Playing Shakespeare

Shakespeare wrote for a performance style that differs in many respects from modern, "naturalistic" acting. Barton urges the actors to marry both traditions for the richest, most faithful characterizations.

By varying the stresses contained in a line and using other poetic techniques, Shakespeare planted subtle clues for the actors playing a scene.

Barton and the company search for antitheses in the verse to reveal complexity of character, working to make dialogue seem fresh and spontaneous.

Patrick Stewart and David Suchet demonstrate their individual approaches to one of Shakespeare's most fascinating characters--Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

Understanding the underlying poetic structure of long speeches and soliloquies helps the actor engage the audience in the character's thought processes.

How do actors identify ironic dialogue? How do they use it to reveal character? And how do they communicate it to the audience?

In many instances, Shakespeare expressed overflowing emotion and profound thought in the very same speech. How do actors balance the heart and the intellect?

Without stage blocking, Barton and four actors explore Shakespeare's verse as they would in rehearsal, using a scene from Twelfth Night.

Barton examines three ways in which performance falls short of hopes, and members of the company reflect on changing styles of Shakespearean performance.