Sir Antony Sher
I have been running an unofficial website for Sir Antony Sher for a few years, but now I have decided to pop all my info and a few images onto my LJ page here. It's partly to keep everything "together" and partly as an archive of the body of work of this highly gifted actor, writer and artist. I'll update it with news as and when...
Here, by way of an introduction, is a brief biography of Antony Sher.
Antony Sher was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 14 June 1949. He was a shy, artistic and gifted child who found acting and elocution lessons "liberating". After doing his National Service, Antony came to England hoping to study drama, but was rejected by both RADA and the Central! He won a place at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and then spent a post-graduate year at the Stables Theatre in Manchester. After gaining his Equity card doing summer theatre in Frinton-on-Sea, he went to the Liverpool Everyman.
In 1982, Antony joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he is now an Associate Artist, and has established himself as one of the UK's most highly acclaimed and exciting actors. On top of this, he is a successful writer of fiction and non-fiction and an artist.
In 2000, he became Sir Antony Sher, KBE, after receiving a knighthood for his services to the arts, as an actor and writer. In 2003, he made his playwriting debut with the world premiere of I.D. in London, and in 2005 he made his debut as a Director, for the RSC.
Sir Antony Sher's partner is Gregory Doran, Chief Associate Director of the RSC.
ON STAGE
Royal Shakespeare Company The Fool in King Lear (1982/3), title role in Tartuffe (1983), title role in Moliere (1983), Martin Glass in Maydays (1983), title role in Richard III (1984/5), Flote in Red Noses (1985), Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1987/8), Malvolio in Twelfth Night (1987), Vindice in The Revenger's Tragedy (1987), Johnnie in Hello and Goodbye (1988, Almeida), title role in Singer (1989/90), title role in Tamburlaine the Great (1992), Henry Carr in Travesties (1993), title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1997/8, also at the Lyric), Leontes in The Winter's Tale (1998/9), title role in Macbeth (1999/2000, also in Japan, USA and the Young Vic), Domitian Caesar in The Roman Actor (2002/3, also at the Gielgud), Giovanni Altofronto/Malevole in The Malcontent (2002/3, also at the Gielgud), Iago in Othello (2004, also Japan and the Trafalgar Studios), Breakfast With Mugabe (2005/6, as Director), Prospero in The Tempest (2009, Baxter Theatre, Courtyard Theatre and UK tour)
Royal National Theatre Austin in True West (1981), Joseph K in The Trial (1991), title role in The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui (1991), Astrov in Uncle Vanya (1992), title role in Titus Andronicus (1995, co-production with the Market Theatre), title role in Stanley (1996, also New York), Primo (2004/5, also at the Baxter Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and Music Box on Broadway)
West End/Other Seasons at Liverpool Everyman, Nottingham Playhouse, Edinburgh Royal Lyceum and Gay Sweatshop. The Fool in King Lear, Buckingham in Richard III, Yorry in The Fish and the Sea, Enoch Powell in Tarzan's Last Stand, Joxer Daly in Juno and the Paycock, Andri in Andorra, Claud in Mind Your Head, Wang in The Good Woman of Setzuan, title role in The Government Inspector, Henry Carr in Travesties, Knickers, Toche/Chandebise in A Flea In Her Ear, Yopihodov in The Cherry Orchard, Ringo in John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert (1974, Liverpool Everyman/Lyric), Anson in Teeth 'n' Smiles (1975, Royal Court), Ziggomania, Mozzle in Mozzle and his Wage Packet, Ritsart in The Glad Hand, John Delasante in Prayer For My Daughter (1978, Royal Court), American Ways, van Tonder in Shades of Brown, Clive/Cathy in Cloud Nine (1979, Royal Court/Joint Stock), Muhammed in Goose Pimples (1981, Hampstead/Garrick), Arnold in Torch Song Trilogy (1985, Albery), Two Dogs and Freedom (1988, Sadler's Wells), Freedom Too! (2001, Royal Festival Hall), Gustav Mahler in Mahler's Conversion (2001, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre/Aldwych), Demetrios Tsafendas in I.D. (2003, Almeida - also as Writer), title role in Kean (2007, Yvonne Arnaud, Bath, Brighton and Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue), The Giant (2007, Hampstead, as Writer only)
IN PRINT
Fiction Middlepost (Chatto & Windus, 1988), The Indoor Boy (Chatto & Windus, 1991), Cheap Lives (Little, Brown, 1995), The Feast (Little, Brown, 1998)
Non-fiction Year Of The King: An Actor's Diary and Sketchbook (Chatto & Windus, 1985), Characters: Paintings, Drawings and Sketches (Nick Hern Books, 1989), Woza Shakespeare!: Titus Andronicus in South Africa (co-written with Gregory Doran) (Methuen Drama, 1996), Beside Myself (Hutchinson, 2001), Year Of The King (new 20th anniversary edition) (Nick Hern Books, 2004), Primo Time (Nick Hern Books, 2005), Beside Myself: An Actor's Life (new edition to celebrate Antony's 60th birthday) (Nick Hern Books, 2009)
