Shark-Infested Waters
Theatrical agent, Michael Whitehall, has been involved with the careers of many eminent actors from Kenneth More, Tom Courtenay, Colin Firth, Dorothy Tutin, Edward Fox, Jack Davenport, Judi Dench, Ian Charleson, Peter Bowles, Elaine Stritch, Richard E Grant, Danie Day-Lewis, David Hemmings and Richard Griffiths amongst others.
In Shark-Infested Waters, Michael Whitehall contrasts the glamorous image of theatrical life with the mundane realities of the business, while passing on some startling trade secrets along the way. A laconic raconteur of refreshingly un-starstruck theatrical anecdotes, Whitehall deftly sketches the social comedy of his eccentric background: growing up in suburban London in the 1950s, his schooldays at Ampleforth and his subsequent adventures as a prep schoolmaster – worthy of Evelyn Waugh himself – before becoming an actors’ agent.
The result is a charming, funny and piquant view of a world that continues to fascinate.
In Shark-Infested Waters, Michael Whitehall contrasts the glamorous image of theatrical life with the mundane realities of the business, while passing on some startling trade secrets along the way. A laconic raconteur of refreshingly un-starstruck theatrical anecdotes, Whitehall deftly sketches the social comedy of his eccentric background: growing up in suburban London in the 1950s, his schooldays at Ampleforth and his subsequent adventures as a prep schoolmaster – worthy of Evelyn Waugh himself – before becoming an actors’ agent.
The result is a charming, funny and piquant view of a world that continues to fascinate.
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Reviews
Michael has always been, and will always be, the funniest Whitehall. I've heard his stories a thousand times and still love them like I'm listening to them for the first time. Thankfully this book ends before he has children, so I can't be thrown under the bus
The funniest show business memoir I've read since David Niven's The Moon's a Balloon
This is a treasure trove of entertaining anecdotes . . . a stylish and extremely amusing memoir
He spills the beans on the stars and their pampered prima-donna ways. A hilarious memoir
I adored this achingly funny book. So will you
It's a portrait of an era - and a world - and a unique individual - executed con brio. I couldn't have liked it more