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The two have worked together extensively, from a television adaptation of "The Cherry Orchard" to their days at the Royal National Theatre to the Broadway production of "Amy's View." Here, Dame Judi shares her thoughts on the director's working style, his personality, and his legacy. |
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You certainly have a sense of what it's like to work with Sir Richard. What things stand out most to you as you recall your professional experiences with him? Judi Dench: I would say that he's an extraordinary man of the theatre. He's an incredible man of integrity about the theatre, and you feel, when you're working with him, that you're in very safe hands. He believes in the theatre passionately. He works very quickly, and you feel that he knows exactly what he wants, that he will go on until he gets it and that's what you can depend on. It makes for a very happy work environment. He's also got a wonderful sense of humor, which is vital. He's a passionate, passionate man. Angry, quite a lot of the time, forceful, but passionate, and that's what's important and that's what you see in CHANGING STAGES. |
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In this particular project, Sir Richard shares his personal views of the theatre world's past, present, and future. What kind of impact has his own work had on 20th-century theatre? What kind of legacy is he creating for himself? JD: A phenomenal one. I met him when he came up to the Nottingham Playhouse a very, very long time ago, and he's just steadily gone from strength to strength. He's done the most extraordinary things. He ran the National Theatre for a long time, and it was the most thrilling time to be in that theatre. His choice of plays was wonderful -- he did classics, which is what the National is about -- and he did daring, new works, and he was very successful about it. |
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From a performer's perspective, what can theatre accomplish that other media cannot? JD: The thing about theatre is that you can go on at it until you get better. Sometimes, of course, you get worse, but you can go on. I'm uneasy about the kind of crystallization of performance in films. Once you've done it, that's it: it's there, and it's like something in formaldehyde for me. But in theatre, of course, over and over again you have more chances to get better at it. There are nights -- and in 44 years I'd say I've had only about four of them -- when you think, "That is the best I can do with this play to this point, that's the best performance we've given of this play, and that's the most that I can do." And then the next night you've got to do better than that. The audience is yet another dimension which you have to incorporate. That's the excitement of theatre: we need an audience. If the audience didn't make a difference I'd be at home with my feet up. No two audiences are ever, ever the same, and that's what's exciting about the theatre. |
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