Playing Shakespeare (Judi Dench)

[@MrDavey2010]

Dame Judi delivers her lines so naturally. Perfect diction too.

[@wotan10950]

Dame Judi has often said that the key to Shakespeare is the meter of the verse. I think the director here is performing the same function as the conductor of an orchestra. That is, he is stressing the importance of the rhythm and technique. Once the actors understand that, they’re free to interpret within those parameters; same as an orchestral instrumentalist or an opera singer.

[@ashleymarks6144]

I just don't hear meter or a time signature in the verse. I see the pauses, the line endings, and the emphasis.

[@bradley583]

It's ridiuclous how perfectly she reads her lines. She is incredible.

[@ronaldcalvanio9785]

Brad M nnuy

[@zlomeny]

Brad M nnuy

[@sawdusttostardust]

Look at her. She's bloody perfect, completely inhabiting the character, the soul, already. Totally present and in the moment. Effortlessly. Wonderful to watch!

[@MacKenziePoet]

Judi Dench's sense of Shakespeare descends upon her from on high! She goes beyond mastery!

[@voraciousreader3341]

I feel so sorry for people who have tin ears for the music of Shakespeare’s verse! I’ve never acted it once, only read many of the plays and sonnets, and it’s the music of the verse that drew me in....of course, I’m a classically trained musician, but I wasn’t from freshman to senior years in high school when I studied 6 plays in my English classes, I was t formally trained then, but the music was so amazing to me and I learned to become drunk with words. I’ve never needed or wanted any other intoxicant than words and music!

[@catherinebisset72671]

Watching genius at work is an absolute treat. Thank you for sharing.

[@OriginalDramagirl]

I loved this series. Watched it back in the 80s when it first came out. It's perennial and full of brilliance.

[@vanessashaw6912]

What I really love is the rhythm of Shakespeare's language. While these actors observe the iambic pentameter they still sound like "real people". Even as child watching old movies I was very drawn to the rather "over the top" interpretation...because even then it was coming from a place of organic honesty. Only after I became an actor did I understand how easy it is to surrender to that rhythm. It just rolls off the tongue like honey and feels so good that you can get "carried away".

[@seanjackson5527]

Judi Dench, in an interview, once credited her Shakespeare proficiency to directors who drilled good rhythm into her. In an era full of democratic cannibalism, we often forget the value of a teacher/curator. Students gain from principled repetition before studying and developing on their own, requiring less direction with proficiency. For me, Judi Dench delivers every line perfectly and that everyone else in the room is hardly keeping up, even if they deliver an otherwise great performance. She's simply unrivaled.

[@SiraSpirit]

I was so pleased to see that the text they're looking at is one of my absolute favorite scenes, and the acting and the reading brought so much more out of the scene! I love it.

[@RicRags]

Thanks for posting this! I see a lot of people do Shakespeare and it all sounds the same. Seeing people who actually know what they're doing is wonderful! And, what a masterful director! He knows every note and pause in this.

[@ferrousallotrope]

I don’t know anything about acting or the stage. This is fascinating

[@LoveIsBeautiful1910]

I never thought I would really understand Shakespeare enough to enjoy it..but Judi and company in this video really made it a wonderful thing to listen to..thank you for sharing this..I adore every bit of it !!!!!!!

[@burpie3258]

Judi Dench is amazing.

[@edward311]

John Barton....such a talent. There when the RSC was brilliant.

[@mikewalsh6168]

Not the same company nowadays, the actors no longer speak the verse properly

[@tutkufilms]

so much better than the book. and you have to love john barton's haircut

[@brendanlaird4620]

Appearing with Dame Judi: Her hubby Michael Williams, Alan Pascoe and Norman Rodway.

[@DrJones20]

I'm not getting any results on Alan Pascoe when I google him. You have any info on him?

[@AntPDC]

@@DrJones20 It's Richard Pasco.

[@riledmouse4677]

This is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen.

[@chucklesseventyeight4748]

I loved every second of it. thank you so much for sharing this. :)

[@daisymay9203]

I feel her fear when she’s getting feedback and she looks to the floor and says yes I’ve been there you almost turn numb because ur a character

[@tneprescintr]

What jewel, thanks for posting.

[@zeddeka]

Fashions change with Shakespeare. There's another documentary on here from 1979 featuring Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, Trevor Nunn and others from the RSC discussing how in their view, the music and rhythm of the lines must always be very secondary to meaning.

[@marksieving7925]

Well, this is from 1982, so it's not exactly another era. And in Ian McKellen's analysis of MacBeth's soliloquy he repeatedly emphasizes the rhythm of the speech. He says that if the meaning is understood, the rhythm will come naturally; "If you look out for the sense, the music will look out for itself."

