Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent - by Judi Dench & Brendan O'Hea

About the Book

"Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig. Cavorting naked through the Warwickshire countryside painted green. Acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head. These are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare. For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans"--

Book Synopsis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig...

Cavorting naked through the Warwickshire countryside painted green...

Acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head...

These are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare.

For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans.

Interspersed with vignettes on audiences, critics, company spirit and rehearsal room etiquette, she serves up priceless revelations on everything from the craft of speaking in verse to her personal interpretations of some of Shakespeare's most famous scenes, all brightened by her mischievous sense of humour, striking level of honesty and a peppering of hilarious anecdotes, many of which have remained under lock and key until now.

Instructive and witty, provocative and inspiring, this is ultimately Judi's love letter to Shakespeare, or rather, The Man Who Pays The Rent.

Review Quotes

"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

About the Author

Dame Judi Dench is one of the world's most celebrated actresses. She has won numerous major awards for work on both stage and screen - including an Academy Award, ten BAFTAs and a record eight Laurence Olivier Awards. In recognition of her many achievements she received an OBE in 1970, became a DBE in 1988, and in 2005 was awarded a Companion of Honour.

Brendan O'Hea is a theatre director and an Associate Artist at Shakespeare's Globe. His work as an actor includes major roles at the National Theatre, RSC and fourteen productions for Shakespeare's Globe. As a director his work has been seen on stages across the UK and abroad, including nine productions for Shakespeare's Globe.