Nick Asbury was in the ensemble from the Royal Shakespeare Company who, over the course of two and a half years, performed eight history plays by Shakespeare in repertory, beginning with the overthrow of Richard II and ending with the death of Richard III: a sequence of productions both critically acclaimed and watched by over 250,000 people. To keep a record of his involvement in this extraordinary and ambitious project, Nick wrote a Blog which was posted on the RSC website. This in turn became a massive success, regularly notching up 6,000 hits a week from avid followers around the world. Through Nick's engaging, observant, often hilarious words, we experience the camaraderie of actors, the terror of forgetting lines, technical difficulties, money problems, finding strange things in the bath, 33 broadsword fights and, and, of course, the ever-present threat of being assaulted by demented badgers after a performance.
Exit Pursued by a Badger
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By J. Wilding
Format:Paperback
In 1965 the BBC televised The Wars of the Roses, a previous epic cycle of Shakespeare's history plays at the RSC, and the English Shakespeare Company's cycle of the late 1980s was also recorded (using the same title). This time, disgracefully, no TV channel or film company saw fit to record this extraordinary event for broadcast and for posterity. So congratulations should go to Oberon Books for publishing Nick Asbury's wonderfully vivid blog of his participation in the plays as at least one record of an event which Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph described as "so many extraordinary words, so much outstanding acting, such an epic vision from the greatest writer the world has ever known, and, four centuries on, from the company that dedicates itself to his work".
Nick Asbury is a born diarist and chronicles his experience passionately, wittily and at times very movingly, especially when relating events in his and other company members' personal lives to the themes Shakespeare explored himself. There is much humour too - among many unforgettable hilarious episodes, one of my favourites is when Lex Shrapnel, a terrifically fiery Hotspur who is supposed to hurl his gauntlet aggressively at Aumerle (Jimmy Tucker) in Richard II, in one performance let go too soon, resulting in the glove sailing in the wrong direction across the stage, reducing Nick to corpsing uncontrollably with the others just about holding on until they got off stage!
The book contains a long newly written introduction by Nick covering the events leading up to the point at which the blog starts, and also includes a number of responses to the blog which show the impact this theatrical experience had on many of the members of its audience. A nice selection of the production photos by Ellie Kurttz are in the book too, as well as some taken by two of Nick's fellow actors - the last photo is proof positive that the ghost of Richard II could play table tennis!
For anyone who, like me, saw and loved the Histories, buy the book and rejoice in the memories it will bring back. For anyone who didn't see them, buy it and get a vibrant flavour of what you missed and a memorable account of the trials, tribulations and ultimate triumph of living through and "playing" in the Histories.
Nick Asbury is a born diarist and chronicles his experience passionately, wittily and at times very movingly, especially when relating events in his and other company members' personal lives to the themes Shakespeare explored himself. There is much humour too - among many unforgettable hilarious episodes, one of my favourites is when Lex Shrapnel, a terrifically fiery Hotspur who is supposed to hurl his gauntlet aggressively at Aumerle (Jimmy Tucker) in Richard II, in one performance let go too soon, resulting in the glove sailing in the wrong direction across the stage, reducing Nick to corpsing uncontrollably with the others just about holding on until they got off stage!
The book contains a long newly written introduction by Nick covering the events leading up to the point at which the blog starts, and also includes a number of responses to the blog which show the impact this theatrical experience had on many of the members of its audience. A nice selection of the production photos by Ellie Kurttz are in the book too, as well as some taken by two of Nick's fellow actors - the last photo is proof positive that the ghost of Richard II could play table tennis!
For anyone who, like me, saw and loved the Histories, buy the book and rejoice in the memories it will bring back. For anyone who didn't see them, buy it and get a vibrant flavour of what you missed and a memorable account of the trials, tribulations and ultimate triumph of living through and "playing" in the Histories.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Ripple
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This is a difficult book to review. Nick Asbury was one of the terrific cast involved in the RSC's epic Histories cycle. If you saw these productions, inevitably you will find this book more interesting - I did and loved the book. BUT while the introduction is an interesting insight into the decision to become involved and what it involved, the bulk of the book is a collection if Asbury's blog entries published on the RSC's web site. And thereby hangs the difficulty.
