Antony Sher and Greg Doran had been together for many years before they signed a civil partnership in 2006. They had worked at the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, and the West Yorkshire Playhouse in a series of productions; and the experience taught them to keep their private and public lives entirely separate. This was particularly true in a production of TITUS ANDRONICUS, where Sher's characterization in the title role threatened to overwhelm him.
In this entertaining discussion of their joint careers, both men reflected on a variety of topics including their personal lives, their impressions of Shakespearean texts including HENRY IV PART 1, THE WINTER'S TALE, and Arthur Miller's DEATH OF A SALESMAN. While Doran came across as someone with a strong idea of what he wanted, while directing a cast, he favored a collaborative approach to rehearsal wherein the cast read one another's roles so as to familiarize themselves with the text in hand. Although definitely a star actor, Sher proved equally adept at being a "company person," so to speak, insofar as he was generous to his fellow performers without wanting to hog the stage.
The couple's offstage personae were quite different. They were obviously much in love with one another, but also possessed of sufficient self-knowledge to recognize their own faults as well as one another's. This was a pleasant program, without the element of asperity which characterized other chats in the series.