Friday, June 21, 2019

Book Note: Year of the Fat Knight

Sher, Antony Year of the Fat Knight: The Falstaff Diaries. Illus. Antony Sher. London: Nick Hern Books, 2016.

Some time ago, I wrote about Antony Sher's Year of the King (for which, q.v.). Reading Patterson Joseph's Julius Caesar and Me reminded me of Sher's work—perhaps especially because I was in the middle of reading Year of the Fat Knight. I had intended to read it some time ago, but copies of the book—even used copies—are not inexpensive, so I kept putting off getting one.

Like Year of the King, Year of the Fat Knight is a diary with sketches (and paintings) related to getting the role of Falstaff, rehearsing the role of Falstaff, and playing the role of Falstaff.

The opening line is pretty compelling:
It's all Ian McKellen's fault.
Here's more of the story:



The work, as you might expect, rambles a bit, but it offers good insight into the life of an actor and the role of Falstaff.


Bonus Image: "My Falstaff."

Click below to purchase the book from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).


Additional Bonus Image (I couldn't resist Sher's sketch of Orson Welles as Falstaff)

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Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Gen. ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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