As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously known as "Berkovian theatre",[2] which combines elements of physical theatre, total theatre and expressionism.[3] His work has sometimes been viewed as an example of in-yer-face theatre, due to the intense presentation and taboo-breaking material in a number of his plays.[4]
Berkoff was born Leslie Steven Berks on 3 August 1937, in Stepney in the East End of London,[5] the son of Pauline "Polly" (née Hyman), a housewife, and Alfred "Al" Berks, a tailor. He had an older sister, Beryl (1930-before 2010).[7] He comes from a Jewish family; his grandparents emigrated to England in the 1890s, his paternal grandparents from Romania, and his maternal grandparents from Russia.[8][9] The family name was originally Berkowitz, but Steven's father anglicised it to Berks in order to aid the family's assimilation into British society. Steven (who had been known as Leslie growing up) later legally changed his surname to Berkoff and went by his middle name.[10]
As well as an actor, Berkoff is a noted playwright and theatre director.[15] His earliest plays are adaptations of works by Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis (1969); In the Penal Colony (1969), and The Trial (1971). In the 1970s and 1980s, he wrote a series of verse plays including East (1975), Greek (1980), and Decadence (1981), followed by West (1983) (later adapted and recorded at Limehouse Studios for transmission on Channel 4 in 1983), Harry's Christmas (Lunch) (also recorded at Limehouse Studios in 1983 but was never transmitted by C4 as it was considered "too dark"), Sink the Belgrano! (1986), Massage (1997), and The Secret Love Life of Ophelia (2001). Berkoff described Sink the Belgrano! as "even by my modest standards... one of the best things I have done".[16][17]
The language is usually filthy, characters talk about unmentionable subjects, take their clothes off, have sex, humiliate each other, experience unpleasant emotions, become suddenly violent. At its best, this kind of theatre is so powerful, so visceral, that it forces audiences to react: either they feel like fleeing the building or they are suddenly convinced that it is the best thing they have ever seen and want all their friends to see it too. It is the kind of theatre that inspires us to use superlatives, whether in praise or condemnation.[18]
In a 2010 interview with guest presenter Emily Maitlis on The Andrew Marr Show, Berkoff stated that he found it "flattering" to play evil characters, saying that the best actors assumed villainous roles.[23] In 2011, Berkoff revived a previously performed one-man show at the HammersmithRiverside Studios, titled One Man. It consisted of two monologues; the first was an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Tell-Tale Heart, the second a piece called Dog, written by Berkoff, which was a comedy about a loud-mouthed football fan and his dog. In 2013, Berkoff performed his play An Actor's Lament at the Sinden Theatre in Tenterden, Kent; it is his first verse play since Decadence in 1981.[24] His 2018 one-act play Harvey deals with the story of Harvey Weinstein.[25]
Film
In film, Berkoff has played villains such as Soviet General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), the corrupt art dealer Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), the Soviet officer Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and gangster George Cornell in The Krays (1990). Berkoff has stated that he accepts roles in Hollywood only to subsidise his theatre work, and that he regards many of the films in which he has appeared as lacking artistic merit.[26]
In 2014, Berkoff played a supporting role in the second season of the Lifetime TV show Witches of East End as King Nikolaus, the patriarch of the Beauchamp family.
In 2016, he appeared in series 3, episode 1 of the Channel 4 sitcom Man Down as Mr. Klackov, a "terrifying" caretaker with an Eastern European accent "who makes covering [series protagonist] Dan's mistakes even more complicated" when his job as a schoolteacher is threatened.[28]
Berkoff voices the character General Lente, commander of the Helghan Third Army, in Killzone. He provides motion capture and voice performance for the PlayStation 3 game Heavenly Sword, as General Flying Fox.
Berkoff's 2015 novel Sod the Bitches was described by Guardian critic Stuart Jeffries as "a kind of Philip Roth-like romp through the sex life of a libidinous actor".[25] His 2014 memoir Bad Guy! Journal of a Hollywood Turkey records his time working on a Hollywood blockbuster.[25][29]
Berkoff appeared in the British Heart Foundation's two-minute public service advertisement, Watch Your Own Heart Attack, broadcast on ITV in August 2008.[30] He also presented two episodes of the BBC TwoHorizon episodes: "To Infinity and Beyond..." (2010) and "The Power of the Placebo" (2014).
