Centre Stage

Acting is all about charisma. Whether you’re an A-list star or an extra, when you’re on stage you need to perform in a way that makes your audience listen.

I owe Jeannette a huge debt of thanks. She was recommended as the best in the business, and has worked with me for years on my one-man shows. Her knowledge is astonishing and her approach so gentle and effective.

Jeannette makes the world of voice production endlessly fascinating and endlessly fun. It’s not just her encyclopaedic knowledge of the mechanics – it’s the clarity with which she expresses her ideas and the simplicity and ease with which she gets results. There is no one better.

Jeannette taught me so much . . . By the time I came to perform I felt I had enormous flexibility in my voice and could persuade anyone to do anything!

I have been lucky enough to work with Jeannette Nelson – and have felt hugely enabled as an actor by her precise insight into the infinite challenge of communicating a text on stage.

Jeannette Nelson’s revelatory relationship to language is, quite simply, life-changing . . . Her meticulous, empowering approach is irresistible and inspiring.

Jeannette Nelson is, for me, the foremost practitioner in her field. Her ability to nurture and empower through truth, rigour, intelligence and wit is one of the great unsung bedrocks of our world-leading theatre. This insightful and overdue book is an illumination of her unique craft.

Jeannette has been a huge influence on my directing practice. The opportunity to witness her practice, wisdom and humanity in the rehearsal room as a young director was both inspiring and mind-expanding . . . For Jeannette to share her experiences and industry-wide respected intellect more widely is a true gift for us all.

Jeannette Nelson is one of the world’s leading voice coaches. In the course of over a decade as Head of Voice at the National Theatre, she was responsible for ensuring that everyone who took the stage at Britain’s leading theatre was communicating clearly and charismatically. Along the way, she worked with some of the greatest actors of our time – from Al Pacino to Benedict Cumberbatch to Juliette Binoche – on some of their most notable roles across stage, film and TV. Nelson's first book, The Voice Exercise Book (2015), has become the go-to guide for actors looking for exercises to help improve their vocal clarity.

'Jeannette's knowledge is astonishing and her approach so gentle and effective' Derren Brown