“A beautiful story… a joy to read.” 

- Award-winning actor Sir Derek Jacobi

“All the mystery and suspense of Harry Potter and even more substance.” 

- William Niederkorn, NY Times, Brooklyn Rail

“Marvelously amusing, deeply passionate, and brilliantly entertaining.”

- Steve Cuden, co-creator, Jekyll & Hyde, 

The Musical

“So vibrant, so ‘Shakespearean’ in its storytelling, language and humor.”

-Robin Maxwell, The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn

“Poetic, humorous, shockingly original.”

- Malcolm McKay,  Shakespeare’s Globe, RADA

Award-winning novel.

THE STARRE, 

THE MOONE, 

THE SUNNE.

Plays covered include:

              Hamlet                The Winter's Tale 

              King Lear            The Tempest 

              Richard III          Twelfth Night

              Henry IV Pt 1     Much Ado About Nothing

              Sonnets    

Featuring insight, character & text analysis, personal anecdotes, and some humor from:

SIR DEREK JACOBI            DAME DIANA RIGG

TIM PIGOTT-SMITH         FRANK LANGELLA

F MURRAY ABRAHAM              JEREMY IRONS

GLENDA JACKSON                   MICHAEL YORK

RON COOK                              MALCOLM MCKAY

PRIYANGA BURFORD               JOHN BARTON

CICELY BERRY

What if everything you thought you knew about William Shakespeare was a lie to protect the very crown of England? That is the premise of my shortlisted historical detective story, THE STARRE THE MOONE, THE SUNNE. 

In 1624 London, a brave printer is executed, a portly poet is kidnapped, a Stratford-upon-Avon grave is emptied, King James is put into a panic, many swashes are buckled, and things are never what they appear to be, all because brave Nicholas and beautiful Valentina are about to discover and reveal the true identity of "William Shake-speare." This is a timely tale that touches on the powerful love of fathers, the perils of the plague, the joys of turnips, and the mysterious life and tragic death of the Bard of Avon.

2020 Book.

The Shakespeare Masterclasses, published by Routledge, is available as an eBook, hardcover or paperback. Learn from the masters in this extensive and revealing collection of in-depth classes, interviews and acting exercises with many of the world’s most renowned Shakespearean actors. Each masterclass was conducted by Ron Destro, who put this book together.

Preview or buy the book 

on the Amazon page.

Featuring insight, character & text analysis, personal anecdotes, and some humor from:

SIR DEREK JACOBI

DAME DIANA RIGG

TIM PIGOTT-SMITH

FRANK LANGELLA

F MURRAY ABRAHAM

JEREMY IRONS

GLENDA JACKSON

MICHAEL YORK

RON COOK

MALCOLM MCKAY

PRIYANGA BURFORD

JOHN BARTON

CICELY BERRY

Plays covered include:

Hamlet                         King Lear            Richard III           Much Ado About Nothing            

The Winter's Tale      The Tempest      Twelfth Night     Henry IV Pt 1     the Sonnets

From the FOREWORD:

This book by Ron Destro should be required reading in every theater course, acting class and directing class, and should be in the library of every critic as well, because it describes, as no one else can, “how to do it.”

It is mentoring on a personal level. A voice that speaks from years of classes with the most famous and accomplished actors, directors, writers, and producers among us. The artists who have shaped, and continue to shape, the theater as we now know it.

I don’t know of any book as detailed and as all-embracing as this one. I wish it had been available when I started out fifty-five years ago. It would have saved me a lot of heartache. Also, it’s a great read.

Ron Destro is one of those rare people of the theater who cares as deeply about the theater as anyone I’ve ever worked with, including Pina Bausch, Richard Foreman, Andrei Şerban, Miloš Forman, Lar Lubovitch and Twyla Tharp. His knowledge is extensive and accessible, not pompous. He invites all to the table. There is something for everyone in his joyous message. He introduces to all - all - the idea that Shakespeare is indeed a man for all ages. I consider it a privilege to know him and to have worked with him.

- F Murray Abraham