According to Annette Pankratz in her 2005 Modern Drama review of Steven Berkoff and the Theatre of Self-Performance by Robert Cross: "Steven Berkoff is one of the major minor contemporary dramatists in Britain and – due to his self-fashioning as a bad boy of British theatre and the ensuing attention of the media – a phenomenon in his own right."[32] Pankratz further asserts that Cross "focuses on Berkoff's theatre of self-performance: that is, the intersections between Berkoff, the public phenomenon and Berkoff, the artist."[32]
Personal life
Berkoff married Alison Minto in 1970, and Shelley Lee in 1976; both marriages ended in divorce. He lives with his wife Clara Fischer, a German pianist, in Limehouse, east London. Fischer appeared onscreen with Berkoff in his film Decadence. He has two daughters, Mylea and Sarah, from previous relationships.[5][13]
Defamation lawsuit
In 1996, Berkoff won Berkoff vs. Burchill, a libelcivil action that he brought against Sunday Times journalist Julie Burchill after she published comments suggesting that he was "hideously ugly". The judge ruled for Berkoff, finding that Burchill's actions "held him to ridicule and contempt."[33]
Political and religious views
Berkoff has spoken and written about how he believes Jews and Israel to be regarded in Britain. In a January 2009 interview with The Jewish Chronicle, in which he discussed anti-Israel sentiment in the aftermath of the Gaza War, he said:
There is an in-built dislike of Jews. Overt antisemitism goes against the British sense of fair play. It has to be covert and civilised. So certain playwrights and actors on the left wing make themselves out to be stricken with conscience. They say: 'We hate Israel, we hate Zionism, we don't hate Jews.' But Zionism is the very essence of what a Jew is. Zionism is the act of seeking sanctuary after years and years of unspeakable outrages against Jews. As soon as Israel does anything over the top it's always the same old faces who come out to demonstrate. I don't see hordes of people marching down the street against Mugabe when tens of thousands are dying every month in Zimbabwe.[34]
Interviewer Simon Round noted that Berkoff was also keen to express his view that right-wing Israeli politicians, such as Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, were "wretched".[34] Asked if British antisemitism manifested itself in theatre, Berkoff responded: "They quite like diversity and will tolerate you as long as you act a bit Gentile and don't throw your chicken soup around too much. You are perfectly entitled occasionally even to touch the great prophet of British culture, Shakespeare, as long as you keep your Jewishness well zipped up."[34] Berkoff also referred to the Gaza war as a factor in writing Biblical Tales: "It was the recent 'Gaza' war and the appalling flack that Israel received that prompted me to investigate ancient Jewish values."[35]
Speaking to The Jewish Chronicle in May 2010, Berkoff criticised the Bible but added, "it inspires the Jews to produce Samsons and heroes and to have pride". Berkoff went on to say of the Talmud in the same article: "As Jews, we are so incredibly lucky to have the Talmud, to have a way of re-interpreting the Torah. So we no longer cut off hands, and slay animals, and stone women."[36]
In 2012, Berkoff, with others, wrote in support of Israel's national theatre, Habima, performing in London.[38]
References in popular culture
In the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy, struggling actor Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) auditions unsuccessfully for an imaginary "Berkoff play" called England, My England. In the audition, characters dressed as skinheads swear repetitively at each other and a folding table is kicked over. Afterwards, Dexter's agent Mary (Anna Massey) muses, "I think he's probably mad ..."
"I'm scared of Steven Berkoff" is a line in the lyrics of the song "I'm Scared" by Queen guitarist Brian May, issued on his 1993 debut solo album Back to the Light.[39] May has declared himself to be an admirer of Berkoff[40] and his wife, Anita Dobson, has appeared in several of Berkoff's plays.
Shakespeare's Villains (1998) - inspired by and exploring the villains in the plays of William Shakespeare.
The Bow of Ulysses (2001) - sequel to Lunch.
Dahling You Were Marvellous (2001) - originally an unproduced television play written in 1989.
Sturm und Drang
Messiah - Scenes From A Crucifixion (2000) - inspired by the New Testament.
Ritual in Blood (2001) - originally written in 1965 under the titles of Hep, Hep, Hep and Blood Accusation.
