I know Patsy to be a gifted voice and speech coach. In The Need for Words she provides practical and imaginative means for getting to the heart of the text and making the necessity for the language to be strongly felt by audiences. I do recommend it to anyone who needs to use words with clarity and passion.

Trevor Nunn

Playwrights, a complacent lot, tend to think that their text says it all. Grudgingly conceding the role of the director, they still think the words speak for themselves. They don't, and in this excellent book, Patsy Rodenburg shows why.

Alan Bennett

The Need for Words is an astonishing book. It takes you on an extraordinary voyage of discovery through the worlds of language and texts. Every actor and non-actor should know it and read it.

Declan Donnellan