‘A spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It's also a rousing reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves heard.’ EVENING STANDARD ‘The great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm’s speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms. It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life and polemical potency.’ GUARDIAN The little we know of Emilia Bassano Lanier (1569 - 1645) is that she may have been the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's Sonnets, mistress of Lord Chamberlain, one of the first English female poets to be published, a mother, teacher who founded a school for women, and radical feminist with North African ancestry. Living at a time when women had such limited opportunities, Emilia Lanier is therefore a fascinating subject for this speculative history. In telling her story, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm represents the stories of women everywhere whose narratives have been written out of history. Originally commissioned for Shakespeare's Globe with an all-female cast, Emilia is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition with commentary and notes by Elizabeth Schafer, Professor of Drama at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

"In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history." -President Barack Obama, 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony "Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and a mother, a sister and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by his hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say." -Cicely Tyson

"Who doesn't know Paul Newman? The man with the beautiful blue eyes, the chiselled face and body, the 50-plus years of memorable acting and directing roles, the awards, the movie-star marriage. Well, it turns out, there is lots more to know." - Parade Magazine "Newman's preternaturally piercing baby blue eyes shine through in every picture, and he was well aware of how his fame rested on the colour of his irises." - Peter Sheridan, Daily Express "Hollywood Hunk Paul Newman as you've never seen him before." - Yahoo! News "Paired with raw and unvarnished commentary from the photographers themselves, Newman's incomparable authenticity and appealing persona bleed through each page." - Newsweek Once, when asked how he'd like to be remembered, Paul Newman replied: "I'd like to be remembered as a guy who tried. Tried to be part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in his own life, tried to extend himself as a human being." As an actor who became a film star, Newman repeatedly tapped into his times and in doing so redefined what movie stardom could be. Newman was a new kind of movie star, bringing a particular authenticity, intensity and sensitivity to his performances. Throughout his career, Newman was extensively photographed: these images enriched film audiences' connection to him as a cool and graceful presence both on and off-screen. Milton Greene, Douglas Kirkland, Lawrence Fried, Terry O'Neill, Al Satterwhite and Eva Sereny are amongst the photographers who worked with Newman on and off-set across his career. From early stage work with his wife, Joanne Woodward, to his love of racing cars, to the essential 1980s drama Absence of Malice to the great success of the new western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the cult favourites, Pocket Money and The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Newman's movies were an essential part of American culture. With comment and contributions from the photographers, Paul Newman: Blue Eyed Cool, gathers together portraits, stage, racing and on-set photography - including never before seen images - in a celebration of an actor who was always... cool. Paul Newman: Blue Eyed Cool is a must-have for fans who see in Newman's work and in his life a true hero.

Other early 'stand-out' roles came in the premieres of Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine (1979) and Mike Leigh's Goose Pimples (1981). He was Malcolm Bradbury's History Man on TV (1981) before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982, where he has played a huge variety of leading role in modern plays such as David Edgar's Maydays (1983) and Peter Flannery's Singer (1989) but chiefly in Shakespeare. He was the Fool to Michael Gambon's Lear, a famous Richard III, Shylock, Malvolio, Leontes, Macbeth with Harriet Walter, and, currently, Iago. For the RSC he was also Cyrano and Tamburlaine and the Malcontent. Interspersed with these were appearances at the National Theatre - as Astrov to Ian McKellen's Uncle Vanya, as Stanley Spencer in Pam Gems's play and as Titus Andronicus, which he originated at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg. In October 2004 he will appear at the National again in his own play based on Primo Levi's This was a Man. Following his debut as a writer with Year of the King, he has written four novels - Middlepost, Indoor Boy, Cheap Lives and The Feast - as well as an autobiography, Beside Myself (2001), and a play, I.D. (premiered at the Almeida, 2003).

In But Enough About Me, legendary film actor and Hollywood superstar Burt Reynolds recalls the people who shaped his life and career, for better or for worse. From Robert Altman, Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood and Robert Mitchum to Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Woody Allen and Kirsty Alley, Burt pays homage to those he loves and respected, acknowledges those who've stayed loyal, and calls out the assholes he can't forgive. Recalling his life and career spanning over 50 glorious years, the legendary actor gives special attention to the two great loves of his life, Dinah Shore and Sally Field, his son, Quinton, as well as to the countless people who got in his way on his journey to Hollywood domination. With chapters on his early childhood, how he discovered acting, played poker with Frank Sinatra, received directing advice from Orson Welles, his golden years in Hollywood, his comeback in the late 1990s, and how his life and art led him to found the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre, But Enough About Me is a gripping and eye-opening story of one of cinema's true greats.

