e, mostly for the Royal Shakespeare Company. But where, she asks, does an actress go after playing Cleopatra's magnificent death? Why didn't Shakespeare write more - and more powerful - roles for mature women?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor Walter, the solution was to ignore the dictates of centuries of tradition, and to begin playing the mature \u003cem\u003emale\u003c\/em\u003e characters. Her \u003cstrong\u003eBrutus\u003c\/strong\u003e in an all-female \u003cem\u003eJulius Caesar \u003c\/em\u003eat the Donmar Warehouse was widely acclaimed, and was soon followed by \u003cstrong\u003eHenry IV\u003c\/strong\u003e. What, she asks, can an actress bring to these roles - and is there any fundamental difference in the way they must be played?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eBrutus and Other Heroines\u003c\/em\u003e, Walter discusses each of these roles - both male and female - from the inside, explaining the particular choices she made in preparing and performing each character. Her extraordinarily perceptive and intimate accounts illuminate each play as a whole, offering a treasure trove of valuable insights for theatregoers, scholars and anyone interested in how the plays work on stage. Aspiring actors, too, will discover the many possibilities open to them in playing these magnificent roles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is an exploration of the Shakespearean canon through the eyes of a self-identified 'feminist actor' - but, above all, a remarkable account of an acting career unconstrained by tradition or expectations. It concludes with an affectionate rebuke to her beloved Will: 'I cannot imagine a world without you. I just wish you had put more women at the centre of your world\/stage… I would love you to come back and do some rewrites.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A glorious reminder that genuine diversity on stage offers astonishing creative benefits… Harriet \u003cspan class=\"il\"\u003eWalter\u003c\/span\u003e is mesmerising in one play after another, bringing her classical training to bear as a conflicted Brutus, then a Henry IV who wears his crown heavily, and finally a Prospero who knows that the steel bars of prison are resistant to all magic… this is genuinely art to enchant' \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e on the Donmar Warehouse's Shakespeare Trilogy\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Walter, Harriet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56710285984130,"sku":"9781848422933","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0936\/6575\/5522\/files\/9781848422933.jpg?v=1781518853","url":"https:\/\/archwaybookshop.co.uk\/products\/9781848422933","provider":"Archway Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}