[@thomascreeley3627]

I've just finished Henry James's The Tragic Muse, which stresses the importance of craft and technique in the histrionic art. These actors exemplify this; their technique is as solid as a brick house.

[@alexandrebertrand-lafleur3114]

They have the greatest actors of England: Judi Dench, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, David Suchet, Peggy Ashcroft!

[@brendanlaird4620]

Norman Rodway's Dublin wit, very much in evidence.

[@daniyalrazakazmi7249]

Dame Judi Dench is incredible

[@jasonhurd4379]

Michael Williams (here playing Curio) was Dame Judi's husband.

[@juanv8600]

A word spoken, only has beauty if the speaker has fresh breath my dear. I say I say I say.

[@alfredogiancarlopachecomad2403]

Dame Judy... An intersting woman...

[@tedfaun2159]

This is all very good, but it's important to remember to play the scene and not just the lines. It is a play after all.

[@theoperatripleaxel5417]

For a foreign thats so complex... Damn, Shakespeare is a challenge...

[@hollabigT]

MORE OF THIS

[@OFBI7]

MIL GRACIAS OR ESTE VIDEOO DE JUDI DENCHHH ALGO HABIA VISTO EPOR NUNCA COMPLETO,,MUAK-

[@Betty77168]

What year was this recording of their acting?

[@GazaBoss-w9c]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💌💌💌🥰

[@cynthiahogan4598]

❤👍

[@giantdelphinium8101]

May I know the name of this director? 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@giantdelphinium8101]

Got it. John Barton. Thanks

[@leopoldvangenechten613]

❤

[@purandaremandars]

LOVE

[@batshevamormarcovich3878]

שקספספירט האליליפוטנטייה אלטונהנסיכת נילוס לוק לקלוקוס❤

[@dorothywillis1]

I love to watch this because of the great acting but I wonder what was wrong with Michael. This was filmed some time before his last illness was starting but he certainly behaves as if he is not well.

[@davol2449]

This is, like, twenty years or so before Michael died, so it's unlikely he already was ill.

[@vanessashaw5365]

I am entranced. They are brilliant. Only one criticism...well observation really. i am never comfortable when in the course of directing, a director gives actors “line readings”. This director is acting in the capacity as a coach/interpreter than a director. I mean no disrespect but is this the “norm” for directors in England?

[@vexinglex4996]

+vanessa shaw I think what he was doing was that he was giving sort of a coaching for the audience. The actors, of course, have their interpretations and deliveries down to a craft but I think John is training the viewers THROUGH how he spoke to the actors. In my experience with American and British directors in my drama class (my major as well), Americans love to take the play by its proverbial horns. They move about on stage planning and mapping and arguing and (level) grinding. British directors enjoy sitting down before actually giving it a run through. Both rehearsal methods are beautiful and it depends entirely on the director and their performers on which one is more beneficial.

[@rexmundi2237]

The clip is very old. It reflects an old-fashioned approach, I doubt modern directors would be so dictatorial and intrusive nowadays - not the ones who respect actors anyway. Modern theatre is more collaborative.

[@davol2449]

But he's not acting as a Director at all, despite what Barton says. First of all, it's a TV show, so no matter what he may be saying his role is, he's still a coach/presenter. There is no particular "norm" for English directors. Yeah, some of them even give line readings. And plenty of American directors give line readings. No kidding.

[@KevinNewlandScott]

Change is not necessarily improvement. The job is to present the text as clearly and closely to the author's intent as the company's hive mind can intuit it. Suggesting line readings can be a useful time-saving tool to get to that point, if the actor has not been brainwashed into accepting the myth that a director's (or playwright's) offering of a line reading is "disrespectful" of a actor. (I am also not a fan of taking a black magic marker to a playwright's stage directions -- )

[@vanessashaw5365]

@@KevinNewlandScott Not necessarily “ brainwashed” to believe that once an actor is hired based on their audition they are being entrusted to interpret the written dialogue in a reasonably intelligent way. Otherwise, why not just hire a mimic?

[@cz2165]

Great teaching but Barton keeps referring to Dame Judi in the third person. She fiddled with her coffee cup, I think she was very aware of that and bothered by it.

[@lollypoplauren]

Feminine

[@batshevamormarcovich3878]

וקוסקוסלמופלה בטטה

[@batshevamormarcovich3878]

😂🎉😊❤

[@Gossmeyerfanboy]

Boring

[@GoogleUser-tn2tz]

RIP taste

[@IAmAdamIAm]

Well, this is the work.

[@gilbert3208]

You are

[@MrDavey2010]

Noooooo! Maybe you should try ‘Crossroads’!

[@Hammer332]

You're a clown.