My Shakespeare cover art

My Shakespeare

A Director’s Journey through the First Folio

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

My Shakespeare

By: Greg Doran
Narrated by: Greg Doran
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £18.18

Buy Now for £18.18

Bloomsbury presents My Shakespeare written and read by Greg Doran.

This book charts the personal and professional journey of Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2012 until 2022 and "one of the great Shakespearians of his generation" (Sunday Times).

During his illustrious career, Doran has directed or produced all of the plays within Shakespeare's First Folio — a milestone reached in the same year that the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of its original publication.

Each chapter looks at a different play, considering the choices made and weaving in both autobiographical detail and background on the RSC, as well as giving insights into key collaborations, including those with actors such as Judi Dench, David Tennant, Harriet Walter, Patrick Stewart, Simon Russell Beale, Paterson Joseph and Doran's husband, the late Antony Sher, as well as seminal practitioners such as Cicely Berry, John Barton and Terry Hands.

Through Doran's account of this extraordinary journey, we see how Henry VIII, initially regarded as a poisoned chalice, became his lucky break; how the tragedy of 9/11 unfolded during a matinee of King John and how the language of the play went some way in helping to articulate the unfathomable; how a RSC supporter bequeathed their skull to the company to be used as Yorick in Hamlet; how meeting Nelson Mandela inspired the production of Julius Caesar; how Falstaff was introduced to China for the very first time; and how arachnophobia informed the production of Macbeth.

This book uniquely captures the excitement, energy, surprises, joys and agonies of working on these greatest of plays; sheds new light on these plays through Doran’s own research and discoveries made in the rehearsal room; and gives unprecedented access into the craft, life and loves of this exceptional director.©2023 Greg Doran (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Entertainment & Performing Arts Literary History & Criticism Entertainment Celebrity Theatre Shakespeare Royalty
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

This career retrospective, centred on the Folio, reflects Doran’s temperament: decent, diligent, likeable, lucid. It’s openly learned, plunging into a close reading of Romeo and Juliet’s prologue, but it’s also candid. (Dominic Cavendish)
It has given me so much joy to read the story of Greg Doran's journey through these great plays. Fantastic, informative, revealing, occasionally gossipy and thoroughly engrossing, this is a remarkable memoir of a remarkable career. Greg Doran’s brilliance, clarity of thought and – most of all – his humanity shines through.
One of the distinctive achievements of Greg Doran’s recently concluded term as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company was to direct all the plays in the First Folio, creating a deposit of excellent, thoughtful renderings. His recollections and reflections on these productions are collected in My Shakespeare. Some chapters are almost entirely anecdotal, but there are few if any that fail to cast some new light on the drama under discussion. (Rowan Williams)
Doran reflects with intelligence and grace and wit on himself and those with whom he has worked, and on the ways in which they sought to breathe fresh life into a series of plays that, for the most part, audiences think they know well … You’ll find it an informative-instructive delight. (Rhodri Lewis)
This year marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, which was met with a deluge of accompanying books. This is the best and most fun.
A revelatory and revolutionary breakdown of the canon in a way that works for both the professional and uninitiated. His (obviously tight) grip on Shakespeare's universe is permeated by reverence and deference, but what seeps through the pages is his pure love for his language and characters … It's a joy to (re)discover Shakespeare's plays through his eyes. (Cindy Marcolina)
Whether you are looking for insights into both major and minor works by the Bard, the story of two theatrical giants or a history of the RSC over the last few decades, My Shakespeare is a must-read and must-buy, since this is the kind of thoughtful, well-written and consistently entertaining book that any lover of serious theatre would be delighted to read or receive as a gift. For any budding director who wants to bring Shakespeare to the stage, it could also act as a highly readable manual, offering morsels of intelligent guidance that only come with a lifetime’s experience. (Philip Fisher)
What runs through this fascinating book is not only [Doran’s] passionate commitment, but his belief that Shakespeare holds up a mirror to all our lives and to the tumultuous times in which we live … The results are constantly illuminating … This is a very good book that reminds us that practitioners often make the best commentators … [A] thought-provoking journey through the First Folio. (Michael Billington)
All stars
Most relevant
This was so enlightening. A fantastic whistle-stop tour through all plays of the first folio (what an achievement!) but also a beautiful narrative of Doran’s own life and love and how it interweaves with the plays. Just fabulous - I can’t wait to listen to it again.

Absolutely brilliant ❤️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
‘Moving, delicate and full of life’. It’s almost a history of my theatre going too, an essential theatre book.

‘The book of his good acts’

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Covering every Shakespeare play,Greg Doran has directed them all. His insight is and spellbinding.
A wonderful read.

Genius, ultimate Shakespeare

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I learned so much from this book. I had not realised how many of these productions I had seen since York 2000. Thank you Greg for bringing so many of them to the screen. The glimpses into the depth of knowledge required to stage new productions at the RSC given in this book was wonderful. I will be returning to the book again and again as I see the plays.

A totally brilliant exploration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.