audio nonfiction / interview with Judi Dench about Shakespeare's plays (12+ hours best heard at original 1.0 speed; Judi is portrayed by the skilled and accomplished British actor Barbara Flynn, who sounds a lot like her, but with all Judi's numerous swear words edited out to make it more palatable for British fans; Judi voices the preface and provides recorded excerpts of her parts in the various plays plus about 45min. of bonus conversation at the end of the audiobook; the co-author and interviewer, and fellow actor/director, Brendan O'Hea voices his own parts)

I am only passively familiar with Shakespeare's plays (for which O'Hea provides summary notes to help throughout as needed), but enjoyed listening in on these conversations. Dame Dench displays her sharp sense of humor as well as her astuteness on matters of theater. Would be fun to listen to this while taking a course on Shakespeare, but if your attention span tends to stray as mine does, it can also serve as a cozy read--something pleasant to listen to while your attention wanders in and out. ( )

Shakespeare:The Man Who Pays the Rent - Dench/O’Hea
Audible performance by Barabara Flynn, Brenden O’Hea, Judi Dench
5 stars

Generally speaking, I do not like celebrity memoirs. I’m not interested in name-dropping and gossip. However, I’m a good audience. I’m very interested in the creative process, the preparation, and the hard work involved with stage and film production. I had the audiobook and the text of this one. It gave me exactly what I wanted and held my interest from beginning to end.

This book evolved from recorded conversations between Judi Dench and Brenden O’Hea. Play by play, Dench speaks in detail about every Shakespearean role that she has played during her long career. She gives an analysis of each character, describes how she created her roles, and if she played a character more than once she discussed how her interpretation changed over time. I was fascinated. It felt like a master class.

There is, of course, some theater history. She’s very funny about backstage shenanigans and performance disasters. There is some good humored backstage gossip, lots of nostalgia and a few bits of heart breaking pathos for the creative people who are gone. There were almost no negative comments. When she did have something damning to say, no names were mentioned.

The audiobook is read by Barbara Flynn as if she is Dench and in conversation with O’Hea. She was so natural it was easy to forget that it wasn’t Judi Dench. However, Dench fills in the recording with occasional recitations from the plays that are featured. There’s also a recording of a conversation between Dench and O’Hea as an author’s afterword to the audio edition. ( )

On the one hand, this is a light read. The chapters are short. The format is that of an interview between two professional theater folk. No long walls of text, but conversations back and forth.

As a memoir, this is delightful and lively. Her co-author on this, Brendan O’Hea, interviewed her across a four-year span, encouraging her to comment on and analyze her roles in Shakespeare’s plays. The book opens with her discussion of MacBeth when she played Lady Macbeth against Ian MacKellan in the title role. That gets followed by her reminiscing over the various parts she played in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She was the First Fairy as well as Titania. There are chapters devoted to 19 of Shakespeare’s plays, the obvious and easily accessible ones as well as those one has to dig a little to find on screen. I have never seen Coriolanus, but the discussion of female characters in that play sent me off to see what I might find on YouTube. I don’t need a discussion of Ophelia in Hamlet but I benefit enormously from Dench’s insights into Volumnia. (Honestly, I’ve never seen OR read this particular Shakespearean tragedy but I may well have been missing something extraordinary!) That’s one of the selling-points of this book; you find yourself learning from this actress’ insights gleaned from working with different companies on multiple stages.

The other impression one takes away from this is what a good-natured and fun woman this Dame of the British Empire has proven to be. (Who would have thought she could crack up Ian McKellan in the midst of a performance?)

Honestly recommended, regardless of any reader’s familiarity with the Bard!!! ( )

Dame Judi Dench made her professional theater debut in 1957 and never stopped, appearing in a wide variety of roles on both stage and screen. Shakespeare’s plays were a significant part of her repertoire, and in this book she reveals intimate details from her experience and provides insights into each play and its characters.

In dialogue with director Brendan O’Hea, Dench describes her roles in 19 of Shakespeare’s plays. She appeared in some plays multiple times, for example Henry V, where Dench first played Henry’s wife-to-be Katherine, and later played the Hostess. For each play she provides insight on the characters and the way she chose to interpret them on stage. She talks about directors she worked with, and how their style influenced the production. Dench also shares anecdotes about other actors as well as some funny stories about theatrical mishaps.

