What do I know?
Subtitle: people, politics and the arts
By: Richard Eyre
Publisher: Nick Hern Books
Published: 2014
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9781848424180
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Theatrical producers and directors; Biography; Motion picture producers and directors; Opera producers and directors
Description: "A personal and strikingly honest look at the people and events that have made their mark on one of UK theatre and film's most successful creative artists. Since his successful spell running the National Theatre, Richard Eyre's career as a director of film, theatre and opera has made him a leading cultural figure and a hugely respected commentator on the arts. This book collects over fifty short pieces written by Eyre about people he has known and worked with, ideas he has struggled with, things that have moved, delighted or infuriated him. He writes with candour, perceptiveness and charm, and always with an eye for the telling anecdote or the revealing detail that betrays the inner life of his subject. Here we encounter Arthur Miller recounting to Eyre the events of the first night of Death of a Salesman; Harold Pinter overheard in a characteristically pugnacious exchange; Judi Dench racing clockwork chicks across a table, her face 'illuminated by demented glee'. ... Eyre also includes pieces about the monarchy, about the Iraq War, about Alzheimer's Disease (from which his mother suffered), about his love of climbing (from the comparative safety of his armchair), and about the relationship between music and sexuality. What Do I Know? is a book that tackles serious ideas with a light and often mischievous touch"--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: People; title: John Mortimer; title: Arthur Miller; title: Tennessee Williams; title: Harold Pinter; title: Michael Bryant; title: Kate Winslet; title: Ian Charleson; title: Judi Dench; title: Stuart Burge; title: Peter Hall; title: Tony Harrison; title: Rose Gray and Ruthie Rogers; title: Jocelyn Herbert; title: Patrick Marber; title: David Hare; title: Charles Wood; title: Alan Bennett; title: Marlon Brando; title: Harley Granville-Barker; title: Mary Soames; title: Politics; title: Margaret Thatcher; title: The monarchy; title: In defence of the BBC; title: The Iraq War; title: General Sir Mike Jackson; title: Campaign performance; title: The People's War; title: Cultural apartheid; title: Shakespeare had a sponsor; title: Why the National Theatre matters; title: Britishness; title: Arts; title: Autobiography; title: King Lear; title: Richard III; title: Hedda Gabler; title: Sons and lovers; title: The smoking diaries; title: Being and nothingness; title: Making Iris; title: Filming fiction; title: Guys and dolls; title: The pajama game; title: Music; title: Opera; title: The passion of the Christ; title: The Da Vinci code; title: Michel Houellebecq; title: The mousetrap; title: Changing stages diary; title: Playing mad; title: Epilogue. Gardening; title: Mother's day.