Dame Judi, Downton and a date with Peter Pan
It tells the true story of the remarkable day two fairytales collided; the moment when, at the 1932 opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition, the inspirations behind Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (Alice Liddell Hargreaves) and Peter Pan (Peter Llewelyn Davies) had a brief but extraordinary encounter.
But Peter And Alice, which was written by John Logan and is being previewed from tomorrow (9 March) at London’s Noël Coward Theatre, also marks Dame Judi Dench’s much-anticipated return to the stage. Playing Alice (who was 80 at the time of the meeting) alongside Ben Whishaw (who plays Peter), her performance promises to be one of the season’s cultural highlights.
It has been a busy 12 months for the 78-year-old. First, she appeared in Deborah Moggach’s colourful Indian caper The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, for which she was nominated for both a Golden Globe and British Independent Film Award. The role required her to ride on the back of Bill Nighy’s motorbike, a daily routine that terriffied her co-star. ‘I used to wake up every morning thinking, “Don’t kill Judi Dench,”’ Nighy revealed recently. ‘In England, if you kill Judi Dench, you can’t go home any more.’
And then, of course, she set about saving the world as M in the latest James Bond lm, Skyfall. (As you do.) She certainly made the character of Britain’s toughest lady spook her own – and even learned to shoot for the part.
‘I got into Shed 19. And Shed 19’s where you learn to shoot a gun,’ she told Sophie Raworth on the Andrew Marr Show. ‘You get in to hold a… thrilling. It’s thrilling because it’s pretend.’
But Skyfall was also her tear-jerking final outing as M, a role she played seven times over 17 years. ‘I think I was emotional when they actually said “Cut!”, and they said that’s it, thanks very much. I think I was quite emotional then and we all had a drink and a big cake and everything – that was the emotional bit.’
In fact, Dame Judi was so attached to the part, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at last month’s Baftas, that she kept four of the shell cases she’d fired from her pistol and had them fashioned into some rather dazzling gold and ruby cufflinks, each engraved with ‘Skyfall’ and decorated with a ruby.
Roger Elliott, the jeweller behind the accessories, revealed that they ‘were especially meaningful to her because they marked the end of her career as M. ‘She also said they were the only gunshots she ever fired on screen,’ he added.
But while Peter And Alice will keep her busy at least until the end of its run on 1 June, what’s next for Britain’s best-loved actress?
Well, there’s always the possibility of a lastminute return to Bond – ‘Maybe I’ll come back as a ghost,’ Judi has joked. ‘Now that would be Shakespearian.’
But she will certainly be starring next year in Philomena, a new film directed by Stephen Frears and based on a book by BBC reporter Martin Sixsmith. The film tells the harrowing, true story of Philomena Lee (played by Dame Judi), an Irish mother forced in the 1950s to hand over her son to a home run by Catholic nuns. The boy, Anthony, was later given by the nuns to an American couple – and the film follows Philomena’s search for him, 50 years after their last meeting.
Fans have also launched a campaign to have her join the cast of Downton Abbey. The online Facebook page is called ‘Get Dame Judi Dench to guest-star on Downton Abbey – or ‘Get Dench on Downton,’ for short – and currently has 1,188 followers. The campaign’s founder, Danny Epperson, wants her to ‘match wits with Dame Maggie Smith’, while another fan imagines her as the Dowager Countess’s more formidable sister. Now that would be a dual. Either way, there’s no sign of her retiring – ultimately, she’s just too attached to what she does.
‘If you love it, you know, we’re in the minority of people who want to do a job and get employed and are able to make a living at the job and can go and do it. That’s a tiny minority, but it’s wonderful if it can happen to you,’ she said recently.
‘I can remember Trevor Nunn coming into my dressing room on a first night and saying, “When I come into your dressing room you’re always in tears” – and in a way I am, because I always think this might be the last thing I do.’
Peter And Alice, directed by Michael Grandage, runs until 1 June at the Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2: 0844-482 5140, www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk
But Peter And Alice, which was written by John Logan and is being previewed from tomorrow (9 March) at London’s Noël Coward Theatre, also marks Dame Judi Dench’s much-anticipated return to the stage. Playing Alice (who was 80 at the time of the meeting) alongside Ben Whishaw (who plays Peter), her performance promises to be one of the season’s cultural highlights.
