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Jonathan Oliver recommends: Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
It's really good...closer than most other books on the hamletness of life, love, lies and taking those lines for a walk.

Maddy Hyland recommends: Shakespeare and The Goddess of Complete Being by Ted Hughes

This is the most mind-blowing book I ever read. It's Ted Hughes' 25 years or so worth of thinking and feeling about Shakespeare, one poet talking to another - and it's like he sees the whole cannon as this living creature, and can see the pattern that made it. I say that because like a living thing he does not separate the myths and parents of it from its brains and its heart and its search, like a child just learning, for the best language and rhythms to say what it has to, voice/mind/dreams/body/architecture all being part of the whole struggling being - and he reminds you of the deeply split and divided world that Shakespeare was writing in, which is so easy to forget if you believe in anything whatsoever the Victorians ever told us about the Elizabethans. He basically looks at Venus and Adonis as being the source myth for Catholicism, and The Rape of Lucrece as being the source myth for Protestantism, but also more fundamentally of female based worship and male based worship - of the left brain and the right brain, of the cycle of living things on our lovely dualistic sun/moon planet, and he talks about the points at which they connect and detonate in the plays, the point at which the Adonis figure transforms into a Tarquin, the way the two poems link up and cause all the explosions from Measure for Measure onwards. As an actor its great because it just means Acting with a capital A is so much less important - you know that in the rhythms and shapes and sounds of the words and what they're saying about and doing to each other, the images they are invoking, are so powerful it's like you're going in to the game with this arsenal of gods and rituals and magic behind you and through you - that as long as you get the form right then you can just get on with playing. Which you all know already - I just want you all to read it so I don't sound like such a vague raving lunatic. And it's not written in scholarly language either, it's just like your diving in to Ted Hughes' and Shakespeare's dreamland and getting what makes both of them, and England before and since the Civil War, tick, beat - best - what is healthy and what is a killer about the interplay or oppression of binary opposites - and why we keep needing these plays.

Victoria-Anne Bulley recommends:

To The Actor - Michael Chekhov I don't know if this is one of those "kinda goes without saying" books since it's not on here, but I think its great so here it is :) I haven't read many books on acting but I think it's just a darn good one really - it re-clarifies everything about why we want to do this insane thing called acting and, in my case, it's reminded me that I'm not so crazy for wanting to do it. It's very simply written and flexible, so you can read it in bed (yay!) or on your feet as you do some of it's exercises. The key excercises in it are so easy to do and very much is achieved with just a bit of space (even my messy cramped bedroom sufficed) and lots of imagination. One to go back to again and again...

Federay Holmes recommends:

A Whore's Profession: Notes and Essays Always provocative. Always inspiring. Though I don't agree with every last word he says he always makes me clarify what I do believe and wish for. This is full of beautiful writing on writing, life, and art. A great inspiration for writers of plays, prose and shopping lists. A great inspiration for artists of any kind. This book is an anthology of three of his early books: The Cabin; Writing in Restaurants (a seminal work in itself on the art, craft and act of writing) and Some Freaks.

Ben Lambert recommends

Yes Man, Danny Wallace Not a book about Acting. How refreshing? But a book that I thought was worth putting up here because of the work we did during Round One; specifically and obviously the Cosmic Yes. I think it's fair to say "Yes" makes us vunerable but because of this it changes us and others far more than No and that's always interesting to watch and in this book interesting to read. The book is full hilarious Yeses. The book also includes the occasional random tangent of thought and unnecessary elaboration on trivial detail which can be annoying... but it made me laugh out loud quite a lot and smile even more and generally feel pretty positive about life so for those three reasons I recommend it.

Leilani Holmes recommends

The Playwright's Guidebook | Stuart Spencer A book, perhaps the book, on writing plays. Stuart Spencer is a talented playwright who clearly speaks about the process of creating plays and characters. A wonderful insight for actors as well as writers. Here's what others say about it:- “The Playwright's Guidebook is indispensable. Clearly and thoroughly, Mr. Spencer—a playwright himself—leads all playwrights (not only the beginner) through the travails of creation and the jungle of production.” — EDWARD ALBEE “If you want to be a playwright, here's your bible.” — DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE “Eureka! A clearly written, well-structured, intelligent how-to book about playwriting. Like the good teacher and good writer that he is, Stuart Spencer guides rather than browbeats. Should be next to the laptop of any aspiring, or working playwright.” — WARREN LEIGHT “Mr. Spencer's Guidebook is full of solid, straightforward advice in a conversational voice that takes the mystery out of how plays are wrought, not written.” — MICHAEL WELLER Amazon.co.uk link You may also want to check out Stuart's own plays, many of which are free to download from his website at stuartspencer.com - I've met Stuart on a number of occasions and seen many of his plays performed.. it's always a joy!

