Shakespeare The Man Who Pays the Ren..., Judi Dench
Shakespeare The Man Who Pays the Ren..., Judi Dench
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Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

Bestseller

Author: Judi Dench, Brendan O'Hea

Narrator: Barbara Flynn, Brendan O'Hea, Judi Dench

Unabridged: 12 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/23/2024

Synopsis

"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...The final segment has Dench (in her own voice) and O'Hea engaged in friendly, very funny, squabbling. Informative, educational and altogether brilliant listening!"—AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

This program includes interstitial narration from Judi Dench and a bonus conversation between the authors.

Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it before with internationally renowned actor Dame Judi Dench's SHAKESPEARE: The Man Who Pays The Rent—a witty, insightful journey through the plays and tales of our beloved Shakespeare.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

About Judi Dench

Dame Judi Dench, one of the foremost actors of our day, has won the Oscar, the Tony and the Olivier award. She is the author of the book And Furthermore.

About Brendan O'Hea

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy on October 16, 2024

If you have ever asked “Why read Shakespeare?” This is the book for you. Judi Dench unequivocally gets Shakespeare, gets language, gets acting, and definitely gets poetry especially iambic pentameter. I loved hearing her experiences acting in sooo many of the plays. I loved even more her constant quo......more

Goodreads review by H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov on July 16, 2024

The basics: This book is the result of many interviews with Dame Judi Dench over a period of four years. Dench discusses her approach to portraying a wide variety of the women in Shakespeare’s plays. Dench has been winning awards since the Sixties when BAFTA named her “the most promising newcomer.”......more

Goodreads review by Alisha on January 10, 2024

When I was invited to read this by the publisher, my first thoughts were reluctant. Yes, I've enjoyed many of Judi Dench's performances on screen, but I'm by no means a lover of Shakespeare. Would it be an inaccessible read for me? Well, it turned out to be a marvelous, marvelous read, and I'm glad......more

Goodreads review by Lizzy on April 26, 2024

CALLING ALL SHAKESPEARE LOVERS AND THOSE WHO WANT TO BE! I know. Shakespeare can certainly be intimidating. I was there. However, once one begins to understand the brilliantly nuanced writing of Shakespeare and the timeless plot lines, a need for more surfaces. Having studied at Shakespeare's Globe......more

Goodreads review by Heidi on April 27, 2025

Sublime conversation between actress and actor who are also personal friends. Sadly, Dame Dench didn’t narrate her own side of the conversation (although there were delightful snippets of her conversation and the prologue is worth a listen as she is quite the pistol!), the actress who played Dench w......more

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

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