I Will Be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey

Zoe Caldwell OBE is one of theatre's finest living actresses with one problem. Outside the theatre circles, most people haven't the faintest clue who she is. Despite that she has won four Tony awards and is probably in the New York Theatre Hall of Fame, most people don't know who she is. In this book, she chronicles her modest upbringing from Melbourne, Australia and her experiences in the Australian theatre before venturing to Stratford to act in Shakespeare and finally to North America where she settled in Westchester, New York with her husband, producer Robert Whitehead and their two sons. She also worked as a stage actress. THe book stops by the time that she plays Cleopatra in Shakespeare's play. To her, the stage is the thing and the ultimate pursuit for the actor in their art. She doesn't go out and sell herself to endorse products. She doesn't get the roles that go to other equally trained and veteran actresses in the films and television nor does she care about that. She is quite happy being in the theatre. I was kind of interested in her experiences with Dame Edith Evans, Albert Finney, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and others and her time abroad in England before coming to America where she has felt most at home in the theatre on stage mostly in New York. This quadruple Tony Winner is a winner in the field of drama where she pursues the ultimate experience as the actor in playing before the audience. She has never failed her audience.

Having just journeyed to Melbourne (from Sydney) to see Miss Caldwell in Durenmatt's "The Visit", which is part of the Melbourne Theatre Company's 50th anniversary season (she was also in their first production in 1953),I chanced upon her "semi-autobiography" in a local bookshop. This covers the first half of her dazzling life. Her prose is like her acting: direct, simple, intelligent, moving, riveting and unforgettable. Anyone even remotely interested in the theatre should take the opportunity to read this marvellous book. And if there is ever a chance to see the lady on a stage, RUN, don't walk, to get in line. A great book by a great artist.