Thank you to the publisher for my copy. All thoughts are my own.

I love Shakespeare. I love actors talking about their art. I love discovering new things in old stories. So, when I saw this book come through my inbox, I had to read it. It was such a wonderful, joyful celebration of classical theatre and our modern outlook on plays that have been produced for centuries. I love the history, the speculation, the interpretation. It makes me so happy and really gets my brain moving. I had a blast reading this book and if you’re a Shakespeare nerd or just someone who loves theatre, I highly recommend it!

Synopsis:

“Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you’ve never encountered it before by preordering Judi Dench’s Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent – one legendary actress’ inspiring, moving and brilliant journey through the plays of William 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.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Personal Nature of the Writing—I loved how close Judi was the characters she played. I loved how she delved into moments of her personal life and where she was, physically and mentally, while working on these characters. Her relationships with directors and famous companies! It was so wonderful. Informative and personal.

An Acting Masterclass—My favorite part of hearing from my favorite actors is getting insight into how their brains see the text. I learned so much that I can’t wait to apply to my own work.

Conversational, Entertaining Structure—This is an easy book to read and enjoy, whether you are a Shakespeare fan or not. It’s such a joyful listen, if you can get the audiobook. It feels conversational and Judi’s giggle is so precious.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

Nothing, I loved this book so much. It was a pure joy to read and reignited a love for Shakespeare and, acting in general, that I’ve let fall to the wayside.

Character Authenticity: N/A Spice Rating: N/A Overall Rating: 5/5

Content Warnings:

anything mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays that could be tough for you!

In a series of candid conversations with actor and director Brendan O'Hea, Dame Judi Dench shares her personal experiences portraying iconic Shakespearean roles, from Lady Macbeth to Cleopatra. With incisive clarity and a mischievous sense of humor, she offers invaluable insights into her rehearsal process, interpretation of famous scenes, and the joys and challenges of bringing Shakespeare's characters to life.
Dame Judi regales readers with delightful backstage shenanigans and memorable anecdotes from her illustrious career. Her witty observations on audiences, critics, and the camaraderie of the rehearsal room add depth and humor to this captivating narrative.

Spend some time with the greatest English writer and one of Britain's greatest actresses! “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent” by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea is a fascinating collection of conversations about the plays of William Shakespeare. Dame Judi Dench colorfully and freely describes her experiences acting in Shakespeare plays at the highest level. She is definitely a legend, and she’s also friendly and relatable, which is what makes this book so special.

In Ms. Dench’s words, “Shakespeare belongs to everybody. And we must allow who we are as individuals to color our interpretation of his words: everybody’s upbringing and life experiences are different, and that needs celebrating and bringing to the plays. You’ve got to find out what his words mean for you.”

I enjoyed this book. I would suggestion that you read it in small bites. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

In this novel has beautifully given more insight into Judy Dench, her career as an actress, and her interpretations of Shakespeare. As a university student currently in another Shakespeare course, the stories Judy Dench has told through her time in Shakespeare productions in this novel has completely renewed and emblazoned both my appreciation for Shakespeare and my love for theater.

Brendan O'Hea writes Dench's many relatable behind the scenes tales and intriguing characterizations as an actress. He elegantly brings us into the mind and world of the delightful Judy Dench as we learn more about what it was really like for her to be such well-known Shakespearean actress and how it helped bring her career to new heights.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two things that I adore are Shakespeare and Dame Judi Dench, so I couldn't wait to read this book. While it was fun to read about her experiences and feelings about all things Shakespeare and Shakespeare adjacent-like living in Stratford-upon-Avon, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in the formatting of the book. It was done in a more "interview" type style and after reading the intro discovered that it was transcripts that Brendan O'Hea did of his conversations with Dench. I've read other reviews that said the audio version was more enjoyable but still a little lacking. Perhaps if it was written in a more memoir-type style it would be more engaging.

Overall, I'd recommend for anyone who loves Shakespeare and/or Dame Judi Dench since it was still fun to hear her stories in her words.

I really enjoyed this book. It is always great to hear interpretations of Shakespeare. How this was so intertwined with her life was great to hear. Would recommend to any Dan of Judi Dench or Shakespeare

I like Dame Judi Dench and wanted to learn more via this book because I never got into Shakespeare. I tried and tried but it was a struggle.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was truly an upfront and personal window into Judi Dench’s Shakespearean roles in her stellar acting career. Sometimes playing two roles in a given play, she’s been some of my favorite Shakespearean characters - Lady Macbeth, Titania, Ophelia and Cleopatra, to name a few. I enjoyed reading about her acting philosophy, her wicked sense of humor, her drive to push her acting boundaries, and her continued focus on acting the roles as Shakespeare intended and as written. I loved her belief of less is more whether it’s in acting or in real life and enjoyed her personality as it came through the pages. I enjoyed her regaling us with behind the scenes near mishaps like the skirt (!) and some of her antics, especially the one about the apples toward the end of the book. She was candid and spoke her mind - I’m sure she’s great to have at a dinner table - there’s bound to be laughter, ribbing, and jolly good fun overall. The conversations flowed smoothly with Brendan O’Hea. They were comfortable and informal - old friends. I liked that he would occasionally contradict, correct or give his take on how he remembered a certain situation, not quite the same as hers. I also liked how in discussing the plays, they would go back and forth discussing parts or characters enough to jog my memory of the plays that I’d read or studied quite a while ago. This was definitely a lovely read. And, by the way, the title of the book is superbly brilliant! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to read this book and am sharing my honest thoughts in this review.