I have seen and read a few of Shakespeare’s plays but am by no means an expert. Dench brought his work to life and helped me appreciate nuance that I missed, and her candor and wit added to my enjoyment. ( )

In a series of interviews Judi Dench talks to Brendan O'Hea about playing Shakespeare, and this book is a condensed selection from those interviews. Organised by play and then by role within that play there's 60 odd years of experience in here. They are clearly friends, given the banter, and Brendan just has to prompt and steer the conversation. I find it interesting what she does and doesn't consider when performing the plays. The way that she has played multiple parts and so you see the play from more than one perspective is also instructive. There's no need to be deeply versed in Shakespeare's plays to find this an enjoyable trot through his body of work from a very female perspective. ( )

62. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench & Brendan O'Hea
readers: Barbara Flynn, Brendan O'Hea, and Judi Dench
OPD: 2024
format: 12:05 audible audiobook
acquired: August 22 listened: Aug 23 – Sep 19
rating: 5
genre/style: Interviews theme: random audio
about the author: Dame Judith Olivia Dench is an English actress. She was born in 1934 in the Heworth area of York. Brendan O'Hea is a British actor, the son of Welsh and Irish parents.

This is almost a must for Shakespeare lovers and gift for anyone who knows Dench's Hollywood roles, but not her Shakespearean past and deep connection. Judy Dench was first a Shakespearean actress. She played Hamlet's Ophelia in her first role. At twenty-five (1959) she played Juliet in classic performance. She was in numerous female Shakespearean roles throughout her long career, acting alongside a number of famous actors, maybe of whom had prominent Hollywood careers too. Many, of course, have passed, including her husband. Her garden has several trees planted and named for actors who have passed.

Here she covers her roles Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Coriolanus, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Lear, The Comedy of Errors, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Winter's Tale, and Romeo and Juliet.

She's a passionate actress, passionate on Shakespeare, and that comes through so clearly in here in this book. It's interesting to have an actor's perspective. But this is more than that. She gets carried away and waxes on and on. She almost goes into character when talking about her roles, taking their side, sometimes unreasonably. And she's funny. She apparently cursed so much, that O'Hea was forced to edit some of it out.

I actually expected this to be brilliant and special, and it was at least as good as I expected. I loved it. Brendan O'Hea, the actual author, interviewed Judi Dench over 120 hours on her Shakespeare roles. Then he edited them down to this 12-hour audiobook. Her perspectives on acting these roles are rich and fascinating. She claims not to want to analyze from a literary perspective. And in some ways this makes sense. Play the role as it's written, let the viewer analyze. But she is in deeply touch with the lines and language. She quotes from plays she acted in 60 years ago. And she talks about how Shakespeare tells the actors how to act lines. The writing tells actors when to pause, how to perform, where to stress. And she also talks about staying in the moment, on the line. Not thinking ahead. They plays go very fast, so she was always focused on performing the line at hand.

audio note: Dench turned 90 this year. She reads tiny parts of the audiobook, but mostly her part is read by [[Barbara Flynn]], an actress. Flynn does an exceptional job. It's a great audiobook, even if it's not the raw interviews. The audiobook does contain a very entertaining 40-minutes sample of a raw interview.

I can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who feels that Shakespeare connection. I actually think almost anyone would enjoy this.

2024
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362165#8628603 ( )

Judi Dench and the actor and director, Brendan O'Hea, have a wonderful conversation in "Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent" (great title). O'Hea asks Judi about the Shakespearean roles she has played, and she answers him with candor, cheekiness, humor, and wisdom. Dench believes that audiences are drawn to Shakespeare because of his evocative language, compelling characters, wit, and profound understanding of human nature. Dench's anecdotes are lively and fascinating. She discusses the nature of the parts she played, the themes of each play, how her directors helped shape her performances, and in some cases, she recounts instances when something unexpectedly went wrong on stage.