Sean Connery was one of cinema's most iconic stars. Born to a working-class family in Edinburgh, he held jobs as a milkman and an artist's model before making the move into acting. The role of James Bond earned him global fame, but threatened to eclipse his identity as an actor. This book offers a new perspective on Connery's career. It pays special attention to his star status, while arguing that he was a risk-taking actor who fashioned an impressive body of work. Beginning with Connery's early appearances on stage and television, including well-received performances in Shakespeare and Tolstoy, the book goes on to explore the Bond phenomenon and Connery's long struggle to reinvent himself. An Oscar-winning performance in The Untouchables marked the beginning of a second period of stardom, during which Connery successfully developed the character of the father-mentor. Ten years after his retirement from acting, he was still rated as the most popular British star among American audiences. Exploring how Connery's performances combine to form an all-encompassing screen legend, the book also considers how the actor embodied national identity, both on screen and through his public role as an activist campaigning for Scottish independence. -- .

In celebration of his one-hundredth birthday, a charming, irresistibly readable, and handsomely packaged look back at the life and times of the greatest entertainer in American history, Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's Century is an irresistible collection of one-hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story, by a lifetime fan who also happens to be one of the poetry world's most prominent voices. David Lehman uses each of these short pieces to look back on a single facet of the entertainer's story-from his childhood in Hoboken, to his emergence as "The Voice" in the 1940s, to the wild professional (and romantic) fluctuations that followed. Lehman offers new insights and revisits familiar stories-Sinatra's dramatic love affairs with some of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, including Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Ava Gardner; his fall from grace in the late 1940s and resurrection during the "Capitol Years" of the 1950s; his bonds with the rest of the Rat Pack; and his long tenure as the Chairman of the Board, viewed as the eminence grise of popular music inspiring generations of artists, from Bobby Darin to Bono to Bob Dylan. Brimming with Lehman's own lifelong affection for Sinatra, the book includes lists of unforgettable performances; engaging insight on what made Sinatra the model of American machismo-and the epitome of romance; and clear-eyed assessments of the foibles that impacted his life and work. Warm and enlightening, Sinatra's Century is full-throated appreciation of Sinatra for every fan.

'The book is great: moving but also properly funny.' Hadley Freeman, The Guardian 'A memoir with an unusual sense of purpose. . . pithy, highly readable' The Times The entire world knows Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, the teenage sidekick of Doc Brown in Back to the Future. His two previous bestselling memoirs, Lucky Man and Always Looking Up, dealt with how he came to terms with the illness, all the while exhibiting his iconic optimism. In No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, Michael shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, ageing, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality. Thoughtful and moving, but with Fox's trademark sense of humour, his book provides a vehicle for reflection about our lives, our loves, and our losses. Running through the narrative is the drama of the medical madness Fox recently experienced, that included his daily negotiations with the Parkinson's disease he's had since 1991, and a spinal cord issue that necessitated immediate surgery. His challenge to learn how to walk again, only to suffer a devastating fall, nearly caused him to ditch his trademark optimism and "get out of the lemonade business altogether." Does he make it all of the way back? Read the book.

William Forsythe's reinvigoration of classical ballet during his 20-year tenure at the Ballett Frankfurt saw him lauded as one of the greatest choreographers of the postwar era. His current work with The Forsythe Company has gone even further to challenge and investigate fundamental assumptions about choreography itself.

William Forsythe and the Practice of Choreography presents a diverse range of critical writings on his work, with illuminating analysis of his practice from an interdisciplinary perspective. The book also contains insightful working testaments from Forsythe's collaborators, as well as a contribution from the choreographer himself.

With essays covering all aspects of Forsythe's past and current work, readers are provided with an unparalleled view into the creative world of this visionary artist, as well as a comprehensive resource for students, scholars, and practitioners of ballet and contemporary dance today.

