Making It So: A Memoir

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Highly entertaining... You don't need to be a fan of Stewart the man of stage and screen to be as beguiled by the decades of professional acting that follow' - The Times After finishing this book I felt as though I had just spent a week sitting in a country cottage listening to stories by a dear friend.

Patrick Stewart’s Memoir, MAKING IT SO, Arrives in October Patrick Stewart’s Memoir, MAKING IT SO, Arrives in October

I tell Stewart that I am surprised he has been able to locate the good in his father, to consider him a positive figure, and we wonder together what that might have taken. “I’ve already mentioned the ‘T’ word,” he says, meaning therapy. “It was a friend who introduced me to the idea of therapeutic sessions and they’ve been a part of my life ever since. Invaluably and particularly since I’ve come to live in the United States, where if you don’t have a therapist you’re weird.” In his memoir, Stewart describes his relationship with his children as “a work in progress”. When I ask how things are now he looks briefly rattled and casts his eyes downwards. “It’s very sad,” he says. “I love my children. But our relationships, they haven’t worked out.” Stewart maintains strong links to his grandchildren – less so their parents, though in the book he seems on good terms with his son, Daniel, who followed him into acting. He goes on, “It will always be a place of sadness in my life.” I would have liked to have said to him, ‘Dad, there were so many aspects of you and your life that have taken me by the hand and led me on my way through adulthood and into old age. You are, in many respects, an example to me. And in other respects, you are still a bad man.’”If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us Highly entertaining... You don’t need to be a fan of Stewart the man of stage and screen to be as beguiled by the decades of professional acting that follow’ – The Times All right,” said Mr D, “start reading.” We all bent our heads over the strange-looking columns of print and started reading. Silently. A moment passed before Mr D erupted: “Not to yourselves, you idiots, out loud! This is a play, it’s action, it’s drama, it’s life. Start again.” To Stewart the discovery was a breakthrough. I ask now if becoming aware of his father’s illness made it easier to comprehend, if not excuse, his actions? I’ve got ideas. I’d like to do more comedy. Laughter is glorious’: with his wife Sunny Ozell. Photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

Book Review: ‘Making It So,’ by Patrick Stewart - The New

But the real reason I became devoted to Mr Dormand was that he was the man who introduced me to the works of William Shakespeare. One day, early in the term, he placed a copy of The Merchant of Venice on every desk. At the time, I did not know that Mr Dormand was also an amateur actor and director. Nor did I have any idea what the hell The Merchant of Venice was.

We did, and we were dreadful. None of us could make sense of what we were reading, what the story was, or what most of the words meant. “Adversary”? “Void”? “Dram”? “Obdurate”? Nobody in our world used words like that. The subject that most captivated me was English literature. In my second year at the Mirfield Secondary Modern School, I was assigned to the Eng-lit class of Cecil Dormand, who was also my form master. He was to have a transformational impact on my life. Even now, Stewart’s age hasn’t quite caught up with some of the walk-on parts he played as a novice – an 85-year-old butler, or someone’s ancient American father in an obscure Shaw play. “I was dreadful and everyone knew it,” he recalls of the latter. He describes some of these early humiliations with the self-deprecating wisdom only 60 years’ hindsight can bestow. He also revealed that a book tour is in early development, where he expects to travel around promoting Making It So; more details are expected to become available closer to the book’s October release date. If I do have a quibble, it is an odd one for a Star Trek fan. I really wanted more about the time BEFORE TNG. I really wanted to read more about the RSC, the films and all the other productions.