ABSTRACT
Glen Byam Shaw’s direction was commonly perceived as being ‘assured and unobtrusive’, ‘blessedly straightforward’, ‘a model of sensitive presentation’, and above all ‘sympathetic to the players and the play’. His direction was also said to possess a ‘Mozartian quality’, ‘a radiance’ and an ‘unobtrusive charm’. The superlatives ‘enchanting’, ‘splendid’, ‘subtle’, ‘vivid’, ‘astonishing’ and ‘sublime’ often appeared in descriptions of Shaw’s work, and perhaps the greatest compliment paid to this director was the frequency with which critics concurred that he ‘allowed Shakespeare to speak for himself’. Shaw’s notes, letters and character sketches paint a picture of a deeply sensitive reader of Shakespeare’s works, a man who had little difficulty in empathising with Shakespeare’s characters and who was open to the variety of interpretations that this dramatist’s works allow.
