George Rainsford on Bertram

Running time: 2.15mins

Film maker: Mike Marriage

George Rainsford talks about the experience of playing Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well.

Acting

Acting requires a wide range of skills, vocal, physical, imaginative, expressive, intellectual, intuitive, and work can demand different dialects, languages, accents, vocal control or body language, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and often dancing or stage combat. A stage actor will often be required to research around a character or a period of history. In an ever changing world it is a continually evolving profession. This collection aims to give an insight into what it is like to be an actor at the National Theatre.

Rehearsal overview

Actors spend much more time rehearsing for a play than they do for a film.
Keeping a role fresh

How do you keep a role you are playing every night fresh?
An actor's dressing room

The dressing rooms at the National Theatre are arranged over four floors.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #2 - stage fighting

In this second episode, the cast of One Man, Two Guvnors work out some of the show's fight sequences and slapstick comedy with stage fighting expert Kombat Kate.
Conleth Hill on Parolles

Conleth Hill talks about playing Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well
George Rainsford on Bertram

George Rainsford talks about the difficulties of playing Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #1 - Meet Daniel

Peek into the rehearsal room for One Man Two Guvnors and meet actor Daniel Rigby.
Michelle Terry on Helena

Michelle Terry talks about the role of Helena in All's Well That Ends Well.
Voice work on ‘To be, or not to be…’

Jeannette Nelson works on Hamlet speech with actor Ferdinand Kingsley.
Playing the King

Oliver Ford Davies talks about playing the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well.
Voice work on ‘O what a noble mind…’

Jeannette Nelson works on Ophelia speech with actor Ellie Turner.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #3 - singing and dancing

A music rehearsal for One Man Two Guvnors
Text work on blank verse

Chris Saul works on a blank verse speech from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #4 - the dinner scene

A complex scene requiring many props and split-second timing.
The job of the stage actor

Director Nicholas Hytner and actor Lesley Manville talk about the job of the stage actor.
One Man, Two Guvnors: Video diary #6 - press night

Excitement is high before the One Man Two Guvnors press night.
Acting in the Olivier

Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Manville and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Olivier stage.
'O that this too too solid flesh...'

Rory Kinnear performs the first half of the soliloquy.
Acting in the Lyttelton

Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Manville and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Lyttelton stage.
Fiona Shaw prepares

What does an actor do before the curtain opens?
Acting in the Cottesloe

Simon Russell Beale and Roger Allam talk about acting on the Cottesloe stage.
The importance of rehearsal

Simon Russell Beale talks about why actors rehearse.
Devising a multimedia production

A look at how two of Katie Mitchell's multimedia productions, Waves and ...some trace of her, were developed using novels as a starting point.
Working as part of a company

Simon Russell Beale talks about the benefits of working as part of a company.
Acting in a multimedia production

A look at the many different roles and responsibilities of an actor in a multimedia production.
Adrian Lester in conversation

Adrian Lester talks to Al Senter in this recording of a Platform event from June 2013.
National Histories: Brenda Blethyn and Simon Russell Beale

Brenda Belthyn and Simon Russell Beale celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
She Stoops to Conquer: Video diary #1

Episode 1 of the She Stoops to Conquer video diaries.
Anne-Marie Duff in conversation

Anne-Marie Duff talks about her acting career, her past performances at the National Theatre and Strange Interlude.
Staging From Morning to Midnight

Go behind the scenes and into the 'From Morning to Midnight' rehearsal room with director Melly Still, writer Dennis Kelly and actor Adam Godley.
Acting in The Cherry Orchard

How does an actor approach a Chekhov text?
Emilia and Desdemona: Women in Othello

Olivia Vinall (Desdemona) and Lyndsey Marshal (Emilia) talk about their characters, the relationship between them and the position of women in the world of the play.
She Stoops to Conquer: Video diary #2

Meet the director Jaime Lloyd and see the cast in early rehearsals of the play.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Sharon D. Clarke in conversation

Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Sharon D. Clarke talk to Al Senter about acting together in the 2013 production of The Amen Corner and their respective acting careers on film, television and stage.
She Stoops to Conquer: Video diary #3

Here's a look at the cast during dance rehearsals.
Rory Kinnear and Lyndsey Marshal in conversation

Rory Kinnear and Lyndsey Marshal talk to Al Senter about their roles in Nicholas Hytner's current production of Othello and their acting careers.
Lenny Henry in conversation

Lenny Henry talks to Al Senter about his career and role in The Comedy of Errors.
50 years on stage rehearsals

Go into the rehearsal room and watch as more than 100 actors prepare 25 productions
Julie Walters in conversation

Julie Walters talks about her acting career and role in The Last of the Haussmans.
National Histories: Nicholas Hytner and Rory Kinnear

Nicholas Hytner and Rory Kinnear celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Rory Kinnear and Helen McCrory in conversation

Rory Kinnear and Helen McCrory talk about their acting careers and their roles in The Last of the Haussmans.
Natoinal Histories: Anna Carteret and Edward Petherbridge

Anna Carteret and Edward Petherbridge reflect on the last 50 years of the National Theatre in a special Platform from October 2013.
Christopher Eccleston in conversation

Christopher Eccleston talks to Al Senter about his stage, film and television career as well as his role in the National Theatre's 2012 production of Antigone.
National Histories: Marianne Elliott and Clive Rowe

Marianne Elliott and Clive Rowe celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Working on the Spectrum: The Making of Curious Incident and the Dog in the Night-Time

The creative team talk about bringing the novel to the stage in this short documentary for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
National Histories: Sara Kestelman and Adrian Lester

Sara Kestelman and Adrian Lester celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Una Stubbs in conversation

Una Stubbs talks about her fifty-year career in film, television and on stage.
National Histories: Patricia Hodge and Trevor Nunn

Trevor Nunn and Patricia Hodge reflect on their experiences at the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Simon Russell Beale in conversation

Simon Russell Beale talks about his career including his role in Timon of Athens.
John Lithgow in conversation

John Lithgow talks to Nicholas Hytner about his career and his current role in The Magistrate.
National Histories: David Hare and Penelope Wilton

David Hare and Penelope Wilton celebrate the National Theatre's 50th anniversary in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Antigone: Creon and Antigone

This film looks at the relationship between the two main characters in Antigone.
National Histories: Fiona Shaw and Charles Kay

Charles Kay and Fiona Shaw celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Antigone: Haemon and Antigone

This film looks at the relationship between Antigone and Haemon.
National Histories: Lesley Manville and Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham and Lesley Manville celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in a special Platform event from October 2013.
Rory Kinnear talks about playing Hamlet

Rory Kinnear is interviewed by Matt Wolf.
Antony Sher in conversation

Antony Sher talks about his career and his role in Travelling Light in this Platform event from 2012.
National Histories: Alan Bennett and Frances de la Tour

Alan Bennett and Frances de la Tour celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform event from October 2013.
Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing

Simon Russell Beale and Zoë Wanamaker talk about playing Beatrice and Benedick in the 2007 production of Much Ado About Nothing.
National Histories: Richard Eyre and Julie Walters

Richard Eyre and Julie Walters celebrate 50 years of the National Theatre in this special Platform from October 2013.

George Rainsford on Bertram

Acting

Video Collections