Corin Redgrave, 1939-2010

Corin Redgrave, 1939-2010 | reviews, news & interviews

Corin Redgrave, 1939-2010

The Marxist theory of thespianism: how a career revived after the Cold War

by Jasper ReesSaturday, 10 April 2010

Corin Redgrave: 'Very good, but his eyes too close together' according to his father Michael Redgrave

I once witnessed Corin Redgrave, who died last week, terrify a member of the audience at the National Theatre. He was playing an old beast of a journalist in Joanna Murray-Smith’s play, Honour. It opened with Redgrave in mid-rant, so when a mobile phone trilled about five seconds after his entrance, Redgrave was already in the zone. This was a traverse staging in the Cottesloe, and the woman rummaging in her bag was in the second row, so he was practically on top of her when, without slipping out of character, he swivelled and yelled, “Turn it off!”

I didn’t put acting to one side. What determined it was the sense that to a degree I was excluded by other people from acting

Buy

Find Michael Redgrave, My Father on Amazon

Explore topics

Share this article

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Theatre

The Years, Harold Pinter Theatre review - a bravura, joyous feat of storytelling The Almeida’s all-women hit transfers to the West End

Elektra, Duke of York's Theatre review - Brie Larson's London stage debut is angry but inert Brie Larson makes a brave West End debut that, alas, misfires

First Person: writer Lauren Mooney on bringing bodies together in the new Royal Court play, 'More Life' Kandinsky Theatre co-creator on a new play tethering technology to existence

Oedipus, Old Vic review - disappointing leads in a production of two halves Is it a dance piece with added text, or a stripped down play with excess choreography?

Second Best, Riverside Studios review - Asa Butterfield brings the magic Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the boy who survived

Mrs President, Charing Cross Theatre review - Mary Todd Lincoln on her life alone Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story

… Blackbird Hour, Bush Theatre review - an unrelentingly tough watch New play about mental breakdown is a mix of acute distress and poetic writing

Play On!, Lyric Hammersmith review - and give me excess of it! Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment

Inside No 9: Stage Fright, Wyndham’s review - uneven fright-night from the fêted duo Still inventive and fun but short on sharp shocks

Cymbeline, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - pagan women fight the good fight A new, if not as radical as once it were, take on Shakespeare's cross-dressing call to arms

An Interrogation, Hampstead Theatre review - police procedural based on true crime tale fails to ring true Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard shine in Edinburgh Festival import

The Lonely Londoners, Kiln Theatre review - Windrush Generation arrive in a London full of opportunities, but not for them Memories, frustrations and hopes in a city emerging from post-war austerity

Follow @theartsdesk