Joanna Croll recommends	The Actor And His Body. By Litz Pisk This is fantastically clear and inspiring. It focuses on Pure Movement as the foundation to impulse, intention and transformation. As it contains written exercises it's a good guide for your own work.
Faye Thomas recommends	The Sanford Meisner Approach: An Actors Workbook by Larry Silverberg This is actually one of 4 published Meisner workbooks... There is also: Workbook II - Emotional Freedom , Workbook III - Tackling the Text , Workbook IIII - Playing the Part I've not read the other three... and I've no idea how useful they are as I've not used any of them as a practical guide. But the first book is written as a practical workbook - it's broken up into 'sessions'... with warm-ups and clearly explained practical exercises to be done in a group situation - written almost like a script for the benefit of someone acting as a guide/observer in practical development of Meisner Technique. It even has 'homework' instructions... Something useful for the jam sessions, maybe? "This is a workbook. I will be giving you very specific things to do. You can not do this work alone, you must work with an acting partner. Also, the most effective approach would be to have a group of at least three people so that when two partners are working, another can become the observer. Throughout the book, the two people as the 'partners', will be taken through a series of acting exercises. Like building blocks, with each step we lay the groundwork for what is next and only the doing of each exercise will allow the possibility of what is to follow. A third person as 'observer' will recieve instructions on what to be looking for and how to simply interact with the partners who are doing the exercises. Together, we will build an exercise that, ultimately, contains all of the dramatic elements. As you do these exercises consistently, your acting skills will grow and strengthen. Learning the craft of acting does not happein in our talking about, thinking about or reading about, which may all be very intellectually appealing but will remain in your head merely as a concept or theory. As with any craft, true learning only occurs in the doing of it and with time." - Silverberg's intro blurb at the beginning.
Matt Maltby recommends	Through the Body; A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre by Dymphna Callery A fantastic look at physical theatre in its various guises, from experimental dance to simple characterisation. Taking inspiration from a varied range of practitioners from Grotowski to DV8, it's part theoretical exploration of ideas, supplemented by over 100 different games and exercises. Invaluable for an actor to have a read through, or for a director to get inspiration for workshops/rehearsals
Kate Alderton recommends	Games for Actors and Non Actors by Augusto Boal This is a practical book where he sets down his theories through stories and examples of his work in europe then explains every drama exercise he's found useful in his practice.
Kate Alderton recommends	Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal
Kate Alderton recommends	The Rainbow of Desire:The Boal Method of Theatre and Therapy by Augusto Boal
Kate Alderton recommends	The Line by Israel Horowitz Acrobats by Israel Horowitz In The Line a man steps onto a bare stage places a line on the floor and forms a queue. The characters relationships and politics become twisted as each one uses his/her manipulative powers to gain a stronger position in a queue to something they know nothing about. The Acrobats is a 2 hander performed by a husband a wife acrobatic balancing act. Their relationship has crawled into a bitterly abusive hole but their dependance on eachother creatively and physically drives them on and they lacerate eachother with words as they move expertly through their act with fixed smiles.
Kate Alderton recommends	The War of Art by Steven Pressfield Not strictly a book about acting, its actually for writers sat at the desk facing an empty page but something i've found really useful to return to in times of creative doubt. "most of us have two lives. the life we live and the unlived life within us. between the two stands resistance"
Kate Alderton recommends	Freeing the natural voice by Kristin Linklater I think voice books can be really tricky but I found this one to be clearer and easier to understand than most. I'm not good at sitting and reading it like a novel but it's good to dip in and out of - an exercise at a time.
Vivien Heilbron recommends	Exposed by the Mask by Peter Hall
Vivien Heilbron recommends	Shakespeare's Advice to the Players by Peter Hall
Vivien Heilbron recommends	Freeing Shakespeare's Voice by Kristin Linklater
Vivien Heilbron recommends	Performing Shakespeare by Oliver Ford Davies
Tim Carroll recommends	Different Every Night by Mike Alfreds Mike Alfreds came along to The Factory and spoke to us about his working methods. For further notes on this session click here.
Tim Carroll recommends	The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry This is ostensibly about how to write poetry, but contains a very useful crash course in iambic pentameter.
Ben Hassell recommends	Shakespeare. A Very Short Introduction by Germaine Greer Does what it says on the tin.
Ben Hassell recommends	The Hidden Plot. Notes on Theatre and the State. by Edward Bond Difficult to read and understand, annoying, full of pretentious shorthand and polemic and guaranteed to make you, at least once every half an hour, say 'For fuck's sake Edward stop spouting generalisms as if they're the voice of God! And why can't you write Theatre Event or World Stage in full, it's not frigging algebra, it's a book! Typeset by other people! Nnnnnnn!' (Bites hand). Nonetheless brilliant, mind-blowing, amazing; this book will turn what you think about writing drama upside down and inside out. And also at the same time full of shit.
Simon Muller recommends	The Full Room by Dominic Dromgoole Dominic's most recent book, "Will and Me" has reached a wider audience, which is a shame as this book is indispensable for anyone interested in new writing. It caused quite a fuss when it was first published in 2002, as it is an entirely subjective A-Z survey of contemporary playwrights that makes no apologies for its lack of objectivity or the violence with which certain 'national treasures' are knocked off pedestals.....Witty, wise, frequently vulgar and extraordinarily passionate - much like the man himself - the book takes the form of a series of short essays (some very, very very short... On Reza, Yasmin: "Yasmin Reza is very rich, Yasmin Reza est tres riche."!) and is, as such, easily digestible.
