This career retrospective, centred on the Folio, reflects Dorans temperament: decent, diligent, likeable, lucid. Its openly learned, plunging into a close reading of Romeo and Juliets prologue, but its also candid. -- Dominic Cavendish * The Telegraph *
It has given me so much joy to read the story of Greg Doran's journey through these great plays. Fantastic, informative, revealing, occasionally gossipy and thoroughly engrossing, this is a remarkable memoir of a remarkable career. Greg Dorans brilliance, clarity of thought and most of all his humanity shines through. * David Tennant *
One of the distinctive achievements of Greg Dorans recently concluded term as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company was to direct all the plays in the First Folio, creating a deposit of excellent, thoughtful renderings. His recollections and reflections on these productions are collected in My Shakespeare. Some chapters are almost entirely anecdotal, but there are few if any that fail to cast some new light on the drama under discussion. -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *
Doran reflects with intelligence and grace and wit on himself and those with whom he has worked, and on the ways in which they sought to breathe fresh life into a series of plays that, for the most part, audiences think they know well Youll find it an informative-instructive delight. -- Rhodri Lewis * Prospect Magazine *
This year marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeares First Folio, which was met with a deluge of accompanying books. This is the best and most fun. * The Times, Best Poetry and Literature Books of the Year *
A revelatory and revolutionary breakdown of the canon in a way that works for both the professional and uninitiated. His (obviously tight) grip on Shakespeare's universe is permeated by reverence and deference, but what seeps through the pages is his pure love for his language and characters It's a joy to (re)discover Shakespeare's plays through his eyes. -- Cindy Marcolina * Broadway World *
Whether you are looking for insights into both major and minor works by the Bard, the story of two theatrical giants or a history of the RSC over the last few decades, My Shakespeare is a must-read and must-buy, since this is the kind of thoughtful, well-written and consistently entertaining book that any lover of serious theatre would be delighted to read or receive as a gift. For any budding director who wants to bring Shakespeare to the stage, it could also act as a highly readable manual, offering morsels of intelligent guidance that only come with a lifetimes experience. -- Philip Fisher * British Theatre Guide *
What runs through this fascinating book is not only [Dorans] passionate commitment, but his belief that Shakespeare holds up a mirror to all our lives and to the tumultuous times in which we live The results are constantly illuminating This is a very good book that reminds us that practitioners often make the best commentators [A] thought-provoking journey through the First Folio. -- Michael Billington * Country Life *
Greg Dorans My Shakespeare generously offers us all the most intimate understanding of what the works of Shakespeare can give us; life with all its tragic and comic masks. Doran writes for the lover of Shakespeare, but allows those tentative about Shakespeare's genius to understand why his storytelling is miraculously both universal and local. My Shakespeare is a worthy addition to the study of Shakespeares plays in performance - and Ill be damned if it doesnt make me itch to get on stage again, to exercise my acting muscles in the greatest poetry-gym in the English language. * Paterson Joseph *
Greg Dorans writing, like his productions, comes from an honest, ungimmicky place. He infects the reader with his own curiosity about the world that gave birth to Shakespeare and how and why he still connects with us. He combines an unostentatious erudition with stories of a deeply personal journey from schoolboy visits to the RSC at Stratford to becoming its Artistic Director. I am so glad everyone can now be let in on his revelatory insights and not just those of us who have been lucky enough to be in a rehearsal room with him. * Harriet Walter *
