Judi Dench

I absolutely freaking love Judi Dench; one of my favourite programmes is Nothing Like A Dame from 2018, where she, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins laugh and reminisce about their long and amazing careers on stage and screen. I'm not really a fan of Shakespeare (although Judi and this book could sway me) but I love their friendship, history and humour.

This wonderful book is a continuation of that vicarious experience, full of F bombs and laughter, with Judi talking to fellow show more actor and director Brendan O'Hea about all the Shakespeare plays she had performed in over the years. He introduces the play and provides a helpful summary - I only studied Othello and Macbeth at school! - while she recalls the roles she played with incredible clarity, quoting speeches and describing her costumes! From the 1960s!

There is an impressive selection of plays - perhaps one too many for my personal taste - and I enjoyed Judi's memories and insight into performing the Bard. Brendan asks the right questions, sometimes with cheeky asides about the actress herself ('Have you ever been in a play where you haven't fallen over?') Judi is full of humour and mischief, swearing her head off ('The Merchant of fucking Venice!') and her love for Shakespeare and the language of the theatre is truly infectious. I stopped to look up modern retellings of Twelfth Night because the characters really intrigued me (yes, I know I should read/watch the actual play, but this is how I roll!)

I'm glad that Judi is still going strong, despite her failing eyesight, and that she is known for more than just dreadful bilge like HP and Downton Abbey (as Maggie Smith was reduced to after her death last year). I got distinctly misty eyed when she said that ‘you have bereft me of all words’ from The Merchant of Venice is the inscription on her husband's headstone.

Beautiful, witty, flowing and inspirational words, from both Dame Judi and Shakespeare. show less

On the one hand, this is a light read. The chapters are short. The format is that of an interview between two professional theater folk. No long walls of text, but conversations back and forth.

As a memoir, this is delightful and lively. Her co-author on this, Brendan O’Hea, interviewed her across a four-year span, encouraging her to comment on and analyze her roles in Shakespeare’s plays. The book opens with her discussion of MacBeth when she played Lady Macbeth against Ian MacKellan in show more the title role. That gets followed by her reminiscing over the various parts she played in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She was the First Fairy as well as Titania. There are chapters devoted to 19 of Shakespeare’s plays, the obvious and easily accessible ones as well as those one has to dig a little to find on screen. I have never seen Coriolanus, but the discussion of female characters in that play sent me off to see what I might find on YouTube. I don’t need a discussion of Ophelia in Hamlet but I benefit enormously from Dench’s insights into Volumnia. (Honestly, I’ve never seen OR read this particular Shakespearean tragedy but I may well have been missing something extraordinary!) That’s one of the selling-points of this book; you find yourself learning from this actress’ insights gleaned from working with different companies on multiple stages.

The other impression one takes away from this is what a good-natured and fun woman this Dame of the British Empire has proven to be. (Who would have thought she could crack up Ian McKellan in the midst of a performance?)

Honestly recommended, regardless of any reader’s familiarity with the Bard!!! show less

I really savored Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench. She is goofy, irreverent and just plain fun. The interview format made it feel much more spontaneous than a prose memoir; I felt like we were getting the "real" Judi Dench rather than some edited, smoothed over version. She took us behind the curtain but also in front of it with tales of falling and confusing lines and trying to poke her fellow actors. It was just a lovely time spent with a thoughtful and mischievous old show more friend.

I haven't followed through on reading the plays but I haven't given up on it either. She invites us into the plays as stories with real human characters that can be interpreted in different ways. It was particularly interesting to hear her talk about playing different characters in the same play. show less

Dame Judi Dench made her professional theater debut in 1957 and never stopped, appearing in a wide variety of roles on both stage and screen. Shakespeare’s plays were a significant part of her repertoire, and in this book she reveals intimate details from her experience and provides insights into each play and its characters.

In dialogue with director Brendan O’Hea, Dench describes her roles in 19 of Shakespeare’s plays. She appeared in some plays multiple times, for example Henry V, show more where Dench first played Henry’s wife-to-be Katherine, and later played the Hostess. For each play she provides insight on the characters and the way she chose to interpret them on stage. She talks about directors she worked with, and how their style influenced the production. Dench also shares anecdotes about other actors as well as some funny stories about theatrical mishaps.

I have seen and read a few of Shakespeare’s plays but am by no means an expert. Dench brought his work to life and helped me appreciate nuance that I missed, and her candor and wit added to my enjoyment. show less