A coarse actor is...

- One who can remember their lines but not the order in which they come

- One whose eyebrows are attached to their feet (so every facial expression involves the whole body as well)

- One who limps on both legs simultaneously

- One who knows everybody else's lines better than their own

For 50 years, Michael Green's The Art of Coarse Acting has been essential reading for anyone with a passion for theatre. It's an outrageous spoof that punctures pretentiousness, pokes fun at incompetence, revels in disaster and lifts the lid on life backstage.

As this special 50th anniversary edition proves, however much the theatre may change, Coarse Actors don't. Green's acerbic yet affectionate work remains one of the funniest books about acting ever written.