Alan Morrissey recommends	Tales from Ovid. By Ted Hughes This is an amazing book of poems that revisits the stories of some of the most popular and frequently referred to Gods and Goddesses. It's perfect as a source for all those tricky Shakespeare references, as well as being a great way of discovering/re-discovering the original stories. So many plays and popular story-lines used in the theatre are based or derived from these classics and there isn't a more beautiful, modern, translation than this one (also adapted as a play itself). Its a valuable addition to any actors bookshelf.
Faye Thomas recommends	Other People's Shoes, by Harriet Walter A fantastic book of the kind that one should read with a highlighter and lots of bookmarks. Intelligent and absorbing. And it's £3.72 on amazon..! The back-cover blurb says it best... "If, as the actor Booth said, acting is sculpting in snow, then writing about acting is writing on water, but Harriet Walter manages to write something tangible and truthful - and occasionally touching and witty - about the way she earns her living. She is a fine actress and a lucid writer: her book breathes practical advice and observation culled from a very varied and very successful career. She wholly avoids the kind of mystification and self-indulgent sophistry that usually attends discussions about acting by following her own advice: DON'T GENERALISE. My advice to a young actor: read this book." - Sir Richard Eyre
Tim Carroll recommends	Arguments for a Theatre by Howard Barker
Tim Carroll recommends	Death, The One, and the Art of Theatre by Howard Barker No holds barred: this is what Barker wants theatre to be, and if you don't like it, you can stay in the lifeboat. It is a bracing vision. I particularly like his assertion that our task should not be to create a unified audience response, but to welcome - nay, insist on - the fragmentation of the audience into each person's personal reaction.
Tim Carroll recommends	How To Do Things With Words, by J.L. Austin All about performative utterances, i.e. things we say which constitute not 'just saying' but an action. As someone who works from the assumption that we never 'just say' anything, I found this book seminal.
Tim Carroll recommends	True and False by David Mamet One of those books that, the first time you read it, you think is fun and provocative but obviously a bit extreme. Then, the second time, you realise he's bang on the money.
Tim Carroll recommends	The Actor and the Target by Declan Donnellan. Essential for getting it off yourself and on to the other guy. And full of invaluable exercises.
Catherine Bailey recommends	Tough Acts, by Steven Berkoff This collection of anecdotes by Berkoff is candid, vicious, tender and at times bonkers. It never fails to entertain and offers an insight into what it must be like to be the outlaw of British theatre. He waxes lyrical about some, and verbally lacerates others. One actor he can’t praise enough is Christopher Plummer, who he worked with on a TV production of Hamlet in the 1960s. Plummer was in the title role, Berkoff was one of the players, and Michael Caine was Horatio. Crikey. Other highlights include his diary notes when directing a production of Coriolanus in New York starring Christopher Walken, and also his confusion at the fickle treatment he received from the legendary Stanley Kubrick.
Simon Muller recommends	Playing Shakespeare by John Barton This, in my opinion, is the bedrock text for a lot of the work we have been doing with Tim Carroll on verse and prose speaking at the Factory. I know that this book inspired Tim to start exploring text in the way he has, but it must be noted that a lot of Barton's theories are ones which Tim has now moved on from. However, if you want a grounding in how to approach line endings, metre, syllable construction, breathing, and Folio theory - in fact, pretty much everything to do with Shakespeare and text - this is the place to start. Just don't get Tim started on Barton and messing with the metre....
Vicky Jones recommends	Family, Sex and Marriage in England: 1500-1800 by Lawrence Stone Okay, this is much more of a dip-in-and-out book than a read-cover-to-cover. Unless you’re really hardcore. I stumbled across it a few years ago and I found it an invaluable background reference when approaching a classic text. Attitudes to family, sex, life and death, religion and politics have undergone massive cultural and social shifts during this time. This book has come under some criticism for relying heavily on anecdote and making some sweeping generalisations. But I've found it fascinating nonetheless and it'll definitely expand your knowledge and imagination of the time and circumstances the play was written for.
Daniel Kramer recommends	Harold Clurman on Directing
Jemima Rooper recommends	'Sanford Meisner On Acting' by Sanford Meisner and Dennis Longwell This book documents an acting class of eight men and eight women over fifteen months. It's written like a diary and provides a vivid window into Meisner's classes. It very much reminded me of Mr Carroll which is probably the thing that struck me most whilst reading it. I also think that of all the practitioners, Meisner is the most relevant to today's actors. A big emphasis is put on actors not preparing too much cerebrally and also always having "full" emotional preparation. Anyway, very quick and easy to read and really enjoyable.
Mark Springer recommends	'The Secret Love Life Of Ophelia' by Steven Berkoff. Just thought it may prove useful to recommend the play. It is basically a collection of letters(written in verse) between Hamlet & Ophelia. It is published by Faber & Faber and might be good resource material for the Hamlet project. Good read!
Alex Hassell recommends	How To Stop Acting. by Harold Guskin Alex Hassell lead a session based on the theories and working methods set out by Harold Guskin in his book. This book is fucking amazing. It totally changed the way I act and freed me up in more ways than I could have imagined. I also think it complements T.C's work really well in terms of possible home/prep work. GET IT.

