I Will Be Cleopatra

the long version

"To those whose only exposure to acting are the films of Hollywood, Zoe Caldwell remains a secret. To those of us, however, who have seen her on the stage - whether in London, Toronto, or New York - she is the essence of theater, her presence so transfixing that the memory of having seen her is emblazoned in the mind forever.". "The daughter of a plumber and a taxi dancer born in Australia at the height of the Great Depression, Caldwell first demonstrated her talents at the age of nine when she appeared on the stage as Slightly Soiled in Peter Pan. Hampered by a mild dyslexia, she felt that acting was the only way she could communicate, and by the age of fourteen she was appearing professionally in national radio soap operas. Caldwell spent tbe next ten years honing her skills as an actress, before she was sent to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1958, where she began a Shakespearean acting career that would culminate in her stunning portrayal of Cleopatra, the Bard's greatest female role." "I Will Be Cleopatra represents the literary culmination of a legendary theatrical career and a fascinating life."--BOOK JACKET.