Judi’s not on a Stage, We’re not in a Theater, but her Absolute Spellbinding Presence Comes Alive

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Shakespeare The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea is a wonderful book for Shakespeare lovers. It’s practically a Master Class on Acting, and a memoir of Judi’s acting career in Shakespearean plays. It is fascinating, engaging, and flies by in the blink of an eye. I’m using the Kindle edition with Audible narration, and the audio is top drawer. 

In his introduction, Brendan O’Hea notes, “This was never meant to be a book. My plan was to record Judi Dench talking about all the Shakespeare parts she has played and, with her blessing, to offer it to the archive department at Shakespeare’s Globe. But when a friend of her grandson overheard one of our many discussions at her home in Surrey, and was intrigued to know what all the laughter, passion and arguing was about, it made me wonder if these interviews might have a wider appeal.”

The narrative is like an extensive interview, each chapter a different play (20 are covered in this book) or related material with Judi reciting a segment of dialogue from a character she’d been in that particular play, followed by a series of great questions from coauthor, actor, and director Brendan O'Hea, with his prodigious knowledge and background in Shakespeare’s plays and the British Shakespearean community, and Judi’s lively responses to them. She has a wonderful memory concerning her life as an actor in all of these particular plays, and related experiences, and the two of them, long time friends, have great conversational chemistry. 

One of the most powerful aspects of this book, is for 391 pages you are listening to Judi Dench energetically talk about the body of her life’s passion. Her enthusiasm, breadth of knowledge about acting, wide conversance about all aspects of these plays, her intimate understanding of characters she’d played, and her connection with audiences, never fails to fascinate. Passion and energy are transmitted through her in the Audible narration. She’s not on a stage, we’re not in a theater, but her absolute spellbinding presence comes alive. 

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