Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent

Britain's greatest Shakespearean actor reveals her secrets in a series of intimate conversations

Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig; cavorting naked through the countryside painted green; acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head... these are just a few things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare.

In this book, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career. In a series of conversations with actor/director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets behind her rehearsal process and vignettes of her creative partnerships, all told with her mischievous sense of humour and a peppering of hilarious anecdotes.