The Factory recommends

Louis Scheeder is Co-Author of Training Of The American Actor. He has worked extensively with The Factory exploring with The Hamlet Project his theories and work on Thought In Action.

Tom Payne recommends

Antonin Artaud's 'The Theatre and it's Double' I have had this book since I studied it at school and it still chimes exactly with the thoughts and beliefs that I believe continue to be prevalent. It is a reactionary book without many answers. But I find it just as relevant now as when it was written. A lot of what it says fits in with the ideals and intent of the factory and thus I feel it is a valuable companion to its work

Matt Maltby recommends

DEBRIS by Dennis Kelly (First performed at the Latchmere, April 2003) - Contemporary. Set in unknown British city. 1M, 1F "On my sixteenth birthday, my father erected a fourteen-foot crucifix in our living room". The play charts, through a series of chronologically displaced monologues and duologues shared between siblings Michael and Michelle, the history of a dysfunctional and loveless family. At the heart of the play is Michael's discovery of a baby in a rubbish heap, whom he takes for his own; filled with lyrical flights of poetry, wonderfully drawn characters, unimaginable pain, intriguing ideas and cruelly black comedy, this is equally challenging for performers, directors and audience, but brilliantly rewarding.

Faye Thomas recommends

THE NIGHT SEASON by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Performed at the RNT Cottesloe in 2004) - Contemporary, Set in Ireland, 4F 3M "Late at night, shoeless, in the rain, a film actor playing the poet Yeats turns up drunk at his appointed Sligo digs. He is met by the grandmother and they dance together to 'Lili Marlene'. In the morning they are discovered, sharing a blanket, by Patrick and his three daughters. Patrick craves tobacco, whiskey and a date with the local barmaid; the sisters yearn for sensation and escape. A funny, modern, intoxicated tale of love and loss."