The Secret Love Life of Ophelia (2001) - reworking of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Sit and Shiver (2004)
Purgatory (2009)
Biblical Tales (2010) - consisting of four short plays adapted from stories from the Old Testament: Adam and Eve, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh
Oedipus (2011) - a version of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.
Six actors in Search of a Director (2012)
Religion & Anarchy (2013) - consisting of five short plays about Jews and the holocaust: Guilt, Roast, Line-up, How to Train an Anti-Semite, Gas
Metamorphosis - TV adaptation for Theatre Night of Berkoff's play of the same name. Also feature's Berkoff playing the role of Mr. Samsa.
Silent Night (1991) - TV film starring Berkoff, based on his one-man-play Harry's Christmas.
7th November 1938 (1991) - short documentary film from the series The Day the World Changed. Presented by Berkoff talking about an important historical event of his choosing, which is Herschel Grynszpan's assassination of the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath.
Decadence (1994) - film written, directed by and starring Berkoff, based on his play of the same name.
Eat Dollink! (2017) - documentary written by and starring Berkoff.
Venice Beach (2017) - documentary directed, produced, written by and starring Berkoff.
Shakespeare's Heroes and Villains (2019) - documentary written by and starring Berkoff, based on his one-man-play Shakespeare's Villains.
Steven Berkoff's Tell Tale Heart (2019) - film starring Berkoff and adapted by Stephen Cookson from Berkoff's one-man-play The Tell-Tale-Heart.
Brighton (2021) - film adapted by Stephen Cookson from Berkoff's play Brighton Beach Scumbags.
Memoirs and essays
Steven Berkoff's America (1988) - poetry and essays.
I am Hamlet (1989) - based on Berkoff's working journal of his 1979 production of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
A Prisoner in Rio (1989) - Berkoff's diary whilst filming the movie Prisoner of Rio.
Coriolanus in Deutschland (1992) - Berkoff's journal of directing Shakespeare's Coriolanus in Munich.
Overview (1994) - memories of Berkoff's travels around the world.
Meditations on Metamorphosis (1995) - Berkoff's analysis of his various stage productions of Kafka's Metamorphosis.
Free Association (1996) - autobiography.
Shopping in the Santa Monica Mall (2000)
Tough Acts (2003) - memoirs of working with various high-profile actors and directors.
My Life in Food (2007) - Berkoff's memoirs about food.
Diary of a Juvenile Delinquent (2010) - autobiography.
Tales from an Actor's Life (2011) - autobiographical stories told in the third person.
Richard II in New York (2008) - writing on Berkoff's experience of directing Shakespeare's Richard II in New York.
A World Elsewhere (2019) - writings on Berkoff's work as an actor, director and playwright.
Short stories
Gross Intrusion and other stories (1979)
Graft: Tales of an Actor (1998) - semi-autobiographical short stories.
Published poetry
Steven Berkoff's America (1988) - poetry and essays.
The Berkoff Performing Arts Centre at Alton College, Hampshire, is named for Berkoff.[54] Attending the Alton College ceremony to honour him, he stated:
I remember in my younger days questioning what life means. Finding a place like the Berkoff Performing Arts Centre, I found myself as a person. Having a place like this sowed the seeds of the man I think I am today. A place like this is the first step in changing the life of a person. There's something about theatre that draws people together because it's something connected with the human soul. All over the UK, the performing arts links people with a shared humanity as a way to open the doors to the mysteries of life. We should never underestimate the power of the theatre. It educates, informs, enlightens and humanises us all.
He taught a drama master-class later that day, and performed Shakespeare's Villains for an invited audience that evening.
References
^Dorney, Kate; Gray, Frances (14 February 2013). "1969-1979". Played in Britain: Modern Theatre in 100 Plays. Great Britain: Methuen Drama. pp. 92–93. ISBN9781408164808.
^Steven Berkoff, "A Tale of Tel Aviv", The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
^Arnold Wesker, Ronald Harwood, Maureen Lipman, Simon Callow, Louise Mensch MP, Steven Berkoff, "Letters: We Welcome Israel's National Theatre", The Guardian, 10 April 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
Cross, Robert. Steven Berkoff and the Theatre of Self-Performance. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004. ISBN0-7190-6254-3 (10). ISBN978-0-7190-6254-4 (13). (Rev. by Pankratz.) (Synopsis at Google Books, with hyperlinked table of contents and limited preview.)