Cicely Berry - Quotes About Her

Quotes About Her

Cicely Berry has based her work on the conviction that while all is present in nature our natural instincts have been crippled from birth by many processes – by the conditioning, in fact, of a warped society. So an actor needs precise exercise and clear understanding to liberate his hidden possibilities and to learn the hard task of being true to ‘the instinct of the moment’. —Peter Brook, Voice and the Actor

From documentary Where Words Prevail:

Cicely Berry connects people with who they are, and allows the sound that comes out of your voice to reveal everything. —Emily Watson, actor She gives the power and freedom back to the actor without any sense of being imposed upon. She works on trying to help you find the voice of the part you are playing. —Sam West, actor She has a blisteringly truthful eye and can see what is true and what is false within the voice and the acting itself. She strips you away until you get to you authentic voice. —Greg Hicks, actor Cicely Berry doesn’t impose or judge anyone. She finds a way of empowering the individual. —Andrew Wade, head of voice at RSC There is a complete absence of pretension with Cicely. You never feel like you have to rise to her level, nor does she come to you… it’s all about the work. —Michael Attenborough, director She interests me because I have never met anyone else so interested. Interested in hearing a Shakespeare text in a new way. She inspires me. —Helen Hunt, actor Humans need to believe they have a right to be in the world. Cicely connects language with imagination. You’ve got to feel the language coming through you. —Edward Bond, playwright