The Actor and His Text - Tapa blanda

The Actor and His Text is a direct extension of Cicely Berry's first book, Voice and the Actor. It sets out to apply the methods of voice production directly and practically to the speaking of text. Specifically, it addresses the problem of how to infuse life and meaning into words that are first encountered on the printed page. While the greater part of her book is about the speaking of Shakespeare, Cicely Berry also includes the speaking of modern plays, such as those of Davis Rudkin and Edward Bond. She expands, too, on the exercises given in Voice and the Actor which help to develop relaxation, breathing and muscular control.

Cicely Berry is the Voice Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and is involved in all its productions. Over the years she has worked with actors such as Antony Sher, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons, Sinead Cusack and Jonathan Pryce. She has worked extensively with actors and acting companies abroad, particularly in the United States, China, India, Australia and Europe. Cicely Berry is also deeply involved with education work in Britain, taking workshops in schools and colleges. She sees her most important work in this area as that done with secondary school teachers, aimed at finding ways of teaching Shakespeare which make the plays more immediate and alive. She is patron of both Leicester and Northumberland Youth Theatres. She also works in prisons. In 1985, Cicely Berry directed a production of Hamlet for the National theatre Education Department which toured successfully in colleges and arts centres throughout Europe.