Judi Dench: I thought, ‘Not only Shakespeare but swearing too! This is for me’

As the RSC streams its Talking Shakespeare series with some of its greatest actors, Judi Dench, Harriet Walter and Patrick Stewart tell us what the Bard means to them

“A favourite line? ‘My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep’”, says Judi Dench
“A favourite line? ‘My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep’”, says Judi Dench
Judi Dench
The Times

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I’ve been mad about Shakespeare since I was about seven. During the war I was taken to see my brothers in Macbeth at their school, St Peter’s in York. My eldest brother, Peter, who was playing Duncan, came on and said “What bloody man is that?” I thought, “Not only Shakespeare but swearing as well! This is for me.” One of my first roles was playing the Queen in Richard II for my brothers’ school, opposite somebody called Orrie Pochin, whom I was absolutely mad about. It was bliss.

Twelfth Night is my favourite Shakespeare, followed closely by Measure for Measure. The Merchant of Venice is probably the one I like the least. It’s very difficult to make those people real, when they all