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Balancing Acts
- Behind the Scenes at the National Theatre
- Narrated by: Nicholas Hytner, Simon Russell Beale, Samuel Barnett, Deborah Findlay
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
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Balancing Acts
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Summary
Featuring a selection of play excerpts performed by Nicholas Hytner's handpicked cast including Simon Russell Beale, Samuel Barnett and Deborah Findley!
You start with a vision, and you deliver a compromise. You want a play to be challenging, ambitious, nuanced and complicated. You also want it to sell tickets. You want to make art, and you know you're in show business. These are some of the balancing acts that the National Theatre and this book are about.
This is the inside story of 12 years at the helm of Britain's greatest theatre. It is a story of lunatic failures and spectacular successes such as The History Boys, War Horse and One Man, Two Guvnors, of opening the doors of the National Theatre to a broader audience than ever before and changing the public's perception of what theatre is for. It is about probing Shakespeare from every angle and reinventing the classics. About fostering new talent and directing some of the most celebrated actors of our times.
Its cast includes the likes of Alan Bennett, Maggie Smith, Mike Leigh, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren. Intimate, candid and insightful, Balancing Acts is a passionate exploration of the art and alchemy of making theatre.
What listeners say about Balancing Acts
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- dramatastic
- 15-02-23
Insightful, inspiring & heartfelt
I loved this. What an incredible insight into not only the working life of a director, but also the machinations of the National Theatre.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms Jane E. Knight
- 28-12-23
Fascinating
Stories of various productions over Nicholas Hytner’s time running the National Theatre. Beautifully read. The insight into programming was great fun. The trials and tribulations of developing the building did not feature as much as I hoped, but there are other books for that the meat here is in the approach to the plays.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 22-03-18
Not the best quality, sold by performances and insight
The transitions between acting performance and narration is a bit clunky, but hearing Simon Russell Beale, Samuel Barnett and Deborah Findlay adds a lot to the listening experience (though Findlay doesn’t get anywhere near as much of an opportunity to be heard - reinforcing the issues with representation discussed in the book). There’s loads to get out of this, it’s great to hear about the struggle behind the hits - The History Boys and War Horse. I personally loved revisiting Much Ado About Nothing, the first show I saw at The National and maybe the first Shakespeare I ever saw on stage.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-12-22
I only wish it was Longer!!
Listen to it in one sitting and was spellbound by every single sentence!! Buy it now!!!
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