Accent
Alden's accent guides and videos conveniently on one page!
Guides
Thanks to Alden for preparing the accent guides for the three versions we will be using in the play. Please contact Alden for questions, recordings, and one-to-one sessions.
Received Pronunciation
Benedict Cumberbatch
Good Example of Elevated RP
Sue Perkins
Great example of Modern RP
West English/Pirate
Long John Silver (Robert Newton)
He’s from Dorset and is the reason subsequent pirates talk the way they do - this is the source of Pirate accents.
Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush)
Excellent for general affect, cadence, and rhotic Rs, but Mr. Rush is ignoring the Ohs and Is of the accent. (Johnny Depp is giving a passable if not great cockney in these scenes).
Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)
Excellent example of a West English Accent. Look to Barbosa for affect, but to Hagrid for your vowels.
Samwise (Sean Astin)
A very soft, but still present West English accent
Light Cockney/Estuary
Jamie Oliver
A great example of the inconsistency alive in this accent. Sometimes his “T”s are beautifully crisp, sometimes completely thrown away depending on his cadence, tone, and feeling toward what he’s talking about. At 1:48 “I wanna ge’ the seeds ou’. Jus’ use a teaspoon if you jus’ scrape those seads ou’ and the whiTe.. kinda membrane, that’s where mosT of the heaT is.” “L”s tend mostly to the “W” space, but when he is being precise, they are closer to RP “L”s hear how he says “balsamic” versus how he says “handful” or how he says “beautifuL meaw” at 0:24.
Angela Lansbury
Notice in the opening of this number she speeds through “no one’ll go near it” but very clearly leans into the word “haunted” while going up in pitch. That’s the cockney lean.
Barbara Windsor
Great example of the inconsistency of the dropped consonants. “Yes, tha’s righ’ “ “I’ll just abou’ ge’ there” “i’n i’” (isn’t it) but then she also pronounces a very definitive “t”s on “at twelve twenty today” and on “but I didn’t” when she’s playing up how she took the high road and did things properly.
Bob Hoskins
Great working-class accent in a high-medium range. Mostly good to hear him for the level of expression and tone of voice while joking.
Ray Winstone
Great working class accent in a more middle to low pitch. A bit more subtle and subdued than Bob.
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