Acting: A Backstage Guide

From one of the most celebrated actors of the stage and screen comes this book on the craft of acting.

Lucian Msamati draws on his rich experience, particularly in the context of productions at the National Theatre - including:

Amadeus
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Master Harold and The Boys
Death and The King’s Horseman
The Comedy of Errors
The Overwhelming

- to delve into sets of challenges and possibilities that actors might face.

He offers up his tips on getting started in the industry; navigating the various professional relationships and roles inside a rehearsal room; and offers insights into running your own company and generating your own work.

Peppered with quoted interviews with other industry professionals and personal anecdotes, which are sure to resonate with any reader, this will be a cherished book on any actor’s bookshelf.

Lucian Msamati is an actor, writer and director. Born in the UK and raised in Zimbabwe by his Tanzanian parents, Msamati founded Zimbabwe’s Over the Edge Theatre Company. As an actor in TV and film, he has appeared in Ultimate Force, Spooks, Ashes to Ashes, Doctor Who, Death in Paradise, Luther, The Hollow Crown (Richard II), The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, The International, Game of Thrones, Gangs of London, Black Earth Rising, His Dark Materials and Taboo. On stage, he has appeared in a large number of productions at venues including the National Theatre, West End, RSC, Almeida, Kiln, Royal Court, Shakespeare’s Globe and American Repertory Theater, and notably was the first Black actor to play Iago in Othello. In 2010 he was appointed Artistic Director of the acclaimed British-African theatre company Tiata Fahodzi. Msamati is also a writer and director