Publishers Weekly
02/19/2024
For this exuberant collection, O’Hea, an actor at Shakespeare’s Globe theater, brings together his interviews with Dench (Behind the Scenes) about the many Shakespearean roles and productions in her seven-decade career. Conducted over four years and originally intended for the Globe’s archives, the lively conversations bounce from backstage reminiscences (“I wouldn’t know how to get ready unless there were jokes and pants flying through the air”) to irreverent commentary on the plays (“Oh my God, I loathed it,” Dench says about The Merchant of Venice, objecting to its irredeemable characters and antisemitism). Dench’s accessible musings feel like learning about Shakespeare from a favorite teacher, as when she notes how the contrast between Romeo’s metaphor-rich language and Juliet’s “straight to the point” responses in the balcony scene reveal how “she has no guile about her. And there’s no time to be flowery—she’s too anxious about Romeo’s safety.” Of particular value are Dench’s lucid insights on her craft: “Acting is learning how to edit. It’s not just about what you put in, but probably more importantly what you choose to chuck out.” The breezy discussions make up in energy and passion for what they lack in rigor. It’s a refreshingly loose exploration of the Bard’s oeuvre. Illus. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"A magical love letter to Shakespeare" - Kenneth Branagh
"A literary demonstration of how the iconic actor has lost none of her energy, flair, and fiery intelligence... Dench’s memoir of the roles she has loved is a witty, thoroughly entertaining romp through the Shakespearean world." - Kirkus (starred review)
"...it’s a mark of Dench’s impish genius and O’Hea’s deftness that it genuinely feels like you’re sitting at her kitchen table with her. It’s companionable and compelling – if you love Judi Dench or Shakespeare (and most of us do), look no further." - The Guardian
“…swirls and dances with brilliance and mischief…Judi knows Shakespeare from the inside – she’s who Shakespeare had in mind when he took up his quill. The wisdom here is breath-taking…The book is pure enchantment.” - The Daily Mail (Book of the Week)
“An utterly delightful book…there can be few higher pleasures in civilised life than hearing Judi Dench recite the poetry of Shakespeare…What emerges is a wealth of unpretentious horse sense – Shakespeare from a great actor’s perspective – that repeatedly strikes to the heart of the matter with a sharp instinctive intelligence that puts fancy-pants literary critics to shame.” - The Telegraph
“This is a perceptive read, suffused with Dench’s trademark twinkly-eyed humour…Her lifelong love of these plays, their humanity and universality, is unmistakable, but this is a refreshingly honest, unacademic take…Dench’s scene-by-scene analysis of many works is sharp and her memory for seemingly inconsequential fragments of line-reading or costume, laser-like..” - iNews
Library Journal
★ 03/01/2024
According to Oscar-winning actress Dench (Behind the Scenes), Shakespeare is for everyone; readers can bring their own life experiences to his works and interpret them accordingly. Plus, his plays speak to the universal human condition. Both Dench and her late husband, Michael Williams, revered the playwright. For them, Shakespeare was "the man who paid the rent." This book contains a series of interviews between Dench and renowned Shakespearean actor and director O'Hea, whom she has known and worked with for many years. Each interview is a concise gem that brings together Dench's insights, personal experiences, and knowledge about Shakespeare's plays, including Macbeth and Hamlet. Her memory of each role she has played is astounding. Dispersed throughout the interviews are musings on audiences, language, critics, and the future of Shakespeare. Serious and thoughtful without being stuffy, this work shows Dench's terrific sense of fun as she relates hilarious anecdotes that will make readers laugh out loud. VERDICT A compendium of great wit and wisdom with universal appeal. Both Shakespeare fans and novices, especially students who might find his language difficult to understand, will be delighted.—Penelope J.M. Klein
APRIL 2024 - AudioFile
In Q&A format, actor Brendan O'Hea asks intriguing questions of world-famous actor/director Judi Dench. The result is absolutely delicious. O'Hea recorded four years of interviews with Dench, but due to her failing eyesight, the audiobook is co-narrated by Barbara Flynn. In a remarkable performance, Flynn laughs, jokes, and calls O'Hea to task when he's wrong--all sounding very much like the famous Dench. With sprinkled salty language, Dench opens up about her seven-decade career, her photographic memory, and her Shakespearean roles. Each chapter thoroughly explores a play and Dench's role in it. Her wit and impish nature will have listeners in stitches. The final segment has Dench (in her own voice) and O'Hea engaged in friendly, very funny, squabbling. Informative, educational and altogether brilliant listening! S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-01-13
A literary demonstration of how the iconic actor has lost none of her energy, flair, and fiery intelligence.
These days, Dench (b. 1934) is often thought of as the flinty M of several James Bond movies, but she spent the bulk of her career on the stage, mainly performing Shakespeare plays. In this follow-up to And Furthermore, the author looks back at her experiences via conversations with her fellow actor and close friend Brendan O’Hea. This was necessary because Dench’s eyesight is failing, but her memory is razor-sharp and her knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays is encyclopedic. Her starting point was Macbeth, which remains one of her favorite plays. She also has a liking for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and King Lear, but she has mixed feelings about The Merchant of Venice and Coriolanus. Her first professional role was as Ophelia in Hamlet; later, she played Gertrude. Even at the age of 89, Dench retains an impish sense of humor, and she has plenty of stories about mischief and mayhem behind the scenes. Impressively, she quotes large chunks of various plays from memory. She insists that none of her performances are definitive, and she believes that there are as many interpretations of Shakespearean roles as there are actors. This view underscores her appreciation of the wide-ranging work of the Bard, which she sees as entirely relevant to our era: “Everything you have felt or are yet to feel is all in there in his plays: oppression, ambition, loneliness, remorse, everything….Shakespeare has examined every single emotion….His writing has the capacity to make us feel less alone.” Through these lively conversations, Dench creates a highly satisfying mix of fun, insight, and art.
Dench’s memoir of the roles she has loved is a witty, thoroughly entertaining romp through the Shakespearean world.
