STOPPARD’s original Guildenstern, a heartbreaking Newman Noggs and a definitive Lord Peter Wimsey, Edward Petherbridge is one of Britain’s finest and most highly respected actors. In a distinguished career spanning more than half a century he has proved equally at home in Greek tragedy and French farce, in Shakespeare and Chekhov, Moliere and O’Neill, Beckett and Bennett, Coward and Kurt Weill. 　　 This limited-edition five-hour compilation features a glorious selection of prose and verse from Petherbridge’s book, Slim Chances and Unscheduled Appearances (published 2011), as well as new, never-before-published material. It includes snatches of the original music from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (NT, 1967) and Nicholas Nickleby (RSC, 1980) and Petherbridge singing a number from the Broadway musical Coco and two songs by Noël Coward, with Jason Carr at the piano. The final CD brings us right up to date as Petherbridge prepares to play King Lear in an imaginative two-man exploration with Paul Hunter, My Perfect Mind, which opens early in 2013. 　　 　　‘Those who haven’t met Petherbridge or seen his work will sense, in his words here, what 　　they are missing.’ Ian McKellen 　　 　　‘The passages on the National under Olivier are priceless.’ Michael Coveney 　　 　　‘Edward Petherbridge has produced a charming and insightful narrative, full of humour, theatrical lore and honesty. A must for anyone interested in 20th-century theatre.’ A. L. Kennedy