Adrian Woodhouse is a journalist and author -- .
'Photographer Angus McBean produced glorious portraits of vivien Leigh, Audrey Hepburn, Margaret Lockwood, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and many other iconic actors. Mixing stylised romanticism with surrealism, he created imaginative, playful images where dramatic lighting merged with multiple exposure. Woodhouse's gorgeous book brings together his photographs of every Shakespeare play - 160 productions in all, 90 of them at Stratford's Memorial Theatre. It demonstrates how his training in mask making and fascination with the dismembered iconography of surrealism combined with careful sculpting with light and shade to offer a unique approach to photographic montage. The result is a study of illusion and poise, of changing modes of production and acting style, and of how our readings of the Bard are framed by those who have photographed his work into posterity.' Maria Delgado, University of London, Times Higher Education (May 2019) -- .