A Great Deal of Laughter: Judi Dench, an authorised biography

Gerald Jacobs (author)

Weidenfeld and Nicolson, UK: 1985,153pp

ISBN: 0297785516

Genres: biography, drama, theatre

Issues: gifted, identity, talented

Judi Dench (Dame) is regarded as one of the finest actors of British theatre and has gradually become better known to a wider audience through television series such as As Time Goes By, and her performance as Queen Victoria in the movie, Her Majesty, Mrs Brown.

This first biography of her was written when she was just fifty and the fact that there was plenty of material from which to draw indicates just how talented an actor she is. Having graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London with the Elsie Fogerty prize and gold medal for ‘best all round performance', Judi's first role was Ophelia (Hamlet) at ‘the Old Vic'. Although such a youthful and inexperienced Ophelia was not entirely well-received by audience and critics, it was the beginning of Judi's life-long commitment to the works of Shakespeare, whom she later referred to as ‘the man who pays the bills'. Since that first foray onto stage, Judi Dench has never been out of work.

Gerald Jacobs takes the reader through her many roles, her long stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and paints a clear portrait of an actor who is determined not to become stereotyped or ‘boxed in' by public perceptions. Despite the famous ‘crack' in her voice that led her, years later to pin up a notice in the foyer reading, ‘Miss Dench does not have a cold, her voice is always like that', she played the role of Sally Boyles in Cabaret. As this biography reveals, she had been cast and begun rehearsals as Grizabella for the premiere of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's now-famous musical, Cats. Unfortunately her Achilles' tendon snapped and she was forced to withdraw from the role that was then played by Elaine Page.

Although somewhat ‘and then-ish' in its style, this is a solid and informative biography of a wonderful actor, crammed with hilarious stories of her successes, many misadventures, and examples of her own wicked sense of humour. By simply narrating the events and choices Judi Dench has made in her career, and outlining her childhood, schooling and her much-loved extended family, Jacobs gives the reader some insight into an outstanding actor who is obviously a very private person. The many tales told by friends and colleagues indicate she is not only a remarkably talented actor, but also a very special and loving person. As Jacobs says in his introduction, ‘in preparing for this book I faced a big problem: how to avoid it seeming to be one long tribute. Everybody I interviewed or consulted about Judi Dench had nothing but the highest regard for her whether professionally or privately.'