Playing Macbeth: An Actor's Journey into the Role

by Tim Dalgleish

The experienced stage actor Tim Dalgleish takes us on a fascinating journey through the emotional, physical and intellectual challenges involved in creating the role of one of Shakespeare's darkest and most tragic characters. The book includes a journal, The Golden Notebook, with all the hints, history, exercises, theatrical techniques and anecdotes that an actor could need to play Macbeth. This autobiographical account is instructive, empowering and a great read for anyone interested in one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

262 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2015

About the author

Tim is an author and actor. He studied in London, New York State and Madrid. His first professional role was for 'the seminal physical theatre company' RAT Theatre, in which he came off stage, literally, with bloodied limbs. Since then his stage work includes performances in Shakespeare, Chekov, Brecht, Strindberg, Ayckbourn, Priestly, Weiss, Howard Barker and many others.
He was Snout in A Midsummers Night's Dream (RSC Open Stages), toured with Voices of the Holocaust Theatre and was CSM on Big Pants and Botox starring Mary Jo Randle (The Bill, The Lakes, Wolf Hall etc.).
His film work includes Love Eventually (with Nina Wadia), Fracutured Minds and Imagine (for the charity Hope for Hollie).
He has authored and adapted numerous plays including, The Last Days of Adam (on the Holocaust), The Life and Theatre of Antonin Artaud, The Collector by John Fowles and Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast. His latest book is Playing Macbeth: An Actor’s Journey into the Role and along with The Stones of Mithras is his favourite book to date. He is a regular audiobook narrator and his version of The Ballad of Reading Gaol with Humanitad will be released shortly on Audible.
He has two collections of essays in the works the first titled 'Orwell, Two Guinea Pigs, A Cat and A Goat' will be released later this year.