Year of the King: An Actor's Diary and Sketchbook
Antony Sher's intimate diary of preparing his award-winning Richard III
Overview
Year of the King by Antony Sher is one of the finest and most intimate accounts of an actor's creative process ever committed to print, chronicling in diary form his preparation for and performance of the role of Richard III with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1984. Sher, a South African-born British actor who became one of the most acclaimed classical performers of his generation, kept a detailed daily diary throughout the entire process — from receiving the casting through months of research, rehearsal, and the eventual opening night and run of the production. The book, first published in 1985 with a twentieth anniversary edition in 2006, offers an extraordinarily candid and detailed window into the psychological, physical, and intellectual journey of creating a major classical role.
What makes Year of the King exceptional is the completeness and honesty of Sher's account. He documents not only the creative breakthroughs but also the periods of doubt, confusion, frustration, and fear that are an inevitable part of any ambitious artistic undertaking. The diary format preserves the uncertainty of the process — the reader experiences the journey as Sher experienced it, without the retrospective clarity that memoirs typically provide. This makes the book uniquely valuable as a record of how creative work actually happens, with all its false starts, abandoned ideas, and moments of unexpected discovery that a more polished account would smooth over.
How It Works
Sher's research process for Richard III was extraordinarily thorough and unconventional, extending far beyond the usual textual and historical research that actors undertake for classical roles. He watched interviews with psychopaths, read extensively about mass murderers and serial killers, spoke with doctors about the physical manifestations of scoliosis and other spinal conditions, and observed people with physical disabilities to understand how Richard's body might move through space. He also researched historical paintings and illustrations of Richard III, developing his own visual conception of the character that informed both his physical performance and the production's visual design. This research is documented in vivid detail, providing a model for how actors can enrich their creative process through wide-ranging investigation.
The book is illustrated throughout with Sher's own sketches and drawings, which are a remarkable feature that distinguishes it from any other actor's memoir. Sher was a talented visual artist as well as a performer, and his sketches chart the development of his physical conception of Richard III alongside the written diary entries. The drawings show the evolution of the character's physicality from early explorations through the final, iconic performance on crutches that became one of the defining images of 1980s British theatre. These visual documents provide a unique record of how an actor thinks through character in both verbal and visual terms, revealing dimensions of the creative process that words alone cannot capture.
Who Uses It
Sher's Richard III won both the Laurence Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor, and the production, directed by Bill Alexander, became one of the landmark RSC productions of the era. Sher's decision to perform Richard on crutches — a bold physical choice that reimagined the character's relationship with his body and with the world — was the culmination of months of physical experimentation documented in the diary. The crutches gave Richard a terrifying, spider-like physicality that was simultaneously powerful and vulnerable, and the diary reveals how this idea emerged, evolved, and was eventually realized through collaboration with the director and the rest of the company.
Pricing & Plans
Year of the King is available in paperback, typically priced between $14 and $20 for a new copy. The twentieth anniversary edition, published in 2006, includes a new introduction by Sher reflecting on the experience from two decades' distance. Used copies are widely available at lower prices. The book's combination of literary quality, practical insight, and visual beauty makes it an exceptional value for any actor, whether working in classical theatre or not. The diary format and Sher's engaging writing style make it a compelling read even for non-actors interested in the creative process.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
The book's greatest value lies in its unflinching honesty about the emotional and psychological reality of the creative process — the self-doubt, the competitive anxiety, the physical exhaustion, the exhilaration of discovery, and the terror of opening night. Sher does not present himself as a confident master but as a vulnerable, searching artist who is constantly uncertain whether his choices are working and whether his performance will succeed. This honesty is both reassuring and instructive for other actors, demonstrating that even the most accomplished performers experience the same fears and doubts that every actor knows. The book also provides a vivid portrait of life inside the Royal Shakespeare Company during one of its most artistically vital periods, with frank observations about the dynamics of the company, the pressures of the RSC system, and the relationships between actors, directors, and designers.
What Could Be Better
The book is a personal diary rather than a systematic acting textbook, which means that the insights it offers are embedded in Sher's specific experience rather than presented as generalizable principles or techniques. Readers seeking step-by-step instructions for preparing a classical role will not find them here, though they will find something arguably more valuable — a complete, honest record of how one exceptional actor actually did it. The book's focus on a single production of a single play necessarily limits its scope, and actors working in contemporary realism, musical theatre, or film may find the classical theatre context less directly relevant to their own work. Some readers may also find Sher's candid observations about fellow actors and RSC colleagues uncomfortable, though his honesty is generally more self-critical than judgmental of others.
Our Recommendation
Year of the King is essential reading for any actor who has ever wondered what goes on inside the mind and heart of a great performer during the creation of a major role. It is particularly valuable for classical theatre actors preparing for demanding roles who want a model for how to approach research, physical exploration, and the psychological challenges of the rehearsal process. The book is also a superb read for anyone interested in Shakespeare, the Royal Shakespeare Company, or the creative process in general. If Sher's diary approach appeals to you, seek out other actors' memoirs and diaries, including Simon Callow's Being an Actor and Mark Rylance's writings, for additional perspectives on the actor's inner life.
Pro Tips
Read the book before beginning preparation for your next major role, allowing Sher's process to inspire and expand your own approach to research, physical exploration, and rehearsal. Consider keeping your own actor's diary during your next production, documenting your creative process with the same honesty and detail that Sher demonstrates — the act of writing will deepen your awareness of your own patterns, breakthroughs, and challenges. If you are a visual thinker, follow Sher's example and sketch your character — drawing can access intuitive understanding of physicality and character that verbal analysis alone may not reach. Pay particular attention to Sher's research methods, which demonstrate that an actor's preparation can and should extend far beyond the text of the play into psychology, history, art, and direct observation. After reading the book, watch footage of Sher's performances to see how the process documented in the diary manifested in the finished work.