'Your body is a machine...in speaking and moving and in everything...a piece of equipment. The more finely tuned it is, the better actor you will be' Robert Stephens In 1986, Peter Gill, the first director of the National Theatre Studio, sent a group of young actors to interview some of the most respected actors of the time about speaking on stage. Those conversations, with actors such as Alec Guinness, Rex Harrison and Robert Stephens, are collected here for the first time. From initial questions about clarity, projection, technique and influence, the discussions take off in surprising directions, providing fascinating insights into the actor's craft and revealing how the skills of stage-speaking are passed from one generation to the next. 'These fascinating conversations reveal a great deal about the craft of speaking on stage but even more about the history of theatre in the 20th century...a book to treasure' Sir Peter Hall Contributions from Harry Andrews, Gabrielle Daye, Fabia Drake, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Alec Guinness, Rex Harrison, Patricia Hayes, Michael Horden, Athene Seyler, Robert Stephens, Madoline Thomas and Margaret Tyzack, with an introduction by Peter Gill.