It has been a busy 12 months for the 78-year-old. First, she appeared in Deborah Moggach’s colourful Indian caper The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, for which she was nominated for both a Golden Globe and British Independent Film Award. The role required her to ride on the back of Bill Nighy’s motorbike, a daily routine that terriffied her co-star. ‘I used to wake up every morning thinking, “Don’t kill Judi Dench,”’ Nighy revealed recently. ‘In England, if you kill Judi Dench, you can’t go home any more.’
And then, of course, she set about saving the world as M in the latest James Bond lm, Skyfall. (As you do.) She certainly made the character of Britain’s toughest lady spook her own – and even learned to shoot for the part.
‘I got into Shed 19. And Shed 19’s where you learn to shoot a gun,’ she told Sophie Raworth on the Andrew Marr Show. ‘You get in to hold a… thrilling. It’s thrilling because it’s pretend.’
But Skyfall was also her tear-jerking final outing as M, a role she played seven times over 17 years. ‘I think I was emotional when they actually said “Cut!”, and they said that’s it, thanks very much. I think I was quite emotional then and we all had a drink and a big cake and everything – that was the emotional bit.’
In fact, Dame Judi was so attached to the part, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at last month’s Baftas, that she kept four of the shell cases she’d fired from her pistol and had them fashioned into some rather dazzling gold and ruby cufflinks, each engraved with ‘Skyfall’ and decorated with a ruby.
Roger Elliott, the jeweller behind the accessories, revealed that they ‘were especially meaningful to her because they marked the end of her career as M. ‘She also said they were the only gunshots she ever fired on screen,’ he added.
But while Peter And Alice will keep her busy at least until the end of its run on 1 June, what’s next for Britain’s best-loved actress?
Well, there’s always the possibility of a lastminute return to Bond – ‘Maybe I’ll come back as a ghost,’ Judi has joked. ‘Now that would be Shakespearian.’
But she will certainly be starring next year in Philomena, a new film directed by Stephen Frears and based on a book by BBC reporter Martin Sixsmith. The film tells the harrowing, true story of Philomena Lee (played by Dame Judi), an Irish mother forced in the 1950s to hand over her son to a home run by Catholic nuns. The boy, Anthony, was later given by the nuns to an American couple – and the film follows Philomena’s search for him, 50 years after their last meeting.
Fans have also launched a campaign to have her join the cast of Downton Abbey. The online Facebook page is called ‘Get Dame Judi Dench to guest-star on Downton Abbey – or ‘Get Dench on Downton,’ for short – and currently has 1,188 followers. The campaign’s founder, Danny Epperson, wants her to ‘match wits with Dame Maggie Smith’, while another fan imagines her as the Dowager Countess’s more formidable sister. Now that would be a dual. Either way, there’s no sign of her retiring – ultimately, she’s just too attached to what she does.
‘If you love it, you know, we’re in the minority of people who want to do a job and get employed and are able to make a living at the job and can go and do it. That’s a tiny minority, but it’s wonderful if it can happen to you,’ she said recently.
‘I can remember Trevor Nunn coming into my dressing room on a first night and saying, “When I come into your dressing room you’re always in tears” – and in a way I am, because I always think this might be the last thing I do.’
Peter And Alice, directed by Michael Grandage, runs until 1 June at the Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2: 0844-482 5140, www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk
DAME JUDI: in 60 seconds
- Born: York, 9 December 1934. Attends local Quaker school.
- Makes her professional debut with the Old Vic Company in 1957.
- Marries actor Michael Williams on 5 February 1971. Michael dies in 2001. They have one child, Finty, born 24 September 1972.
- Already an acclaimed stage actress, she becomes a big name in fi lm when she is cast as M in 1995 James Bond fi lm, GoldenEye. Other major fi lm roles include Mrs Brown (1997), Iris (2001) and Notes On A Scandal (2006).
- Made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1988.
- She has won 11 Baftas, seven Laurence Olivier Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award and an Oscar – for her eight-minute role as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love.
- She has also provided the voice for six James Bond computer games.