Harriet Walter on Imogen (Shakespeare On Stage)

Harriet Walter discusses playing Imogen in Shakespeare's Cymbeline, in this ebook taken from Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2 - Twelve Leading Actors on Twelve Key Roles. In each volume of the Shakespeare On Stage series, a leading actor takes us behind the scenes of a landmark Shakespearean production, recreating in detail their memorable performance in a major role. They leads us through the choices they made in rehearsal, and how the character works in performance, shedding new light on some of the most challenging roles in the canon. The result is a series of individual masterclasses that will be invaluable for other actors and directors, as well as students of Shakespeare - and fascinating for audiences of the plays. In this volume, Harriet Walter discusses playing the role of Imogen in Shakespeare's late romance, Cymbeline, in Bill Alexander's Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1987. This interview, together with the others in the series (with actors such as Ian McKellen, Simon Russell Beale, Alan Rickman and Fiona Shaw), is also available in the collection Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2 - Twelve Leading Actors on Twelve Key Roles by Julian Curry, with a foreword by Nicholas Hytner.

Since training at LAMDA, Harriet has worked extensively in theatre, television, film and radio. She has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company where she played Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra alongside Patrick Stewart, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Lady Macbeth opposite Anthony Sher, The Duchess of Malfi, All's Well That Ends Well (with Peggy Ashcroft) Twelfth Night and Three Sisters (winning an Olivier award for the last two). Her film credits include The Young Victoria, Atonement, Bright Young Things, Sense and Sensibility and Louis Malle's Milou et Mai. She has published four books: Other People's Shoes and Macbeth for the Faber series 'Actors on Shakespeare', Facing It and Brutus and Other Heroines. She was appointed a CBE in 2000 and DBE in the Honours List 2011.