“I never regret things. It's a
really dangerous thing to say, but for anyone involved in the arts, the bad
things that happen make for good material. It's not a comfortable truth, but it
is true.” – Antony Sher
Born in South Africa on this date in
1949, Sher was an actor, painter and writer who twice won the prestigious
Laurence Oliver Award for his stage portrayals. He also appeared in
many movies and on TV, and wrote numerous novels, essays, memoirs and scripts
for both the stage and screen.
Among Sher’s best-known books were
the memoirs Year of the King and Woza Shakespeare:
Titus Andronicus in South Africa; his autobiography Beside Myself;
and the novels Middlepost, Cheap Lives and The
Feast. Among his many award-winning plays were Primo –
also adapted as a film – and The Giant, portraying Michelangelo at
the time of the creation of his masterpiece sculpture David.
His Year of the Mad King won the 2019 Theatre Book Prize from
the British Society for Theatre Research.
Shortly before his death (in 2021),
Sher was honored by Queen Elizabeth for his lifetime contributions to the arts and said that while he sometimes made his work look effortless, it was far from
it.
“Every play I do, every book I
write, every painting I paint, I struggle with. I don’t know what
it’s like for a project to come easy.”
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