PROGRAMME DETAILS FOR THE 187TH SEASON 2010/2011

TUESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2010
THE CLUB PRESIDENT: DAVID BRADLEY

Actor

David Bradley in Conversation with Roger Pringle, Vice-President of the Shakespeare Club

David Bradley, the English character actor, has enjoyed a long and successful career in British theatre, television and film. Born in York, he first appeared on television in 1971, as a police officer in the comedy, Nearest and Dearest. Since then he has appeared in television series as varied as the comedy, Wild West, the BBC adaptations of Dickens' Our Mutual Friend and Thackeray's Vanity Fair, and the 1996 award-winning BBC2 serial Our Friends in the North, in which he played the fictional Labour MP, Eddie Wells.

An actor of enormous range and versatility, David Bradley first appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1978. Over the years he has played some of Shakespeare's best-loved comic roles including Dr Caius, Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Trinculo, as well as an extremely funny Subtle in the 1991 production of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson. His tragic roles for the RSC include the Earl of Gloucester, Polonius, and most recently, a dignified but ruthless Titus Andronicus in the memorable 2003 production, directed by Bill Alexander. David Bradley received an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the Fool in King Lear at the National Theatre in 1990, and an Olivier Award nomination for the RSC's Henry IV Part 2. He also won the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actor for Polonius and Shallow with the RSC in the early 1990s. He was also nominated as Best Actor for his portrayal of Spooner in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land in the 2009 Olivier Awards.

David Bradley lives in Stratford-upon-Avon and is President of both The Shakespeare Hospice and Second Thoughts Drama Group. He is a lifelong supporter of York City Football Club and an Aston Villa season ticket holder.

Lecture Notes

The 860th meeting of the Shakespeare Club, held on 8 February 2011 at Mason Croft, was a conversation between Mr Perry Mills and the Club’s President for the 2010/11 season, the actor David Bradley. They covered a wide range of subjects with King Lear as a frequent reference point. Mr Bradley spoke about his approach to playing the role of the Fool at the National. He likened the Fool’s jokes to the modern comedian’s surreal riffs and described the value of costume in opening up a character. Two characters he would most like to play were Malvolio and Lear, which he had played one night in Nottingham as understudy to Brian Cox.

Other subjects discussed were the challenges of touring, the RSC’s ensemble system; his playing of Justice Shallow, Trinculo, Polonius; how to introduce children to Shakespeare; the people who inspired him as an actor (Olivier as Richard III, Ian Holm in The Homecoming); his experience in repertory; his opinion of the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the limitations of the thrust stage; his admiration for Pinter and Chekhov; and Shakespeare’s generosity of language. Mr Bradley talked of ‘breathing’ a play and how, for him, the language is the play. After questions the meeting closed at 9pm and was followed by refreshments.

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