So here is a lighthearted but hopefully, at times, moving entertainment, I call
'Acting - a Cue for Passion.' A glance over my shoulder at a life spent in the
'unholy profession', as it has been called - on stage, and in film and
television.
From the Greek thespians in their huge masks, gliding - on built up
boots - into a vast auditorium of twenty thousand people, to the seaside
comedian with his ingratiating smile.
From the glittering facade of show business to the back stage dressing room
gossip - here is a personal impression of just what it takes to stride on to the
boards and face the audience.
Of course there are amusing incidents; the incredible superstition that
still prevails in the darkened wings of the theatre; and the theories of how a
human being who is busy shopping quietly in the supermarket in the afternoon can
transform himself into a blazing Henry V by 7:30 pm that night.
How does an actor approach a part ? How does he make sure that he can be
heard ? What is it like to be in a long running soap opera ?
Above all, does the camaraderie and the compassion, whether encountered in
the Royal Shakespeare Company or a struggling seaside rep, more than compensate
for the moments when the actor remembers his well meaning father saying : "Don't
give up the day job, son !".
When Colin George saw Sir Laurence Olivier as Henry V, he knew what he
wanted to do - be a King Henry himself. Come and share the adventures that
followed.
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