IRONY the Challenge of Acting Oscar Wilde And George Bernard Shaw Irony is another staple tool of wit in Style acting, and it often seems to come effortlessly to British actors because the British rarely say what they mean. "The speech we hear is an indication of what we don't hear... One way of looking at speech is to say it is a constant stratagem to cover nakedness," says British playwright Harold Pinter. But I …showed first 75 words of 577 total…

…showed last 75 words of 577 total…Say the lines as if you mean them. The irony you acknowledged in rehearsal will permeate your delivery. The biggest danger is heavy handedness: look at me, I don't mean what I'm saying. Sometimes it's hard to persuade actors that irony needs remarkably little assistance, and that they can use a completely truthful inflection without losing the discord between the words and what lies underneath. All they have to do is to know the truth.