Acting Shakespeare with Andy Murray

Acting Shakespeare is the ultimate challenge for an actor. If you can acquire the skills to do it you’ll be able to master any heightened text – whether it’s a play by George Bernard Shaw, the script of a TV series set in ancient Rome, or a villain’s speech in a Marvel movie.

Shakespeare created the most fascinating characters in dramatic literature, and this workshop will teach you how to identify the many tools that he gives you to help create those characters. You’ll learn all about the rhetorical devices he uses and how to analyse his verse, so that you can start incorporating the full range of dramatic possibilities into your work. We’ll study soliloquies, speeches and scenes, examining their structures and breaking them down into units of action, ensuring that your acting stays firmly grounded in the truth and has spontaneity and power.

No matter the quality of your voice or your type of accent, if you’re willing to experiment with using words in a new way you’ll deepen your relationship with language, and transform yourself into a more expressive and exciting actor.

* You should have a verse soliloquy or speech memorised beforehand and must bring along an edition of Shakespeare’s Complete works.