Sixth Form Recommended Reading

The Theater and Its Double by Antonin Artaud

An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski

A collection of manifestos originally published in 1938, The Theater and Its Double is the fullest statement of the ideas of Antonin Artaud. “We cannot go on prostituting the idea of the theater, the only value of which is in its excruciating, magical rela tion to reality and danger,” he wrote. He fought vigorously against an encroaching conventionalism he found anathema to the very concept of theatre and sought to use it to transcend writing, “to break through the language in order to touch life.”

An Actor Prepares is the most famous acting training book ever to have been written and the work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers. Stanislavski deals with the inward preparation an actor must undergo in order to explore a role to the full. He introduces the concepts of the 'magic if' units and objectives, of emotion memory, of the super-objective and many more now famous rehearsal aids. This is an essential read for actors, directors and anyone interested in the art of drama.

The Empty Space by Peter Brook

Ground-breaking director Peter Brook draws on a love of the stage to explore the issues facing any theatrical performance. He describes important developments in theatre from the last century, as well as smaller scale events, from productions by Stanislavsky to the rise of Method Acting to Brecht's revolutionary alienation technique, and from the different styles of such great Shakespearean actors to a joyous impromptu performance in the burnt-out shell of the Hamburg Opera just after the war. Passionate, unconventional and fascinating, Brook shows how theatre defies rules, builds and shatters illusions and creates lasting memories for its audiences.