Stage fright is an all-too-common phenomenon affecting many performers, from seasoned actors to newcomers on the scene. The fear of performing in front of a live audience can be paralyzing, causing a complete physical freeze-up or a total verbal drying up under the spotlight.
For Derek Jacobi and Bill Nighy, stage fright was a regular companion during their early days as actors. For Jacobi, it was a bout during a world tour of Hamlet, while Nighy wrestled with intense nerves over decades of stage work. Larry Lamb, on the other hand, has battled with intense nerves since his amateur acting days, describing how he would go last in every class at drama school.
Meera Syal, who has been open about her own struggles with stage fright, describes a classic anxiety dream – finding herself naked and unsure of what role she's playing. However, she found the courage to stay on and soldiered through, even forgetting her lines and speaking "complete twaddle" in character.
Lamb's director, Steven Pimlott, recognized his stage fright during a performance of Hamlet and helped him overcome it by keeping the house lights on to force Lamb to acknowledge the audience. Rose-Bremner agrees that self-consciousness and self-doubt can be crippling, saying that actors need to make space in their minds for the character to take over.
For Zachary Hart, stage fright stems from perfectionism, fearing that he won't meet the expectations of the audience. He battles through by shifting his focus to what's happening around him and using other actors and the story to pull him out of his anxiety.
Ultimately, Syal believes that the fear of what might go wrong is worse than the freezing itself. She notes that when things do go wrong, audiences are often more forgiving than we think, and that it's about finding your way back and recovering from those moments of terror.
For Derek Jacobi and Bill Nighy, stage fright was a regular companion during their early days as actors. For Jacobi, it was a bout during a world tour of Hamlet, while Nighy wrestled with intense nerves over decades of stage work. Larry Lamb, on the other hand, has battled with intense nerves since his amateur acting days, describing how he would go last in every class at drama school.
Meera Syal, who has been open about her own struggles with stage fright, describes a classic anxiety dream – finding herself naked and unsure of what role she's playing. However, she found the courage to stay on and soldiered through, even forgetting her lines and speaking "complete twaddle" in character.
Lamb's director, Steven Pimlott, recognized his stage fright during a performance of Hamlet and helped him overcome it by keeping the house lights on to force Lamb to acknowledge the audience. Rose-Bremner agrees that self-consciousness and self-doubt can be crippling, saying that actors need to make space in their minds for the character to take over.
For Zachary Hart, stage fright stems from perfectionism, fearing that he won't meet the expectations of the audience. He battles through by shifting his focus to what's happening around him and using other actors and the story to pull him out of his anxiety.
Ultimately, Syal believes that the fear of what might go wrong is worse than the freezing itself. She notes that when things do go wrong, audiences are often more forgiving than we think, and that it's about finding your way back and recovering from those moments of terror.
! I mean, can't we all just chill under the spotlight for once? 
But seriously, these actors sharing their stories about stage fright are really inspiring me to work on my own anxiety. Meera Syal's story about forgetting her lines and speaking "twaddle" in character had me laughing out loud 
, but also feeling a bit of solidarity with her struggles.
. Like, how many times have we all been on stage or performed in front of an audience and thought "oh no, I'm going to mess this up" only to recover and knock it out of the park? 
And honestly, even with our best efforts, things still don't go as planned... but that's where self-awareness and quick thinking come in handy 
. It's all about finding your way back and not letting those nerves take over 
.
and i freeze up for a sec but then i just go with it and hope for the best lol stage fright is def real, but sometimes it's more about believing in yourself than actually being good at what you do 
. I mean, who hasn't been in a situation where you're on stage or about to perform and suddenly freeze up? It's crazy how it affects people, from seasoned actors to complete newcomers.
, so I feel for all the performers out there who are dealing with this. It's great to see people like Meera Syal and Zachary Hart sharing their struggles and finding ways to overcome them 
. The key is to not let it consume you. Derek Jacobi and Bill Nighy are like total rockstars for sharing their struggles, right? 
And yeah, self-doubt can be a major downer 
. I think Meera Syal hit the nail on the head when she said that the fear of what might go wrong is way worse than actually freezing up 
.
. And don't even get me started on the whole "audiences are more forgiving than we think" line... isn't that just a cop-out? I mean, sure, they might be polite about it afterwards, but what if you have one of those moments where everything just falls apart and you're stuck up there feeling like a total idiot? 
. It's like, you're up on that stage and everyone is watching you... what if you mess up? 
. And Rose-Bremner is right too, actors need to chill out (no pun intended) and let the character take over 
. And Steven Pimlott's trick of keeping the house lights on is genius 
! Maybe we can all learn a thing or two from these actors and just relax (okay, maybe not that easy) under pressure 
i started to relax and focus on the story instead of me 
, I think it's super normal, especially for those who do this kinda thing all the time 
... like Derek Jacobi and Bill Nighy 
. For me tho 
... but I guess that's just part of the process 
... stage fright is like, rly normal 4 perfomers!!! 
. if u r a perfectionist like zachary hart, jus shift yer focus on whats happnin arond u & try 2 laugh @ urself 
. And honestly, Meera Syal's story is so inspiring... I mean who hasn't had an anxiety dream about being naked on stage 
.
Even pros like Derek Jacobi and Bill Nighy had to deal with it. I think what's crazy is how different everyone's experiences are - for Meera Syal, it was this anxiety dream thing where she's naked and has no idea what she's doing... yeah, that sounds super relatable 
.