Dame Judi Dench in Conversation
February 24 at 12 p.m.
[Speaking of Shakespeare] During the spring of 1999, while Dame Judi Dench was earning a Tony Award in Amy’s View, playwright David Hare took part in a special Broadway evening at which she also received that year’s Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts. In remarks that were echoed by the director of that production and by a luminous array of other admirers, Sir David described Dame Judi as a performer who always goes “down to the core” while making it “look effortless.”
It’s for this reason that she can be just as riveting in a James Bond film with Daniel Craig, or a British sitcom like As Time Goes By, as in Shakespearean classics such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, or The Winter’s Tale.
She’s worked in every imaginable context, from cinematic comedies such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Shakespeare in Love to more somber dramas such as Iris, Mrs. Brown, Notes on a Scandal, Philomena, and Victoria and Abdul. In collaboration with Kenneth Branagh, she’s even tried her hand at directing. And she’s co-starred with such luminaries as Cate Blanchett, Daniel Craig, Claire Danes, Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Maggie Smith, and Kate Winslet.
We hope you’ll join us for NAC member John Andrews’ conversation with a star whose dozens of honors include an Academy Award and seven Oscar nominations, two Golden Globes, six Oliviers, and ten BAFTAs.
Photo Credit: Robert Wilson