A different sort of love letter to William Shakespeare. Michael Williams, Dame Judi Dench's late husband always referred to the Bard as "The Man Who Pays the Rent" whilst the two of them worked extensively at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and London. In conversation with actor and director Brendan O'Hea, Dame Judi talks through many of the key parts she has played over the years. We get wonderful insight about the motivations of the characters, the contexts of each play, and a lot of fascinating background as to what it was like working in a major repertory theatre company in the 1960s-90s. I hugely enjoyed the way in which many of these characters were "humanised" - for example the divided emotions felt by characters such as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Should be highly recommended reading for any A level English students studying one of the plays.

Published November 2023. Read in hardback.