Loved, loved this book. I’ve taught for over 40 years but found so much insightful and valuable depth into the plays that I wish I was back in the classroom to share it. The book shares the background and insights of Dench’s performances of Shakespeare’s female figures. She also gives background into directors, co-stars, language and staging. Dench is funny, forthright, and helpful in letting the reader/audience in on all she knows of her Shakespeare experience.

I liked this book because I like Shakespeare. I have studied Shakespeare at length...I have taught Shakespeare...it is intriguing to read this book (Judi Dench) and to learn more about how The Bard has been a huge part of the lives of celebrities...written well...nonfiction that reads like fiction at times...a page turner. Would have used this book when teaching. Thanks Netgalley.

This is my book of the year. It is such a brilliant read I found myself laughing and crying throughout. The format is flawless - Brendan asks questions and Judi answers them - at length. Her answers are illuminating. I found myself understanding some plays for the first time and her breadth of knowledge is astonishing. This book is a treat for anyone who enjoys the theatre and an absolute gift for anyone teaching any of the plays. It is pure entertainment.

Have you ever sat down for a chat with a good friend and looked up only to realize hours have gone by? You laugh, you find insight and you feel a bit nostalgic? That is what this book is like.

Cracking open the pages I wasn't sure what to expect. A series of interviews with Dame Judi Dench conducted by Brandon O'Hea about the Shakespearean roles that Dench has played over the years? Will it be dry? Too esoteric? Well, it was neither of those things.

Reading this book feels like having a conversation with Judi Dench, if you knew Judi Dench. Her voice sounds in your head as you read. You burst out laughing at some of the audience responses to the plays and you learn wonderful tidbits about Dench's life all the while talking about Shakespeare, "the man who pays the rent" as she and her husband quipped while being essentially always on stage through out the 1970s while performing with The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Dench talks about life, love and death through the lens of the plays that she clearly has great affection for. And dare I say she makes Shakespeare's work very accessible by talking about the characters in terms of human emotion, motivation and all of our very common emotions; jealousy, rage, joy and love. There is nothing sappy about this book, with a sharp wit and often raunchy attitude toward our human emotion Dench delivers again.