Judi Dench - Book Review, "And furthermore"

Windy City Times

And Furthermore BOOK REVIEW2011-10-19

by Judi Dench, $26.99; St. Martin's Press; 268 pages REVIEW BY SALLY PARSONS She's loved by movie fans (M in the Bond series, Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, among other roles), and adored weekly in the ever-repeating TV series As Time Goes By on PBS. In her memoir, as told to her biographer John Miller, Judi Dench fills in the gaps not covered in his bio of her published in 1998 (Judi Dench, With a Crack in Her Voice). Anglophiles will no doubt adore this book, steeped as it is in British theater names, British humor, and tales of life on the boards in prestigious British theater companies. Actors as well may lap up a pointer or two on how to improve thespian skills. For example, in rehearsal for Antony and Cleopatra, the director Peter Hall gave Dench a note she finds works for any part in any play. Don't try to play all of the character in the first scene, he instructed. "'… play aspects of her [Cleopatra] in all the scenes,'" and at play's end, he summed it up, hopefully all the character will be in place. Dench enjoys sharing with us the numerous theatrical antics she's witnessed or been a part of. Dench (who would have guessed?) is quite a practical jokester. One time, in a production of Cabaret, she and John Mills decided to get back at an actor they thought was behaving badly. In the scene, which called for members of three theatrical companies to grab their luggage and scatter in different directions, Dench and Mills put heavy stage weights in the offender's suitcase. Everyone else launched their cases over their heads with ease. The target actor tried and simply fell over, then had to drag his case along while the others scattered easily, their suitcases bouncing aloft. Born in 1934 in York to a doctor in general practice and a homemaker, Dench was immersed in the theater from the git-go as her parents took an active role in local theater groups. She acted as a child in school productions (playing a fairy in the Nativity Play, "… which I was quite cross about, because I knew the Nativity story did not involve fairies."). She originally wanted to be a ballet dancer. After studying acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Dench was asked to audition at the Old Vic and in 1957 was offered the part of Ophelia in Hamlet. And so began her professional life in the theater. She stayed at the Old Vic four years, moving on to the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater Company, to both of which she has returned several times throughout her long career. Dench has also taken a turn in musicals, playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret, in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, and—most recently—as the producer's mother in the film Nine. (When rehearsing her song for this role, she panicked when Sophia Loren sat in the first row with Daniel Day-Lewis to observe. It's refreshing to note a pro of Dench's character can be shy in front of her peers). Her movie roles add up to an impressive list, including notable roles such as Mrs. Brown (another queen!), Iris, Notes on a Scandal, and Jane Eyre. Dench has also starred in two popular British TV series—A Fine Romance, in which she appeared opposite her husband Michael Williams, and in As Time Goes By. In addition to her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Shakespeare in Love, she has been awarded Best Actress awards by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) many times. She was also awarded a Tony for her role in Amy's View on Broadway. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1988 and a Companion of Honour in 2005. Here are some other things about Dench you might be surprised to learn: despite the many accolades she's received, she doesn't approve of awards for acting. "Acting," she says, "is such a personal, imperfect kind of art." She credits Frank Sinatra, along with Sir John Gielgud, as the best teachers of how to speak Shakespeare. She detests The Merchant of Venice ("… everyone behaves so frightfully badly"). Dench touches on her family in this book but devotes most of it to her theater life reminiscences. The many photos, however, satisfy one's curiosity about both. She doesn't want to retire—and that is good news for those of us who love Judi Dench.