And Furthermore
Written by Judi Dench
Narrated by Samantha Bond
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
I can hardly believe that it is more than half a century since I first stepped on to the stage of the Old Vic Theatre and into a way of life that has brought me the most rewarding professional relationships and friendships. I cannot imagine now ever doing anything else with my life except acting…" – Judi Dench
From London's glittering West End to Broadway's bright lights, from her Academy Award-winning role as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love to "M" in the James Bond films, Judi Dench has treated audiences to some of the greatest performances of our time. She made her professional acting debut in 1957 with England's Old Vic theatre company playing Ophelia in Hamlet , Katherine in Henry V (her New York debut), and then, Juliet. In 1961, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Anya in The Cherry Orchard with John Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft. In 1968, she went beyond the classical stage to become a sensation as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, adding musical comedy to her repertoire. Over the years, Dench has given indelible performances in the classics as well as some of the greatest plays and musicals of the twentieth century including Noël Coward's Hay Fever, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, Kaufman and Hart's The Royal Family and David Hare's Amy's View (for which she won the Tony Award). Recently, she made a triumphant return to A Midsummer Night's Dream as Titania, a role she first played in 1962, now played as a theatre-besotted Queen Elizabeth I. Her film career has been filled with unforgettable performances of some unforgettable women: Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown, the terrifying schoolteacher Barbara Covett in Notes on a Scandal and the writer Iris Murdoch in Iris. And, for the BBC, Dench created another unforgettable woman when she brought her great comic timing and deeply felt emotions to the role of Jean Pargetter in the long-running BBC series As Time Goes By.
And Furthermore is, however, more than the story of a great actress's career. It is also the story of Judi Dench's life: her early days as a child in a family that was in love with the theatre; her marriage to actor Michael Williams; the joy she takes in her daughter, the actress Finty Williams, and her grandson, Sammy. Filled with Dench's impish sense of humor and diamond-sharp intelligence, And Furthermore is the audiobook every fan of the great Judi Dench will cherish.
Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench, one of the foremost actors of our day, has won the Oscar, the Tony and the Olivier award. She is the author of the book And Furthermore.
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Reviews for And Furthermore
82 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy read. Interesting to learn how much theatre work she has done. Loved the photos. Loved it was a book that left out the gossip and garbage. I could hear her voice easily while reading.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Although she is known to most Americans as a television and movie actress, And Furthermore emphasizes that for most of her career, Dame Judi has been a stage actress, starting in 1957. Her list of acting credits includes just about every classic play (many Shakespearean) one could imagine. In fact, most of the book is a chronology of her roles, with asides about her co-stars, the theaters they played in and the difficult job of getting a character just right while making it look easy. Occasionally, a bit of personal stuff comes out, but only occasionally.If readers hope to learn more about her late husband Michael Williams (with whom she starred in the lovely BBC sitcom A Fine Romance), there’s little. Neither are there gossip, scandalous revelations, or trashing her fellow actors. And Furthermore seems to fit the woman we think we know – more conversational than controversial. It was a quick and enjoyable read.BTW: I counted up her list of films (35), television shows (33 including the long-running As Time Goes By) and stage (85) roles in the book’s appendix. An amazing career … and I hope it’s not over soon. I don’t often read celebrity autobiographies, but I so admire Judi Dench that I made an exception. I love that she is growing old gracefully without any nipping and tucking … and she is absolutely beautiful.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six-word review: British star's light-hearted theatrical autobiography.Extended review:This anecdotal history of the career of one of Britain's brightest and most enduring stars has the warmth and intimacy of a backstage chat over tea in the interval between the matinee and the evening curtain.Dame Judi Dench relates story after story of incidents and experiences during her ongoing performing career on stage, on television, and in film, including many revealing glimpses of her theatrical colleagues, associates, and dear friends. Very much a part of the episodes are her emotional responses to them, and these she conveys with a feeling of candor and comfortable self-awareness. Even when writing about setbacks, disappointments, loss, and grief, she keeps the drama low, engaging our smiles and sympathies without overwhelming us. Laughter, delight, and gratitude prevail.However, she does not intend to share everything with the public: "I want to keep a quiet portion inside that is my own business, and not anybody else's." (page 238)I like the way Judi makes us feel we know her, even if we really don't. She's a great actress and knows what it takes to enchant an audience. Her pleasure in her craft and artistry is central to her success, and her thoroughgoing enjoyment of her life's work comes through on every page.Credit is due as well to John Miller ("as told to"). Without knowing to what extent his hand is in the writing of this book, we can only infer that he played more than a minor role in bringing it to print.There is also a generous assortment of photographs, many on glossy inset pages for high-quality reproduction.I've enjoyed Judi Dench's performances in everything I've seen her do over many years. Reading this entertaining account of her acting life adds to my appreciation of her work.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I love Judi Dench. I find her facinating. Reading about her life in theater was really facinating. Her phrases and rhythm of speech shine thru.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Since I love Dame Judi and almost everything she does on film or tv (I've only seen one play that she was in, so I don't want to say I love all the theatre work), it was a no-brainer that I would really enjoy a book in her voice. I also appreciated all of the color and bw pictures from her various roles. Definite must for any of her fans.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't read this expecting an autobiography. It's more like Judi sitting down with you to tell you about some of the memories she has of her life in the theater.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In a preface, Dench describes this book as a sort of "filling in" of gaps from her biography and other books by John Miller. And it reads very much that way, sort of hopping from thing to thing (largely in chronological order, though) and not spending much time on setting things up. This made it a bit hard to follow for me, as I have not read the biography, nor do I know much about Dench's life. So, I quickly decided to hop through the book myself, reading only those bits referring to things I was already interested in (mostly As Time Goes By and her later film work). From what I can see here, I think the full biography would be well worth a read someday, and, for anyone who has already read that or is otherwise well up on Dench's career, this would probably do very well at what it's designed to do: "fill in" in Dench's own words. The book also contains a good number of pictures, both black and white and color, which were great fun to look through.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Pretty much a list of every play she was in and who else was cast.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not very different from her early biographies. Disappointing!