Book excerpt: In this fascinating journal of rehearsals, [the author] provides theatre lovers, Shakespearean savants, serious students of drama, and the casual reader with a permanent record of Shakespearean interpretation by two of the most famous actors of our time -- John Gielgud and Richard Burton. As well as the journal of rehearsals, this volume includes the prompt-script of Shakespeare's Hamlet, with the stage directions, cuts, and emphases Gielgud advised the cast to place on their speeches. Mr. Sterne also interviewed both Richard Burton and Sir John Gielgud about the play and recorded their own personal and professional interpretations of Hamlet's character and Shakespeare's intention.