Forays into contemporary South African theatre: devising new stage idioms

Abstract

Actors who might not reach the ‘required’ amount of fame to be considered ‘successful’, could experience this as failure which could lead to distress. The Outstanding Actor, seven keys to success is a clearly written acting resource offering a multitude of exercises that, if done correctly and often, will make for a better practitioner. I will definitely be recommending this book to all my acting students. I end this review with one of Rea’s most pragmatic yet poignant statements, ‘When you step onto the stage, you are one of the lucky minority that has an acting job that night, and you need to remember your responsibility to your audience, who are paying your wages’ (p. 54). Our responsibility, especially in these soul destroying times, is not only to ourselves, but also to our industry.