William Forsythe s reinvigoration of classical ballet during his 20-year tenure at the Ballett Frankfurt saw him lauded as one of the greatest choreographers of the postwar era. His current work with The Forsythe Company has gone even further to challenge and investigate fundamental assumptions about choreography itself.

William Forsythe and the Practice of Choreography presents a diverse range of critical writings on his work, with illuminating analysis of his practice from an interdisciplinary perspective. The book also contains insightful working testaments from Forsythe s collaborators, as well as a contribution from the choreographer himself.

With essays covering all aspects of Forsythe s past and current work, readers are provided with an unparalleled view into the creative world of this visionary artist, as well as a comprehensive resource for students, scholars, and practitioners of ballet and contemporary dance today.

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An intimate, behind-the-scenes, richly illustrated celebration of beloved The Office co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's friendship, and an insiders' view of Pam Beesly, Angela Martin, and the iconic TV show. Featuring many of their never-before-seen photos. Receptionist Pam Beesly and accountant Angela Martin had very little in common when they toiled together at Scranton's Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. But, in reality, the two bonded in their very first days on set and, over the nine seasons of the series' run, built a friendship that transcended the show and continues to this day. Sharing everything from what it was like in the early days as the show struggled to gain traction, to walking their first red carpet-plus exclusive stories on the making of milestone episodes and how their lives changed when they became moms-The Office BFFs is full of the same warm and friendly tone Jenna and Angela have brought to their Office Ladies podcast.

There is no one quite like Brian Blessed. He's an actor, film star, trained undertaker, unlikely diplomat, secret romantic, martial artist and mountaineer. He's also a brilliant storyteller who will - and you must brace yourself - simply leap out of the pages at you. Ready? Then open Absolute Pandemonium and you'll be taken on a riotous journey from his childhood, growing up the son of a miner in Goldthorpe, to finding fame in Z-Cars. You'll see Brian falling for Katharine Hepburn on the set of The Trojan Women, suffering wires strapped round his wotsits as he was hoisted into the heavens on Flash Gordon, almost causing an international incident when meeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and winning round George Lucas to get the role of Boss Nass on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Along the way he takes secret revenge on headmistress Mrs Jarman and her very big bottom, punches Harold Pinter, loves and hates Peter O'Toole, woos his beautiful wife Hildegard Neil and braves the shocking death toll on cosy TV drama My Family and Other Animals. Crammed with anecdotes from his illustrious career, this is a funny, warm-hearted, life-affirming, LOUD and unique memoir from a much-loved figure.

There I Go Again is a celebrity memoir like no other, revealing the life of a man whose acting career has been so rich that millions of Americans know his face even while they might not recognize his name. William Daniels is an enigma-a rare chameleon who has enjoyed massive success both in Hollywood and on Broadway and been embraced by fans of successive generations. Few of his peers inspire the fervor with which buffs celebrate his most iconic roles, among them George Feeny in Boy Meets World, KITT in Knight Rider, Dr. Mark Craig in St. Elsewhere, and John Adams in the play and film 1776. Daniels guides readers through some of Hollywood's most cherished productions, offering recollections of entertainment legends including Lauren Bacall, Warren Beatty, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Mike Nichols, Jason Robards, Barbra Streisand, and many more. Looking back on his seventy-five-plus-year career, Daniels realizes that although he never had the courage to say "no" to being an actor, he backed into stardom. With his wife, actress Bonnie Bartlett, by his side, he came to realize that he wound up exactly where he was supposed to be: on the screen and stage.

Alan Rickman remains one of the most beloved actors of all time across almost every genre, from his breakout role as Die Hard's villainous Hans Gruber to his heart-wrenching run as Professor Severus Snape, and beyond. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate new audiences today.

But Rickman's artistry wasn't confined to just his performances. Rickman's writing details the extraordinary and the ordinary in a way that is anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid. He takes us behind the scenes on films and plays ranging from Sense & Sensibility, the Harry Potter series, Private Lives, My Name is Rachel Corrie and many more.

The diaries run from 1993 to his death in 2016 and offer insight into both a public and private life. Here is Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveller, the fan, the director, the enthusiast: in short, the real Alan Rickman. Here is a life fully lived, all detailed in intimate and characteristically plain-spoken prose. Reading the diaries is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close friend.