Contributory chapter "The Fool in King Lear" in Players Of Shakespeare 2 (eds. Jackson and Smallwood, CUP, 1988), contribution to Patsy Rodenburg's The Need For Words (Methuen, 1994), contributory chapter to Carole Zucker's In The Company Of Actors (A&C Black, 1999), contribution to On Acting (eds. Luckhurst and Veltman, Faber & Faber, 2001), Contributory chapter "Leontes in The Winter's Tale, and Macbeth" in Players Of Shakespeare 5 (ed. Smallwood, CUP, 2003)
Playscripts I.D. (Nick Hern Books, 2003), The Giant (Nick Hern Books 2007)
Film script Changing Step (for the BBC, 1989)
SOUND AND VISION
Film G.I. in Yanks, Bellboy in Superman II, Oliver in Shadey (1987), Loki in Eric The Viking, Chief Weasel in Wind In The Willows (1997), Dr Ziegler in The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1997), Jack in Alive and Kicking (1997), Benjamin Disraeli in Mrs Brown (1997), Dr Moth in Shakespeare In Love (1998), the voice of Ben Azra in The Miracle Maker (1999), Hitler in Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004), Murder Most Foul (documentary, 2007), Maurice in Three And Out (2008)
Television Howard Kirk in The History Man (1980), Cold Harbour, Office Story, Out Of Town Boys, Turtle's Progress, Pickersgill People, Collision Course, Lucky Jim, title roles in Tartuffe (1983) and Moliere (1983), David Samuels in Land Of Dreams (1990), Captain Edmund Lambert in Changing Step (1990), Mark Gertler, title role in Genghis Cohn (1993), The Shakespeare Laboratory: Measure For Measure (1994), One Foot In The Grave (1994), African Footsteps (1995), Sergeant Cuff in The Moonstone (1996), Omnibus (1997), the Marquis de Moncoutant in Hornblower (1999), title role in Macbeth (2001), Holocaust Memorial Day (2001), Gerald Lewis QC in The JUry (2002), In Search of Shakespeare (2003), The Story of the Novel (narrator, 2003), Gerald Ballantyne in Home (2003), Sir Antony Sher Talks to Joan Bakewell (2003), Demetrios Tsafendas in I.D. (2004), Frank Jeremy in Murphy's Law (2004), The South Bank Show (2004), Hardtalk (207), title role in Primo (HBO/BBC, 2007), The Rabbi in The Company (2007), Akiba in God On Trial (2008)
Radio Antony has been on many radio programmes such as Front Row and Desret Island Discs over the years talking about his work. He reprised his stage role of Peter Singer and has even been In The Psychiatrist's Chair! He starred in the BBC World Service documentary The Assassin, read Last Words (a poem commissioned for the first anniversary on "9/11" and played Vincent van Gogh in Sunflowers. He played the Prime Minister in Number 10, and starred in Babel's Tower. Most recenetly he has been the voice of poet Isaac Rosenberg in Nobody Told Me To Oil My Boots (2008), played Shakepeare in Stephen Wakelam's The Pattern Of Painful Adventures (2008) and was The Ship in an adaptation of Iain Banks' The State Of The Art (2009).
Antony's distinctive voice graces many theatre recordings. He has provided the "South African" accent on Comic Relief's seriosly funny Extremely Useful Guide To Accenys. He also read the abridged version of his autobiography Beside Myself in a Random House Audiobook (2001).
ART
Antony is a highly talented artist - it was actually his original choice of career! He has exhibited his paintings and drawings at the RSC in Stratford, the Barbica Centre, the Royal National Theatre and the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
AWARDS
Antony has won many theatre awards, including Drama Magazine Best Actor 1984, City Limits Best Actor 1984, Variety Club of Great Britain Best Actor 1984, Eveneing Standard Best Actor 1985, all for Richard III; Laurence Olivier Best Actor in 1985 for Richard III and Torch Song Trilogy, and again in 1996 for Stanley (also Tony Awards Best Actor nomination); TMA Best Actor 1995 for Titus Andronicus.
He was awarded the Evening Standard Peter Sellars Award in 1998 for his portrayal of Disraeli in the film Mrs Brown, and in the same year an Honorary Doctorate of Letters was conferred on him by Liverpool University. He has been similarly honoured by Exeter and Warwick Universities.
In 2000, Antony received a Knighthood for his services to the arts, as an actor and writer.
Gregory Doran and the acting ensemble (including Antony Sher) of the RSC's "Jacobethan" Season won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement of the Year 2003. Antony received a Royal television Society nomination for Best Actor for his role in BBC4's Home (2004). He won the Fleur Du Cap Theatre Award (2005) for his title role in Primo at the Baxter Theatre in cape Town, and the 2006 Outer Critics Circle Award (2006) and Drama Desk Award (2006) for Outstanding Solo Performance for Primo on Broadway. He was nominated for Best Actor in the 2008 BAFTA Television Awards for his performance in Primo.