Shopping in the Santa Monica Mall: The Journals of a Strolling Player

Steven Berkoff's name is associated with a particular vision of the world he navigates: always bizarre; often hilarious; frequently poignant; sometimes ugly but never mundane. He has been at the cutting age of the British stage for 25 years but in this book turns his talents to the world stage. Nothing escapes Berkoff's basilisk vision. Something as apparently normal as shopping in the Santa Monica Mall becomes a Kafkaesque vision of hell. And the sheer variety of experiences is dizzying: from a savage picture of a Jewish deli in Miami, to an afternoon with the toffs at Glyndbourne; then revealing the hedonistic delights of a luxury hotel in Madeira after plunging into an explosion on a film set with one of America's most volatile producers. In the air, at sea, in Chicago, New York, France, Sao Paolo, the Bahamas, Australia and Rio, this is a journey round the world at Steven Berkoff's side. Brace yourself.