Title: Year of the King: An Actor’s Diary and Sketchbook, 20th Anniversary Edition
Author: Antony Sher
ISBN: 978-0-87910-335-3
Publisher: Limelight Editions
My Advice: Own It
I first became acquainted with Sher’s work during my time in grad school. I was working on Richard III for scene work in class and the book was recommended to me by my professor. In addition to his own insights into the preparation for this role, the thing that struck me most about this book is that it’s the best book I have ever read on the actor’s process. Sher found out he was cast in this role one year before opening night. He spent that entire year in his own type of preparation for the role. Thankfully, for us, he journalized the entire experience - complete with his own sketches of images that helped him shape the role.
In this edition, Sher takes a step back in time (along with a little help from his dresser at the RSC) to reminisc about his experiences with this role some 20 years ago.
If Sher were to try this same thing today, I don’t know if it would have the same effect. It might have been done in blog/online journal form and while I believe in the power of this technology, I don’t think it has the same heart. When you read this book and see his sketches and drawings, there is a sense of the gritty raw reality that comes from from the live theatre. It’s almost like you can see the drops of sweat from his brow on every page of this book. You just can’t get that same thing from a website.
From the day he found out he was cast in the role, Sher noted everything in his journal. Even the smallest details of his personal life seemed to find a way into this journal and ultimately into his performance. Every interaction with another human being, every bit of current events, every geographical landmark seemed to find its way into this journal. His sketches of what Gloucester should look like, both inside and out, are quite simply breathtaking. And, remarkably, Sher’s own insecurities as an actor take center stage. He is very candid with his readers about how he was constantly nagged by the feeling that he simply wasn’t up to preparing this role, let alone playing the role. Even as the opening night approached, his feelings of inadequacies seemed to almost bury him deeper and deeper. In fact, in his own words, during his opening night performance, he is still worried about his process:
The second half is much better. The audience appears to have decided it’s not at all bad. They’re more relaxed and confident and therefore so am I. Who’s in charge here?
My voice lasts well and, thank God, I’ve got some big guns left for the oration. But no breakthrough on the nightmare speech.
Every actor I know has had some experience similar to this. As I constantly say to my acting students, live theatre is the only artform where you get immediate and raw feedback from your patrons. For good or for ill, you are in each other’s hands. If you don’t like them, they won’t like you, but thankfully, the reverse is also true.
Sher proves something else for actors in his book. I have no idea whether this was intended or not, but the theme of this book seems to be: Only through opening yourself up and laying all of your gorey messy insides out for all to see can you truly succeed as an artist. There is no other book that I know of that puts for this idea so clearly without beating you over the head with it.
I would have loved to have seen this performance. I feel like I have lived through the process!
Thank you, Mr. Sher.
