Judi Dench

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 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!!!… (more)

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, 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.… (more)

In a series of interviews Judi Dench talks to Brendan O'Hea about playing Shakespeare, and this book is a condensed selection from those interviews. Organised by play and then by role within that play there's 60 odd years of experience in here. They are clearly friends, given the banter, and Brendan just has to prompt and steer the conversation. I find it interesting what she does and doesn't consider when performing the plays. The way that she has played multiple parts and so you see the play from more than one perspective is also instructive. There's no need to be deeply versed in Shakespeare's plays to find this an enjoyable trot through his body of work from a very female perspective.… (more)

62. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench & Brendan O'Hea
readers: Barbara Flynn, Brendan O'Hea, and Judi Dench
OPD: 2024
format: 12:05 audible audiobook
acquired: August 22 listened: Aug 23 – Sep 19
rating: 5
genre/style: Interviews theme: random audio
about the author: Dame Judith Olivia Dench is an English actress. She was born in 1934 in the Heworth area of York. Brendan O'Hea is a British actor, the son of Welsh and Irish parents.

This is almost a must for Shakespeare lovers and gift for anyone who knows Dench's Hollywood roles, but not her Shakespearean past and deep connection. Judy Dench was first a Shakespearean actress. She played Hamlet's Ophelia in her first role. At twenty-five (1959) she played Juliet in classic performance. She was in numerous female Shakespearean roles throughout her long career, acting alongside a number of famous actors, maybe of whom had prominent Hollywood careers too. Many, of course, have passed, including her husband. Her garden has several trees planted and named for actors who have passed.

Here she covers her roles Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Coriolanus, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Lear, The Comedy of Errors, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Winter's Tale, and Romeo and Juliet.

She's a passionate actress, passionate on Shakespeare, and that comes through so clearly in here in this book. It's interesting to have an actor's perspective. But this is more than that. She gets carried away and waxes on and on. She almost goes into character when talking about her roles, taking their side, sometimes unreasonably. And she's funny. She apparently cursed so much, that O'Hea was forced to edit some of it out.

I actually expected this to be brilliant and special, and it was at least as good as I expected. I loved it. Brendan O'Hea, the actual author, interviewed Judi Dench over 120 hours on her Shakespeare roles. Then he edited them down to this 12-hour audiobook. Her perspectives on acting these roles are rich and fascinating. She claims not to want to analyze from a literary perspective. And in some ways this makes sense. Play the role as it's written, let the viewer analyze. But she is in deeply touch with the lines and language. She quotes from plays she acted in 60 years ago. And she talks about how Shakespeare tells the actors how to act lines. The writing tells actors when to pause, how to perform, where to stress. And she also talks about staying in the moment, on the line. Not thinking ahead. They plays go very fast, so she was always focused on performing the line at hand.

audio note: Dench turned 90 this year. She reads tiny parts of the audiobook, but mostly her part is read by [[Barbara Flynn]], an actress. Flynn does an exceptional job. It's a great audiobook, even if it's not the raw interviews. The audiobook does contain a very entertaining 40-minutes sample of a raw interview.

I can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who feels that Shakespeare connection. I actually think almost anyone would enjoy this.

2024
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362165#8628603… (more)