Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent

These are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of 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. Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it before.

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.