REVIEWS

Sheena MacGillivrau

Hugh Bonneville was inspired to wite this memoir after seeing his father unable to add much to the memory book he gave him after his mum passed away. One of the delightful things about this book are the insights into his family’s story e.g., his mum’s life in the secret service he only discovered after she died or the moving moment when he and his sister told his father about the death of his brother Nigel. Of course, there are tales of his acting career from his first role as a shepherd in a school nativity play, his early struggles to get an Equity card, his small roles in National Theatre productions and his starring role in Downtown Abbey and the Paddington films. Biographies of actors are not books I normally read as I fear this genre might contain lots of name dropping and theatre / film reviews. Of course, there are well known actors mentioned in Hugh’s book e.g Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh but the book is not all about plays and reviews. Hugh writes well and he is not afraid to tell stories against himself. He comes across as charming and funny. Playing Under the Piano is a very enjoyable, entertaining and moving read.

Colin Farrant

I very much enjoyed this autobiography by one of our much loved actors, Hugh Bonneville. Although we mostly know him for his major role in the TV series and film, Downton Abbey and of course for his role in the two Paddington films, it was fascinating to discover the wide range of acting parts he has undertaken. We are taken from his early days, struggling to get an equity card to his more recent successes. He is quite self-deprecating as he describes his various auditions which were not always successful. This is a very funny book as well as an intriguing look at the life of an actor and the people he has worked with. There are some lovely photographs to illustrate his life and acting career. Although not a great fan of autobiographies, this was one book I could not put down so I can highly recommend it.

Jim Wright

I enjoyed the read but found it a book of short stories, a potted history of Hugh’s life, didn’t really let me get to know him. I felt I probably needed to be in the theatre world to fully grasp some of the stories. There were funny anecdotes of things going awry. He is very witty and self-depreciating at times but still shows he has the determination to succeed. It’s a light read it won’t tax you, you can read a bit put it down and pick it up a week or so later without losing the theme. If it was meant to give an insight into Hugh Bonneville, I felt it just grazed the surface.

Anna Shantry

I started reading this book well out of my comfort zone! However, I was intrigued with the style and humour that Hugh displayed in his autobiography. The more I read the book the more I become enthralled with his self-deprecating anecdotes about his family and his career in the theatre and films including Downton Abbey, Notting Hill, and Paddington. Hugh suffered rejections and humiliations when auditioning for various roles and recalled that ‘rejection is 9/10ths of the job’. Hugh’s description about what happened when he auditioned for Slow Horses was self-deprecating and hilarious. He also includes tales about working with Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh and other actors. Indeed, the most endearing and compelling parts of the book were about his family which described his middle-class upbringing where the arts were an integral part of family life. His realisation came later in life that not every child experiences this immersion in the arts. Hugh expresses surprise that his mother was in the secret service during the Second World War and that it was kept secret until after her death and choses to end the book describing how he coped with his father’s dementia which was profoundly moving.

Margaret Dorward

I would not normally choose to read biographies as I do tend to find them very repetitive on what the person did and when. Having said that I did find some of the book very interesting. I had never realised quite what a precarious profession acting is - the countless auditions, the promise of a part that never materialises, the disappointments, and the euphoria when you finally get a role that becomes part of a well loved production ie Downton Abbey. I also found the anecdotes about his family and in particular those relating to his father very moving.

Fiona Fletcher

Well! This was quite a mammoth read, so much was condensed into this book. Not a bedtime read as you need to be able to keep up with the switching of stories. We travel from his upbringing of a professional busy family through to the wonders of Paddington with that unique family we all adored. I hadn’t realised so much went on behind the scenes. The constant auditions Hugh was subjected to for the smallest of parts, the disappointments. I loved the panic of changing his clothes in Marylebone, haven’t we all tried to change in public loos! Such a journey. He has made his story very entertaining, it is amazing the range of parts he has played. I am sure like me we haven’t seen him in all productions - best rectify that. A good read, a book you can pick up and just read a chapter then try another later. Thank you.

Samantha Thornton

This is an enjoyable autobiography. Hugh describes his early interest in theatre from a young child, dressing up and putting on little plays for his family to school performances and then onto university. Hugh joined the National Youth Theatre in 1980 and this was his start of a successful theatre career and he eventually goes on to work for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He describes in detail some of the plays he worked on and some famous well-known actors. The fun times and the difficult times that theatre actors have experienced. Hugh’s career in film and TV started with writing couple of scenes for Kenneth Branagh’s film 1994 Frankenstein. He then went on to star in the very popular TV series Downton Abbey in 2010 and two Downton Abbey films. The popular TV series Twenty Twelve in 2011 and two Paddington films in 2014 & 2017.

Hear Hugh recount with wit and warmth some of the stories from Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru in an exclusive interview with Anne Diamond for Viking.TV >WATCH NOW