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Books

The Actor and the Target by Declan Donnellan (book cover)

The Actor and the Target

Declan Donnellan’s fresh and radical approach to acting

Originally published in Russian, The Actor and the Target has been translated into 14 languages.

“The Actor and the Target comes from the heart of his own experience. Fear, generalising and other actor’s blocks are dismembered lethally and with infectious relish.”
Alan Rickman

“Brilliantly direct, the ‘target’ equips the actor with keys to unlock the fears and flab of acting. Declan’s insightful voice guides us to the heart of the process; exhilarating to read and more importantly to put into practice.”
Joseph Fiennes

“Cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics.”
Peter Brook

The Actor and the Space by Declan Donnellan (book cover)

The Actor and the Space

New book published in March 2024

Now, in The Actor and the Space, he develops and extends those ideas, exploring that most profound source of vitality in life as well as performance: the space around us.

Tackling fundamental questions that face any actor – What makes performance better? How do I create a space for my character to live in? How do I tap into that space, and draw energy from it? – Donnellan offers a universal set of keys to unlock the mysteries of performance.

“A hand grenade of a book. It contains all the humility and chutzpah you need to work in the theatre.”
Cate Blanchett

“A wonderful book. Few directors think as deeply or perceptively about the art of acting as Declan Donnellan. This is an essential text for the actor, supremely useful, practical, elegant and profound.”
Matthew Macfadyen

“Beautifully clear. This generous vision takes a very complex art form and makes it all seem so simple. The whole book is a key. Unlocking the problems actors face as they try to accept another reality long enough to let the audience get a glimpse of the best our art can offer – a glimpse into themselves.”
Adrian Lester

The Actor and the Target – Translations

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Russian

Актер и Мишень (Aktyor y Michen)
2001
Publisher: MKTS Publishing House Moscow

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English

The Actor and the Target
2005/2013/2018
ISBN: 9781854598387
Publisher: Nick Hern Books

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Bulgarian

Aктьорът и мишената (actort I mishenata)
2008 (1st edition)
Translated by Корнелия Славова (Cornelia Slavova)
ISBN: 9789549928297
Publisher: Валентин Траянов (Valentin Trayanov)

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Chinese (Mandarin)

The Actor and the Target
Publisher: Taipei National University of the Arts, School of Theatre Arts

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Czech

Herec a jeho cíl
2007
Translated by Julek Neumann
ISBN: 978-80-903842-1-7
Publisher: Brkola

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Danish

Skuespilleren Og Gnisten
2013
Translated by Gerd and Jon Lange
ISBN: 2013: 978-8778657831
2010: 8778657830
Publisher: DATS (Sansk Amator Teater og Scenekunst) – Forlaget DRAMA

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French

L’acteur et la cible (Règles Et Outils Pour Le Jeu)
2004
Translated by Valérie Latour-Burney
ISBN: 2-912877-35-0
Publisher: L’Entretemps

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German

Der Schauspieler und das Ziel
2008
Translated by Sabine Herken
ISBN: 978-3-89581-189-0
Publisher: Alexander Verlag Berlin

Hungarian

Színész és célpont
2021
Translated by Koltai M. Gábor
ISBN: 9789631367263
Publisher: Corvina Kiadó

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Italian

L’attore e il bersaglio
2013
ISBN: 9788875270247
Publisher: Dino Audino

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Korean

배우와 목표점
2012 (2nd ed. Revised)
Translated by 허순자, 지민주 [공]옮김 – Huh, Soon-Ja and Min-Ju Choi
ISBN: 9788957864135
Publisher: 연극과인간? (Theatre and Human)

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Macedonian

Актерот и целта (acterot I celta)
2011
Translated by Горан Додевски & Дарко Јан Спасов (Goran Dodevski and Darko Jan Spasov)
Publisher: Polatski (Полатски)

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Polish

Actor I Cel
2009
Translated by Iga Noszczyk, Jadwiga Murczyńska

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Spanish

El actor y la diana
2018 / 2015
Translated by Ignacio García May
ISBN: 9788424510312
Publisher: Fundamentos

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Romanian

Actorul și țintă
2006
Translated by Saviana Stanescu and Ioana Ieronim
ISBN: 973-8129-26-5
Publisher: UNITEXT

Other Publications


Donnellan sobre Shakespeare
By Arantxa Vela Buendía, Declan Donnellan
Bolchiro, Spain, 2020. ISBN 9788416503087
More information

Shakespeare in the Theatre: Cheek by Jowl
By Peter Kirwan
Bloomsbury, London, 2019. ISBN 9781474223317
More information

Russians in Britain
Edited by Jonathan Pitches
Routledge, Abingdon, 2012, ISBN 9780415591003

Fifty Key Theatre Directors
Edited by Shomit Mitter and Maria Shevtsova
Routledge, Abingdon, 2005, ISBN 041518732X

Directors/Directing: Conversations on Theatre
By Maria Shevtsova and Christopher Innes
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009, ISBN 9780521731669

Contemporary European Theatre Directors
Edited by Maria M. Delgado and Dan Rebellato
Routledge, Abingdon, 2010, ISBN13 9780415462518

An Actor’s Work
Konstantin Stanislavski, translated by Jean Benedetti,
Introduction by Declan Donnellan
Routledge, Abingdon, 2008, ISBN13 9780415422239

Approaching the Millennium: Essays on Angels in America
Eds. Deborah R. Geis and Steven F. Kruger
University of Michigan Press, Michigan, 1997. ISBN 0472096230

Directing the Stage
By Polly Irvin
RotoVision, Hove, 2003. ISBN 288046661X

In Contact With the Gods? Directors Talk Theatre
Eds. Maria M. Delgado & Paul Heritage
Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1996. ISBN 0-7190-4763-3

On Directing
Eds. Mary Luckhurst and Gabriella Giannachi
Faber, London 1999. ISBN 0571191495

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