Product Description

Who's afraid of William Shakespeare? Just about everyone. He wrote too much and what he did write is inaccessible and elitist. Right? Wrong. "Shakespeare on Toast" knocks the stuffing from the staid old myth of Shakespeare, revealing the man and his plays for what they really are: modern, thrilling and uplifting drama. Actor and author Ben Crystal brings the bright words and colourful characters of the world's greatest hack writer brilliantly to life, handing over the key to Shakespeare's plays, unlocking the so called difficult bits and, astonishingly, finding Shakespeare's own voice amid the poetry. Told in five fascinating Acts, "Shakespeare on Toast" sweeps the cobwebs from the Bard - from his language, his life, his time - revealing both the man and his work to be relevant, accessible and full of beans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16960 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
'This is a brilliantly enjoyable, light-hearted look at Shakespeare which dispels the myths and makes him accessible to all. I love it!' Judi Dench''Ben Crystal's excellent book is an ideal way to gain an understanding of why Shakespeare is so brilliant and so enjoyable.'Sir Richard Eyre'A masterclass for modern beginners and old hands alike.' The Times

Judi Dench
'This is a brilliantly enjoyable, light-hearted look at Shakespeare which dispels the myths and makes him accessible to all. I love it!'

Review
A masterclass for modern beginners and old hands alike.

Customer Reviews

Eureka!! I have found it.
It is amazing how things happen. I was in the car on my way to pick up my Granddaughter listening to the radio when I heard Ben Crystal being interviewed about a book called Shakespeare on Toast. I was intrigued by the title and Bens explanation about the key to understanding The Bard. Like many people I wished I could understand the plays but my only contact with his works had been at school in the 1960's. They were hard to understand when read by pupils who had no interest and seemed bored by the whole experience.

If only Shakespeare on Toast had been available then, it would have put the plays in context with the time they were written and explained something of the man and the times he lived and worked in. Shakespeare never intended his plays to be just read, but performed on stage. The book explains that if it had not been for two actors writing his plays down 20 years after his death his plays would have been lost forever.

The dreaded iambic pentameter is also explained in a simple and straight forward way. The way speeches should be spoken were included in the play by Shakespeare himself as an aid to the actors.

Ben Crystal hands you the key to understanding all this and more in this book. If you have a passing interest in the Bard but always thought he is elitist then, like me, I am sure you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

Shakespeare For All
A very good book - I am a Shakespeare lover so he was talking to the converted but the book works very well.
I love how he claims Shakespeare back from the Literary elite and places him firmly in his Elizabehan context.The football analogy is spot on!.
The only part that dragged for me was the end when the over analysis of one play Macbeth occured - that stopped me giving it 5 stars because that part didnt speak to me as vibrantly and powefully as the earlier parts.
Overall a great idea and very well presented - the overall premise is if you really want to apprecaite the great man go to a Theatre and not a class room - HEAR HEAR .

Crystal Clear Shakespeare
Ben Crystal deserves an award for making the bard so accessible.

A conversation over dinner with mates in October about the relevance of Shakespeare in 2008 resulted in one of them buying me this book: "read it, Crystal's the Jamie Oliver of Shakespeare," said my friend. I grudgingly leafed through it only to become fixated with just how easy Crystal explains what is wrongly perceived as a difficult area. It was the stocking filler for all my friends.

I'm a convert and I hope to see more in the "Toast" series.