Part biography, part critique, part chat – there’s an awful lot to like about Judi Dench’s depiction of her career in Shakespeare’s plays. Laid out as conversations with her friend and fellow actor Brendan O’Hea, Dench takes us through all the Shakespearean roles she’s tackled, play-by-play. And we are rewarded with so much: an actor’s insight into their craft; an insider’s take on the Bard and the process of acting; snapshots of other actors she has worked alongside and directors she’s worked with.
But most of all we get a sense of her love of the plays and their language (even The Merchant of Venice, which she really dislikes), her wicked humour, her stunning memory of the texts, the fact that the Bard is soaked into her very being. And we also appreciate a life well lived – from someone who, I suspect, still can’t believe how lucky she has been.
If you get the chance, seek out her 2023 appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show’ when she recites one of Shakespeare’s sonnets from memory. Spellbinding. (you can find the clip on YouTube)
If you like Shakespeare, this is a super read from surely one of the greats…
Ian Gouge - Writer 