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    My Life in Pieces: An Alternative Autobiography
    Unavailable
    My Life in Pieces: An Alternative Autobiography
    Unavailable
    My Life in Pieces: An Alternative Autobiography
    Ebook622 pages10 hours

    My Life in Pieces: An Alternative Autobiography

    By Simon Callow

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    An alternative autobiography of the well-loved actor and man of the theatre.

    In My Life in Pieces Simon Callow retraces his life through the multifarious performers, writers, productions and events which have left their indelible mark on him.

    The story begins with Peter Pan - his first ever visit to the theatre - before transporting us to southern Africa and South London, where Callow spent much of his childhood. Later, he charms his way into a job at the National Theatre box office courtesy of his hero, Laurence Olivier - and thus consummated a lifetime's love affair with theatre.

    Alongside Olivier, we encounter Paul Scofield, Michael Gambon, Alan Bennett and Richard Eyre, all of whom Callow has worked with, as well as John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness, David Hare, Simon Gray and many more.

    He writes too about figures he did not meet but who greatly influenced his life and work, figures such as Stanislavsky, Nureyev and Cocteau, as well as Charles Laughton and Orson Welles. And he even makes room for not-quite- legit performers like Tony Hancock, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howard - and Mrs Shufflewick.

    The result is a passionate, instructive and beguiling book which, in tracing Simon Callow's own ';sentimental education', leaves us enriched by his generosity and wisdom.

    'an engaging passionate book which will augment Callow's growing status as a national treasure.' Guardian

    '...not simply a terrific actor who happens to write. You could as well call him a terrific writer who happens to act' The Times

    'essential... a gift for transforming personal experience into blazingly intelligent, objective, critical appreciation' Observer

    'first rate... the best writer-actor we have' David Hare

    'Simon Callow combines zest, originality and passion and has elegantly turned his views and life in the theatre into an astonishing memoir' Richard Eyre

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNick Hern Books
    Release dateApr 15, 2012
    ISBN9781780010120
    Unavailable
    My Life in Pieces: An Alternative Autobiography
    Author

    Simon Callow

    Simon Callow has starred in such films as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Shakespeare in Love (1998). His many stage appearances include Peter Ackroyd’s critically acclaimed The Mystery of Charles Dickens.

    Read more from Simon Callow

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    • 4/5
      My Life in Pieces is not your typical autobiography. It's a compilation of "pieces" written by the actor Simon Callow for various newspapers, books, programs, memorials, etc. Most of them, of course, revolve around Callow's work in the theatre and on film. If his name isn't familiar to you, his face probably will be, from movies if not the stage: he played the Rev. Mr. Beebe in 'A Room with a View,' Schikaneder/Papageno in 'Amadeus,' and Gareth, the gay man who dies of a heart attack at one of the receptions in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral.' He's also well-known for his one-man show on Charles Dickens, which was televised in the UK and is available on DVD here in the US. Callow presents insightful essays on many of the great actors of the twentieth century, most of whom he has acted with, including Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Alec Guinness, Paul Scofield, Orson Welles, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Redgrave, Ian McKellan, and more. In addition, he writes about several directors and playwrights, classic 'schools' and 'methods' of acting, and his own views on the status of acting on today's stage.Callow is a wonderful writer and a great storyteller. He can be funny, charming, reverent, and insightful--sometimes in the same piece. The stories he tells of working in the theatre are delightful, but they also give one an appreciation for the true art of acting. I listened to this book on audio, and with Callow himself as reader, it was a wonderful experience. I've always thought he was a fine, underrated character actor, and my admiration of his work has grown after reading/listening to these 'pieces.' Recommended for anyone interested theatre arts.
    • 5/5
      Simon Callow’s “Alternative Autobiography” My Life in Pieces was one of the most exciting books I’ve read in a long time. Hearing stories from behind the curtain about the 1960s–1970s London theater scene was intriguing and delightful. Callow was lucky to get a job at theaters long before his acting career, which gave him both insight and inspiration into the real world of acting. The book is rich with anecdotes encountering theater royalty, and many younger actors who later became household names. The story grows in interest as he moves from observer to dramatic artist, sharing his fascinating experiences as he rises in his own brilliant acting career.

      Callow intersperses his narrative with relevant pieces he had written in the past, which fit nicely into the autobiographical storyline. These interspersed biographical pieces were usually about other people (reviews of others’ works, tributes, even obituaries). They were fun in themselves, but they also helped show the progression of Callow’s intellectual life. They could constitute their own “Collected Works” and in fact seemed reminiscent of the late great Lytton Strachey’s “Biographical Essays” from the 1920s (published in 1969). It would be a perfect kind of vehicle for Callow’s biographical essays as well.

      John Gielgud is at the center of some of the most memorable anecdotes of Callow’s encounters with the theater’s brightest lights. Callow has written very perceptive analyses and heartfelt reminiscences of Gielgud, as well as some very entertaining anecdotes. I pick those out because they were my favorites. But all of Callow’s essays-within-an-autobiography had that flavor: perceptive and heartfelt. Callow is both sharp observer and compassionate colleague to his subjects. Within the autobiography, they comprise a wonderful book-within-a-book.

      Still, first and foremost, there is the autobiography proper. Callow tells a wonderful story that mingles heartache and joy through his own life growing up, gradually becoming an artist. His childhood between London and Rhodesia was partly painful, partly ideal training ground for a future actor, though it may not have felt like it at the time. Callow shined in challenging circumstances, seizing every opportunity to perform and to entertain others. He was honing his craft from toddlerhood. And in the fullness of time, the result became genius.

      Callow is, by the most stringent definition of the term, an artist. The common theme throughout his life is art, especially the art of acting. Having seen his amazing one-man shows playing Charles Dickens, and playing Charles Dickens playing Dickensian characters, and having seen Callow in films and TV shows over the years, it made reading his autobiography all the more exciting and rewarding. Callow’s brilliant and sublime talents obviously come from painful, determined dedication and discipline, as well as the true gift that sets great artists apart. Callow is one of those great artists.

      Now, having read My Life in Pieces, and having read Callow’s full-length biography of Charles Dickens, I see that his talent equally spills into the literary arts.

      If you love the world of theater and acting, or you love a great story, or you just love great writing, I wholeheartedly recommend Simon Callow’s “Alternative Autobiography” My Life in Pieces.