Madly, Deeply also includes a foreword by Emma Thompson and a selection of Rickman's early diaries, dating from 1974 to 1982, when his acting life first began.

Come along backstage and peek inside the spectacular and sometimes scandalous world of musical theatre. See the world's most-loved musical productions come to life in this lavishly illustrated book! This show-stopping reference book includes: - A chronological structure that makes the book work as a history of musicals - Includes a 20-page reference section with key details on over 100 additional musicals - Neat timelines summarise the plot, characters, and songs for 20 top musicals From The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music to Mamma Mia and Les Miserables, fall in love all over again with the songs, stories, characters, creators, and legendary stars from every era of musical theatre. Take a journey through the years and immerse yourself in the behind-the-scenes world of musical theatre! From the dance halls and vaudeville to the silver screen and sensational Broadway shows, this go-to musical guide has all the glitter and glamour of the West End. It's Showtime! Delve into profiles of successful creators such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Packed with profiles of musical icons and fun infographics that summarise the plot, characters and songs, Musicals: The Definitive Visual Guide is the perfect way to embrace your inner "theatre geek". With a foreword by Elaine Paige, this updated edition gives greater coverage on the smash-hit Hamilton and includes mention of new and popular stage and movie musicals. It's a must-have or the ultimate gift for musical theatre fans. Complete the Series: If you enjoyed this illustrated celebration of musicals, look out for more titles in this series from DK. Uncover the most mesmerising moments in ballet history in Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story.

In this candid and empowering A to Z of being an actor, Julie Hesmondhalgh draws on her decades of experience on stage and screen - including in massively popular television shows such as Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Coronation Street - to lift the lid on the realities of life in today's industry, and show you how to navigate it. She shares practical advice on preparing for roles (don't be afraid of looking like a dick), managing the ups and downs of your career (and how to be out of work without losing your mind), dealing with failure (and success), not constantly comparing yourself to others (bloody hard, but try), looking after your mental health, and the power of knowing when to say 'no'. Passionate about the arts, she makes a compelling case for their importance to society, but also calls out the industry on where it continues to fall short - including a clear-eyed assessment of what needs to change to make it safer and healthier, more accessible and inclusive. Written with refreshing honesty and self-deprecating humour, An Actor's Alphabet is a book for anyone who dreams of becoming an actor, wants to be a better one, or just wants to learn what being one is really like. 'Endearingly honest, funny and eye-opening. I loved it!' Francesca Martinez 'Like its author, this book is brimming with wisdom, intelligence, empathy and humanity... An absolute must!' Maxine Peake 'This is the best book on acting and being an actor I've read... Julie Hesmondhalgh is the mentor/best friend/guide we all need in these troubled times' Paul Chahidi 'Wonderful... not just a book about acting, but also about life. Us. The world. Humanity. Battling through this shit and finding time for a hug. I adore it.' Russell T Davies 'A must-read, whether you've been on the artist's journey for years or are just starting out' Shobna Gulati 'This book is bold, brash, sincere and angry. It regrets nothing and questions everything... Treasure it like we should treasure Julie' Jack Thorne 'A generous gift to actors, full of honesty, hope and wit. There is loads of tangible advice, not just for acting but for life' Anna Jordan 'Julie's book is honest, challenging and helpful. A great read' Andy Nyman

If you ran into Stephen Tobolowsky on the street, you would not be mistaken: Yes, you've seen him before. A childhood dentist? A former geometry teacher? Your local florist? Tobolowsky is a character actor, one of the most prolific screen and stage presences of our time, having appeared in productions that range from Deadwood to Glee, from Mississippi Burning to Groundhog Day. But Stephen Tobolowsky, it turns out, is also a dazzlingly talented storyteller and writer. The Dangerous Animals Clubis a beguiling series of stories combining biography and essay, with a tone both hilarious and introspective. The stories have heroics and embarrassments, riotous humour and pathos, characters ranging from Bubbles the Pigmy Hippo to Stephen's unforgettable mother, and scenes that include coke-fueled parties, Hollywood sets, and hospital rooms. Told in a voice that is "wry, discursive, and full of generous spirit and curiosity" (Kirkus Reviews), Tobolowsky renders the majestic out of the mundane, profundity from the patently absurd, and grace from tragedy. The Dangerous Animals Clubmarks the debut of a massively talented storyteller.