Shakespeare and Gesture in Practice

Darren Tunstall was a professional actor, director, movement director, writer and dramaturg before becoming Lecturer in Acting at the Guildford School of Acting, University of Surrey, UK.

'What is the actor to do with her hands? The answer, according to this fascinating, highly original and elegantly argued book, is much more than you might think. A compelling account of the ways in which the action, the word and the thought are deeply, richly interdependent.' - Robert Shaughnessy, University of Kent, UK 'From the language of early modern gesture through to gesture in modern acting theory and practice, this is a wonderfully sure-footed and engaging guide.' - Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame, USA 'An ambitious and important book. Tunstall draws on contemporary cognitive understandings of the metaphorical content of actors' gestures and applies them transhistorically to examine shifting social moralities embodied in Shakespearean performance history.' - Bruce McConachie, University of Pittsburgh, USA

• IntroductionPART ONE: THEORY1. What is a Gesture?2. Ideas of Gesture – Before and After ShakespearePART TWO: PRACTICE3. Shakespeare's Practice4. Eighteenth Century Gesture5. Gestural Landmarks from Garrick to Irving6. Modern and Postmodern Gestures7. The Use of Video in the Study of Gesture8. Interviews and Closing ThoughtsFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex.