Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent is a wonderfully witty and well written memoir by Dame Judi Dench (with Brendan O'Hea) about her astounding richly lived life in the theatre. Released 23rd April 2024 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
Ms. Dench is a titan of theatre. Instantly recognizable around the world, wonderfully witty, prodigiously talented, versatile, and so intelligent. This is a delightful book showcasing her experiences and talents and the collaborator has made the right choice in recording her reminiscences without generally getting in the way and "improving" things.
The stories are written around her Shakespearean theatre work: Macbeth, Midsummer, Twelfth Night, Merchant, Hamlet, Coriolanus, As You Like it, Measure for Measure, Much Ado, Lear, Comedy of Errors, Richard II, Antony & Cleopatra, Cymbeline, All's Well, Henry V, Merry Wives, Richard III, Winter's Tale, Romeo & Juliet, and a vast number of niche musings and pithy observations which fall outside strict categories/plays.
Wonderful *wonderful* human being and a delightful read. The text is enhanced throughout by simple pen and ink sketches by the author herself.
Five strong stars. Definite must-have for public library acquisitions folks, theatre lovers, Shakespeare lovers, TV/movie aficionados, etc.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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