Firstly, the blog was only started half way through the cycle - so you don't even get a full picture of the task. Secondly, while it is fascinating to read the day to day problems and joys of a working actor working on such a monumental task, and while Asbury is a very good writer, the nature of a blog is very different from a book and I'm in two minds as to the extent to which this works - particularly as general interest for anyone interested in acting that perhaps did not see the plays. A book is a more permanent record and requires a different style to the blog style.
The book also contains some nice, albelit relatively small, production pictures as well.
Asbury has provided a good insight within this context - but I finished the book hoping that one day he decides to sit down and write of his experiences in a more conventional book style. The excellent introduction chapter proves that he is an excellent writer, but I think a collection of blog entries has limited appeal. This is not a criticism in any way of the author, but rather the nature of the project itself.
Firstly, the blog was only started half way through the cycle - so you don't even get a full picture of the task. Secondly, while it is fascinating to read the day to day problems and joys of a working actor working on such a monumental task, and while Asbury is a very good writer, the nature of a blog is very different from a book and I'm in two minds as to the extent to which this works - particularly as general interest for anyone interested in acting that perhaps did not see the plays. A book is a more permanent record and requires a different style to the blog style.
The book also contains some nice, albelit relatively small, production pictures as well.
Asbury has provided a good insight within this context - but I finished the book hoping that one day he decides to sit down and write of his experiences in a more conventional book style. The excellent introduction chapter proves that he is an excellent writer, but I think a collection of blog entries has limited appeal. This is not a criticism in any way of the author, but rather the nature of the project itself.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By P. Ralph
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Like Anthony Sher's Year of the King, Simon Callow's Being an Actor and Michael Simkin's What's My Motivation? - this is an absolute gem of a book about the life of an actor, and life in general.
Nick Asbury was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company when they set out on the, frankly, ludicrous task of performing all eight of Shakespeare's history plays with the same company of actors. His blogs throughout the process form the spine of the book but it is so much more than simply a book about acting or about those show's in particular.
Nick writes with passion, honesty, humour and, above all, heart about the much maligned business of 'shouting in the evenings' and the resulting book is an absolute joy to read. Cutting through the luvvy nonsense and egos and guff, Nick recounts the amazing and unique experience the company went through with fabulous clarity and joy.
A book for anyone interested in acting, theatre, Shakespeare and life. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Nick Asbury was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company when they set out on the, frankly, ludicrous task of performing all eight of Shakespeare's history plays with the same company of actors. His blogs throughout the process form the spine of the book but it is so much more than simply a book about acting or about those show's in particular.
Nick writes with passion, honesty, humour and, above all, heart about the much maligned business of 'shouting in the evenings' and the resulting book is an absolute joy to read. Cutting through the luvvy nonsense and egos and guff, Nick recounts the amazing and unique experience the company went through with fabulous clarity and joy.
A book for anyone interested in acting, theatre, Shakespeare and life. Can't recommend it highly enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Actor's insight
This is an amazing insight into "behind the scenes" Shakespeare. It's the sort of book you can read all at once or in stages. Whichever, you don't forget what's happened! Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. R. Errington
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Histories shared
The Royal Shakespeare Company's 'Histories Ensemble' made a point of connecting with its audience. The plays were as much about the audience as they were about the actors who were... Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2010 by K.Forsyth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Nick Asbury's account is vivid and a fun insight into the daily gruel faced by these trojan actors. One feels as though one is actually there sweating with them. Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by La Pucelle
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book that speaks to us all
I am not a writer, nor an actor, and I don't even read or go to the theatre very much, which is why this book was such a revelation. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by Mrs. Mikka Styles
2.0 out of 5 stars
Thin Soup
Michael Boyd's RSC production of the Shakespeare history "octology" which ran for several hundred performances in Stratford and at the Roundhouse in Camden between February 2006... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2009 by Diacha
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastically nostalgic
I had the great honour of seeing the history cycle while it was on at Stratford and loved it. If I could have spared the money I would definitely have seen the entire sequence over... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2009 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
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