David Shaw-Parker Actor and Voice Artist
Current Availability and Commitments: Monday January 12th 2015
I am currently at home in London with no theatre commitments and happily re-ensconced on the voice circuit. Since Christmas I've been preparing text for an audio recording and e-publication of my book The Lemming Chronicles which I'm hoping to complete before I begin a four day workshop on Mike Poulton's new adaptations of three Euripides plays for Chichester, The Bacchae, Hippolytus and Ion directed by Lucy Bailey at the end of January. I have some voice commitments as well as ELT bookings which speckle the diary pages throughout this month and the next. Some daytime availability nonetheless.
David Shaw-Parker trained at RADA in 1975 and began his career at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977 appearing in over twenty five productions between then and 1991.
He went on to appear at The National Theatre in Oedipus Rex, The False Servant and My Fair Lady and in London's West End in Grand Hotel, The Country Wife, Acorn Antiques, Heavenly Ivy, Up n' Under, A Dead Secret, Milkwood Blues and Cyrano de Bergerac. His numerous television credits include Inspector Morse, Space Precinct and The Commander and his films include Steven Soderbergh's Kafka, Uberto Pasolini's Still Life and The Muppets' Christmas Carol.
His radio recordings include innumerable dramas such as Rumpole of the Bailey, Headlong, Two-Pipe Problems and Number Ten and as a voice artist records audio books regularly for Macmillan, Harper Coillins, Big Finish [Dr. Who] and Naxos for whom he has just recorded Pilgrim's Progress, Trollope's The Warden, Barchester Towers, Doctor Thorne, Framley Parsonage and The Poetry of John Clare.
Spotlight Page Number: 4116
Thanks for stopping by and here's wishing you a very happy new year as we greet these short, dark but cosily inspiring early days of 2015.
This page offers you a selection of my voice recordings on television, radio, film and audio book
Simply click on each of the samples and any of the pictures or images for various demonstrations of my work as a professional voice artist and actor
Each link will take you to my Youtube Channel - just click the back button on your browser to return. exclusive representation for theatre, film and television: Meg Poolempoole@thersp.comTel: +44 (0) 20 7497 0849 "In his splendid reading of this first of the Barsetshire series, Shaw-Parker skilfully inhabits the rôle of the companionable omniscient narrator…he deftly varies tones and patterns to reflect the large cast…Shaw-Parker enlivens this classic and creates an irresistible listening experience." [Joyce Saricks: Booklist Jan 1st 2014]
"David Shaw-Parker delivers a winning performance that keeps listeners engaged throughout. with a deep accented voice. Shaw-Parker brings this 19th century novel to life. His timing and tone are spot-on and he creates distinct voices for the books many characters." [Audio Reviews 09/02/2013]
"Trollope's own narrator is not to be forgotten, and Shaw-Parker pays special attention to his strong authorial presence. His reading suggests a clear understanding of the tone and subtle intrigue of this Victorian novel." [D.M.W. Audiofile 2013 Portland, Maine - published August 2013]
Reviews for Barchester Towers and The Warden [Anthony Trollope: Naxos Audio Books]
Other titles currently available:
'Trollope is one of our greatest comic novelists, as well as having an extraordinary talent for taking you confidentially and irresistibly into the flow of his story. Oblivious to the snail-like pace of Oxford's flood impeded traffic, I was grinning from ear to ear as I listened to David Shaw-Parker explode into the clerical indignation that follows Obediah Slope's iconoclastic sermon in Barchester Cathedral… proof positive that Trollope wrote with an ear to being read aloud.' Christina Hardyment, The Times Arts Review 25th January 2014 - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope [Naxos Audio Books 21 hours 44 mins.]
David Shaw-Parker's exemplary reading of Trollope's masterpiece is liking sitting in your club in a comfortable chair after a good meal and listening to one of the particularly good natured other members tell you a story about some people he knows. His voice is confiding and personal, perfectly capturing the spirit of Trollope's narrative voice. There's no attempt to impersonate characters; Shaw-Parker's voice changes just enough that we are never in doubt who is speaking or what kind of person the speaker is. (The unctuous Mr. Slope is particularly fine)… A charming and witty performance. D.M.H Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award copyright AudioFile 2014 Portland, Maine USA.
I am honoured and delighted to learn that Barchester Towers has been awarded an Excellence prize: Huge thanks to Nicolas Soames, Pippa Vaughan, and Peter, Becky, Norman and Poppy at Motivation.