Shouting at Night
From East End Rebel to Hollywood's Favourite Villain
Will be published approx. on 30. October 2026
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-913641-59-7 (ISBN)
Description
In this electrifying memoir, Steven Berkoff charts his journey from troubled youth to internationally acclaimed actor, writer, and director. With trademark candour and bite, he reveals how he developed a radical approach to performance-and how he became the go-to villain in some of cinema's most iconic films.
Along the way, Berkoff pulls back the curtain on a career spent working with the giants of stage and screen. He reveals lively encounters with directors like Stanley Kubrick and Joe Papp, and shares first-hand experiences of collaborating with stars including Johnny Depp, Joan Collins, and Christopher Walken. From the hallowed halls of The National Theatre to the anarchic spirit of the Fringe, he captures the thrill, chaos, and uncompromising artistry that have defined his life's work.
Along the way, Berkoff pulls back the curtain on a career spent working with the giants of stage and screen. He reveals lively encounters with directors like Stanley Kubrick and Joe Papp, and shares first-hand experiences of collaborating with stars including Johnny Depp, Joan Collins, and Christopher Walken. From the hallowed halls of The National Theatre to the anarchic spirit of the Fringe, he captures the thrill, chaos, and uncompromising artistry that have defined his life's work.
Reviews / Votes
Of previous work:"East is a vivid collage of the memories of two generations of life in London's East End that pulses with energy...The highly charged physical element of this production gives it enormous vitality, an energy that makes it a joyful celebration, no matter how black the situation. When it erupts into song, it's in tune in all ways; like the well-contrived text, the mixture of methods seems natural, the humour irrepressible."
- Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide
"The language is usually filthy, characters talk about unmentionable subjects, take their clothes off, have sex, humiliate each other, experience unpleasant emotions, become suddenly violent. At its best, this kind of theatre is so powerful, so visceral, that it forces audiences to react: either they feel like fleeing the building or they are suddenly convinced that it is the best thing they have ever seen and want all their friends to see it too. It is the kind of theatre that inspires us to use superlatives, whether in praise or condemnation."
-Aleks Sierz, 'In Yer Face Theatre' (Faber)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Twickenham
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Aurora Metro Publications
Illustrations
30 black and white photos; 30 black and white photos
Dimensions
Height: 215 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-913641-59-7 (9781913641597)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Steven Berkoff was born in Stepney, London. After studying drama and mime in London and Paris, he entered a series of repertory companies and in 1968 formed the London Theatre Group. His plays and adaptations have been performed in many countries and in many languages. Among the many adaptations Berkoff has created for the stage, directed and toured, are Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Trial, Agamemnon after Aeschylus, and Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. He has directed and toured productions of Shakespeare's Coriolanus also playing the title role, Richard II, Hamlet and Macbeth, as well as Oscar Wilde's Salome.
Berkoff's original stage plays include East, West, Messiah: Scenes from a Crucifixion, The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, Decadence, Harry's Christmas, Massage, Acapulco and Brighton Beach Scumbags. He has performed his trilogy of solo shows, One Man, Shakespeare's Villains and Requiem for Ground Zero, in venues all over the world.
Films Steven has acted in include A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, Octopussy, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo, Under the Cherry Moon, Absolute Beginners and The Krays. He directed and co- starred with Joan Collins in the film version of his play Decadence.
He has published a variety of books on the theatre such as the production journals I am Hamlet, Meditations on Metamorphosis and Coriolanus in Deutschland. Berkoff's work has led him to traverse the globe, and his love for travel is apparent in his book Shopping in the Santa Monica Mall: The Journals of a Strolling Player.
Berkoff's original stage plays include East, West, Messiah: Scenes from a Crucifixion, The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, Decadence, Harry's Christmas, Massage, Acapulco and Brighton Beach Scumbags. He has performed his trilogy of solo shows, One Man, Shakespeare's Villains and Requiem for Ground Zero, in venues all over the world.
Films Steven has acted in include A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, Octopussy, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo, Under the Cherry Moon, Absolute Beginners and The Krays. He directed and co- starred with Joan Collins in the film version of his play Decadence.
He has published a variety of books on the theatre such as the production journals I am Hamlet, Meditations on Metamorphosis and Coriolanus in Deutschland. Berkoff's work has led him to traverse the globe, and his love for travel is apparent in his book Shopping in the Santa Monica Mall: The Journals of a Strolling Player.
Content
Author bio
20 chapters
Timeline
20 chapters
Timeline