Alan Howard’s extraordinary range as an actor enabled him to combine the great Shakespearean roles with work on an almost miniature scale. In 1984 he recorded for Radio 3 part of War Music, my husband Christopher Logue’s account of books 16-19 of the Iliad. After that they performed the poem together on stage many times, in London, at the Edinburgh festival and elsewhere. Alan took the lead while Christopher, sitting at a table behind him, would read short interlinking passages. I saw them do it many times but never ceased to wonder at the way that Alan – without props, scenery or music – deployed his astonishing voice to become within a few lines first Achilles, then the sea nymph Thetis, and then the whole Greek army pushing on to Troy.
Related: Alan Howard obituary
Related: Christopher Logue obituary
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