I am not an actor, although I do enjoy reading stories about actors; particularly real ones. Judi Dench is an incredible actress, and I mostly knew her as playing the role of “M” in the James Bond franchise.

Going into this book, I did not know she had such a deep career in theatre, much less that her experience performing Shakespeare is extensive.

It was a lot of fun to hear personal input and specific memories from her past performances, and to gain a tiny bit of insight into who she is as a person; for example, I learned that she prefers performing in theatre rather than on film because if she messes up one night in the theatre, she can try to do better the next night, unlike the permanence of a film.

Following along with the structure of the book was a bit odd; for example, at some points I wondered why the author’s question was that question when it seemingly had nothing to do with the actress’ response. I understand it is written that way intentionally, though! I would recommend this book for readers who enjoyed the story of Evelyn Hugo so long as they know to be prepared for a more interview-esque writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eGalley. When I first saw this book, I thought it would be more of a memoir than a set of interviews. While I loved hearing Dame Dench's opinions on her acting career and her reading of the characters, I wanted more information about her own life. I did find it interesting to look at some of the plays that I have taught in class and see her take on characters like Lady Macbeth, Juliet, Beatrice, and Ophelia. However, the other uncommon plays were not as thrilling to read. Every time there was a bit about her life, I was intrigued, but there was just too much summary of the plays for me.

I requested this ARC because Judi Dench is one of my favourite actresses and I love Shakespeare. In this series of interviews about the various Shakespeare plays she has been a part of, we, the reader, get anecdotes that are humorous, we get zingers, we get opinions. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I should add that you don’t have to love Shakespeare to enjoy this. The plays are actually well explained in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dame Judi Dench is a wonderful actress! I so enjoyed reading Dame Dench’s reflection’s on the various Shakespeare productions she performed in. I would classify the book as part memoir. If you are a fan of Dame Dench and Shakespeare, you will love this book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #St.Martin’sPress, #JudiDench, #BrendanO’Hea and #Shakespeare:TheManWhoPaystheRent for the advance copy for my honest review.

3.5 stars

Part memoir, part actor's commentary on Shakespeare's plays, but definitely interesting. Dame Judi Dench is marvelous -- intelligent, funny, insightful, and bawdy and profane at times. This one might be a bit more of interest to true theater buffs as it goes through the plays one by one and sometimes character by character to share Dench's experiences and comments on the roles she's played. It can be a bit dry in the analyses for those less familiar but her memories and anecdotes are wonderful and sometimes poignant. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm going to quite simply call this the "MASTER CLASS of Shakespeare". PERIOD.

If you want to know the famous, and not so famous, plays better, to UNDERSTAND them, to get to know why characters are played the way they are, THIS is the book for you. Judi explains everything so well, that you feel she truly has a past life as a confidante of Shakespeare, and knows what she speaks. But then she does speak from experience!

In this interview setting, Dench is asked questions by (Brendan, himself a Shakespeare actor and director) about the different plays she has been in. As he asks one questions, he asks others, based on Dench's comments back, and you end up with what amounts to a mini class on each play under discussion, as well as some valuable history info! Even da kid, who dreaded Shakespeare class, was blown away with audio version of this book, and sought out the online interviews with Brendan and Dench, to hear the words from Dench herself (as she doesn't do the audible version).

I do have to admit ,reading the book, you will HEAR Dench in your ear speaking her lines with ease. It can be a bit disconcerting when you get pulled back into life around you, as you get so lost in the book with her as your guide. Shakespeare becomes INTERESTING and with an actor's take, it is renewed, and you wish you had had this book in YOUR Shakespeare class! I had to laugh at the end when Brendan admitted that the text had been edited to remove Dench's swearing, as after the first play/chapter, you could hear the cadence and know where she got edited! LOL.

BUY this book. Buy it for your kids, but buy it for yourself, to look at Shakespeare from the 'other side', and see what you might have missed!