Dench's vision is failing, but thanks to her photographic memory, she recites lines by heart from Shakespeare's plays and comments on them. We get a window into the Bard's use of prose and poetry to create a mood and shed light on the plot. Dench admits that she did not always get good notices. She was mortified when, as a newcomer playing Ophelia, she was panned by a several critics. As the years passed, she became more skilled and confident, and she is now renowned for her superb work in theater and films and for her consummate professionalism. Dench reveals a bawdy side to her personality, too, which may come as a surprise to those who think of her as strait-laced. This entertaining and enlightening book provides us with insight into Dench's artistry, intelligence, and humility. She is one of the all-time greats, and she looks back with joy and gratitude on a fulfilling career that has spanned more than six decades.

A delightful book for a niche audience- people very familiar with Shakespeare's plays. I've been a member of an amateur Shakespeare company for a number of years and have performed in nine of his shows. I've been in the audience for a few more. The more you know the shows, the more you will like Judi's descriptions of how she portrayed the characters.
The interview style of question/answer is easy reading. ( )

I really enjoyed this look at Shakespeare's plays and reminiscences from Dame Judi Dench's life. This is a conversation between her and fellow actor Brendan O'Hea about the various Shakespeare roles that Dame Judi has played over the years, and it is insightful, surprising and often laugh-out-loud funny. Now I need to go back and read or re-read the plays! ( )

A series of interviews with Dench about playing (and a few times directing) Shakespeare parts. Organized by play (and then by part within each play where relevant), this was a fantastic read, and very easy to find only the bits in which you are interested, should one wish to do so. Excellent if you are interested in Shakespeare, of course, but quite good, too, just on acting in general (and some snippets about Dench's life and friendships). Absolutely recommended if it pings you at all. ( )

I’ve always admired Judi Dench, and her acting, in whatever role she is in. I am a retired high school English teacher who taught Shakespeare for many years. For most of those 40 years I taught “Romeo and Juliet” to 9th graders, and it often surprised people I talked to about this that R&J was really an easy sell to 15-year-olds. The connections to their own lives were many and the bard’s language was not a problem after the first few scenes. Dench’s book is filled with stories about her acting experiences in the plays, both those well known as well as the more obscure ones. She is obviously a scholar of Shakespeare’s works, and her insight into her interpretations of those plays is fascinating. I have to admit that I jumped around in the book, reading about the titles I was more familiar with first and then reading about the less known plays. The structure of the book allows for that. I think “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent” will appeal to a wide audience, not just those who have read Shakespeare’s plays. Anyone who saw the Academy Award-winning film “Shakespeare in Love” and enjoyed it and Judi Dench’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth will undoubtedly enjoy her book. Those who decide to try it need to keep in mind that they don’t have to read every word of the book. It’s a smorgasbord that, as I said, can be picked chapter by chapter as one sees fit. I highly recommend it. ( )

This is a memoir written by Brendan O'Hea from hours and hours of notes and tape recordings of interviews with Judi Dench. It's what you would expect in such a book but because Ms Dench is so very special and because she's known Mr. O'Hea for a long time the reader is drawn to visualize them sitting together over snacks talking about playing Shakespeare.

Now I'm a fan of Shakespeare (not a scholar, just a fan) and so this book is full of interesting stuff. Don't give it to someone who doesn't like Shakespeare, regardless of how much they might like Judi Dench.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com. ( )

laugh-riot, laugh-out-loud, situational-humor, verbal-humor, historic-theatres, interviews, actors, family, famous-persons, commentary, memories, stage-plays, unputdownable*****

William Shakespeare is the unseen protagonist in this fun and fascinating book of the memories of this very well-known, energetic, and talented actress. The book is chaptered by Shakespeare's plays and the characters she portrayed. Expect insights, bloopers, and general hilarity amongst the historical facts relating to the time in which the plays were written.
The goal of the writer "had been to record her talking about all the Shakespeare parts she had played and offer it to the archive department at Shakespeare's globe." "The title is derived from the name that Judi and her husband gave to Shakespeare when they were working for the Royal Shakespeare Company." "The interviews were conducted over four years."
A wonderful book to be enjoyed again and again!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
Available 23 Apr 2024 ( )

I doubt there’s another book that can teach you more about Shakespeare’s oeuvre. OK, you’re not going to learn every line, but I can’t think of a better way to access the breadth of the plays, their themes, the challenges for actors, and the way directors and actors work to bring Shakespeare to life.

And the bonus? It’s all delivered in a wonderfully entertaining dialogue between Judi and Brendan. Like a very fine wine, satisfying to the last drop. 🍷 ( )