Thirty years ago a promising young actor published his account of preparing for and playing the role of Richard III. Antony Sher's Year of the King has since become a classic of theatre literature. In 2014, Sher, now in his sixties, was cast as Falstaff in Gregory Doran's Royal Shakespeare Company production of the two parts of Henry IV. Both the production and Sher's Falstaff were acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, with Sher winning the Critics' Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance. Year of the Fat Knight is Antony Sher's account - splendidly supplemented by his own paintings and sketches - of researching, rehearsing and performing one of Shakespeare's best-known and most popular characters. He tells us how he had doubts about playing the part at all, how he sought to reconcile Falstaff's obesity, drunkenness, cowardice and charm, how he wrestled with the fat suit needed to bulk him up, and how he explored the complexities and contradictions of this comic yet often dangerous personality. On the way, Sher paints a uniquely close-up portrait of the RSC at work.Year of the Fat Knight is a terrific read, rich in humour and with a built-in tension as opening night draws relentlessly nearer. It also stands as a celebration of the craft of character acting. All in all, it is destined to rank with Year of the King as one of the most enduring accounts of the creation of a giant Shakespearean role. Praise for Year of the King: 'This is a most wonderfully authentic account of the experience of creating a performance' Sunday Times 'The most exciting actor of his generation and an eloquent writer on the side' Observer Praise for Sher's Falstaff: 'A magnificent, magnetic performance - Sher plays down the fatness to emphasise the knight's upper-class origins. But, just as you start to warm to this Falstaff, you are reminded of his rapacity' Guardian 'It is Sher's irrepressible Falstaff that will linger in the memory - a lord of misrule who's absurd, delightful and in the end deeply sad' Evening Standard

William Shakespeare's historical plays performed at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2014. In 'Henry IV - Part I', King Henry IV (Jasper Britton) is troubled by the behaviour of his son and heir, Prince Hal (Alex Hassell), who has forsaken the Royal Court to waste his time in taverns with the likes of Sir John Falstaff (Antony Sher), an old, fat, jovial drunkard who captivates the young prince with his zest for life. In 'Henry IV - Part II', when Henry is confined to his bed with a serious illness it seems likely that Hal will shortly be appointed king. Hal's suitability for the role, however, concerns the present king even as his death approaches and Hal takes the decision to spend less time with his friends in preparation for the responsibilities of leadership. Falstaff, meanwhile, comes out of semi-retirement to raise a small militia. Now getting on in years, the rascal hopes his friendship with Hal will land him the comfortable retirement he seeks, but will Hal be true to his old allies when he finally puts on the crown?

Felix runs a large, run-down theatre in the heart of Africa. Returning home after a drying-out cure, he finds he is sober, but the world seems drunk. The dictator, Duma, has been deposed, and people are indulging their newfound freedom in every possible way. Master of ceremonies of the tiny expat community is Charlie, a handsome and wealthy doctor whose famous parties are modelled on ritual. As Felix sets out to help the actress-singer Kaz track down the killer of her son - a victim of Duma’s regime - he travels through a feverish and mutable society where beauty and terror live side by side, where both man and beast are embarked on feeding frenzies of gratification, where the barriers between past and present keep shifting, and where, at any moment, the Great Dictator himself threatens to reappear.

THE FEAST explores the conflict between appetite and imagination in the human spirit, viewed against an epic, surreal portrait of Africa, and of Theatre. Graphic, violent and funny it is a quite brilliant study of purity versus decadence.
 

An enthralling drama about the man who killed Hendrik Verwoerd, President of South Africa and the architect of South African apartheid. Written by the acclaimed actor and author of Year of the King. I.D. tells the true story of how Demetrios Tsafendas came to assassinate Verwoerd. Of mixed parentage, but classified as "White", Tsafendas is unable to marry the woman he loves because she is classified as "Coloured". Sickened by this injustice and goaded by his monstrous alter ego, Tsafendas stabs Verwoerd on the floor of the House in full view of his wife, his bodyguard and a chamber full of MPs. Antony Sher's play I.D. was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in September 2003 with Sher in the role of Tsafendas. The play was inspired by the book A Mouthful of Glass by Henk van Woerden.