This is a review for NetGalley of Shakespeare, The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench (my favorite British actress) and Brendan O'Hea. This book will be released on 4/23/24. I love Dame Judi Dench, and I have loved watching her perform over the years on television, but never did I get to see her on stage playing Shakespeare, who she and her husband (sadly deceased) Michael Williams, referred to Shakespeare as the man who pays the rent...so this book gives us great insight to each character she played, and we get a rare and special glimpse into how she felt about, techniques she used, people she worked for and with, such as actor Ian McKellen, and director Peter Hall! I felt like I was literally sitting in Dame Judi's living room while Brendan O'Hea asked her all his amazing questions, because he had a friendship with her that was evident, and he has the gift we don't see much anymore, of drawing a great interview out of an amazing lady! Dame Judi has a photographic memory, so you really get a great picture, almost like you're there in the audience, as she paints and explains every character she played. We also get to see some of her amazing artwork which with the story, really gives us an added gift. It really made me understand Shakespeare in a way I've never been able to before, and I believe through Dame Judi's eyes and stories, we can understand what his plays were meant to portray! I laughed, and just fell more in love with this legend, Dame Judi, and even loved Brendan, and his funny cheek, and beautiful way of painting Dame Judi's vision of her parts. It's a masterpiece in my opinion, and I'm so glad someone convinced Brendan to write it! The world needs to hear these stories, and more ladies, for she is a true lady in my mind, like Dame Judi Dench! I highly recommend this book! 5 stars is not enough!!! I loved it!!!

This is an interesting book. Any Shakespeare fan would enjoy this book. It is full of interesting stories and anecdotes of Judi Dench's time performing Shakespeare's plays.

If you enjoy Shakespeare, you’ll appreciate this behind-the-scenes look at his plays through the eyes of someone who has lived them. Denche shares her unique decades long perspective on Shakespeare’s characters, dialogue, and plot points as well as a master class in stage acting.

The book is a compilation of interviews between Denche and fellow actor Brendan O’Hea. The banter between the two was charming and I loved the juxtaposition of the rather boring questions asked by O’Hea with Denche’s often frank, hilarious responses. Because this is more interview than story, I think I would have enjoyed the audiobook even more.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it before by pre-ordering 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 and 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."

It's Judi Dench, it's Shakespeare. What more needs to be said? Go. Buy.

Judi Dench and her late husband, Michael Williams, used to call Shakespeare the man who pays the rent, because there were always Shakespeare plays being put on, parts to be gotten, and pay packets to be earned. For Judi Dench, it seems Shakespeare must have been a particular gold mine because of her astonishing memory. She has huge swathes of the plays and sonnets committed to memory. She doesn’t just know the words; she keenly analyzes the structure and how changes from prose to poetry and other distinctions inform meaning. Her interpretation of the part of Lady Macbeth, which begins the book, is a master class.

In addition, Dench seems to remember practically every detail of every productions she was ever in. Who else was in the play, who directed, who was in the crew, what the costumes were like. Best of all, she has a seemingly never-ending supply of stories of stage happenings, especially mishaps. The time she tugged so hard on her scene partner’s dress that the seam tore and they had to finish the scene with the partner’s underwear showing. The time she had on a coat to keep warm while waiting to go on, and realized with seconds to spare that she hadn’t put on her skirt. The misbehavior she and her castmates got up to.

Dench is highly opinionated about the plays and her parts. She hates The Merchant of Venice and says it was a misery to be in it. As noted, she loves Macbeth, and she’s been both Ophelia and Gertrude in Hamlet, alongside a bevy of standout lead actors.

The origin of this book was a series of conversations between Dench and her longtimr friend, actor/director Brendan O’Hea, apparently meant for an archive. The idea to turn their conversations into a book came later. I understand that Dench and O’Hea are doing at least one live conversation in May as a fundraiser for The Watermill Theatre in Bagnor, England.

In the audiobook, the conversations that Dench had with O’Hea are recreated with Judi’s part narrated by Barbara Flynn. When I listened to the podcast of Dench and O’Hea at the end of the audiobook, I realized why Dench doesn’t do her own part of the conversation for the audiobook. O’Hea mentions that he had to edit down over 100 hours of their conversations for the book. Once he had his edited manuscript, he could record his part, but Dench has macular degeneration and says she can’t read now. We do get to hear Dench declaim several bits of Shakespeare, though, and narrator Flynn does a good job, especially with Dench’s frequent chuckles.

It was delightful to listen to this memoir, fascinating and often laugh-out-loud funny. If you already love Judi Dench, then this book is a no-brainer. But who else is it for? Shakespeare fans, actors and would-be actors, and anybody who enjoys memoirs, especially ones with plenty of humor.

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O'Hea was a shining 5 ⭐️.
This was absolutely delightful! I took a Shakespeare class my senior year in high school and fell in love with his work then and there.
Judi and Brendon wrote a relatable nonfiction dialogue that kept me enraptured. It reads like an interview that flowed flawlessly. It was a comfortable setting that had me understanding Judi Dench’s mind and experience in a way I hadn’t seen before. I’m truly in awe of her talent. I had already started reading this when I was offered the audiobook. You guys, I thought it was even better than the book! It felt so personal and fun. It’s like I was sitting in the audience. It was narrated by Barbara Flynn, Brendan O'Hea and Judi Dench. I can’t say enough good things about this. It’s a must read/listen and hope you love it as much as I did. I highly recommend it.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.