Will & Me: How Shakespeare Took Over My Life Book

"Dominic Dromgoole is a fitting witness to the passage of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre from curiosity to respected showcase."-The New York Times

"A passionate, often very funny account."-The Economist

"A superbly written, infectiously high-spirited narrative. It is a bumptious, opinionated memoir crammed with fascinating anecdotes, finely tuned phrases, and genuine shafts of insight. A book hard to put down."-Terry Eagleton

William Shakespeare has always been part of Dominic Dromgoole's life. Here he recounts the story of his life through Shakespeare, and in turn shows us what Shakespeare can tell us about the world. In this freewheeling and passionate exploration of Shakespeare the artist, the man, the playwright, and the genius, Dromgoole explores why it is that he can enter our lives with such force and teach us so much about living.

Using his own encounters as a guide, Dromgoole shows how Shakespeare's words on war, love, death, drunkenness, family, friendship, and everything else reveal us to ourselves. This is the true nature of Shakespeare, a godhead of comic, sexual, sublime humanism, whose plays and characters have become a universal gateway to an understanding of the world.

A passionate Shakespearean practically since birth, Dominic Dromgoole is the new artistic director for the Globe Theatre, the playhouse Shakespeare made famous. He is a columnist for the Guardian and a regular contributor to The Sunday Times. His first book, The Full Room, was one of the most controversial and successful theater books in England of the last few years.

Publishers Weekly

What are the life lessons we can glean from Shakespeare's characters? According to Dromgoole, the artistic director of London's Globe Theatre, Shakespeare is better than religion for "interpreting the world." Unfortunately, Dromgoole, in spite of his background, isn't able to pull off the conceit. The first half of the book follows his childhood, then chronicles life in a touring company. En route, Dromgoole extracts monologues from Shakespeare's plays to underscore his point; in essence: forget the Bible, just read the bard of Avon. When not extolling the educative virtue of Shakespeare's characters, Dromgoole pays court to distinguished performers, such as Peter O'Toole and Judi Dench. He reserves special attention for Michael Bryant, who plays the smaller Shakespearean roles, proving there are no small roles in Shakespeare's plays. A purist, Dromgoole rails against directors' concepts that stand between the play and the audience. And while his affection and high regard for Shakespeare is obvious, he's too chatty for the academic reader and too self-involved for the general public. Chapter heads are both enigmatic and narcissistic. While an actor will garner insights into how to interpret legendary characters, the book has too much Dromgoole and not enough Will. (Sept.)