“I was aghast”: the breakthrough 1968 role Judi Dench “approached with terror”
Dame Judi Dench has always been up for a challenge, even when it proves to be monumentally difficult. But that’s what makes her such a star, she never gives up at the first hurdle.
While she is best known for her roles across various classics from the past 30 years, ranging from James Bond movies to Oscar winners like Shakespeare in Love, Dench’s roots were firmly planted in the theatre, where she learned the tricks of her trade. Sure, we can’t forget her presence on the silver screen as M or her frequent turns in period dramas, like Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, but where would she be if not for the work of Shakespeare?
She probably knows his plays inside out, considering that she has starred in a large number of them, stepping into the shoes of some of his most iconic women, like Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Juliet, and Hermia. Spending her formative years as an actor, Dench spent much of her time in The Old Vic Company, eventually joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.
But later that decade, with much acclaim now under her belt, she was still shocked when she was offered the chance to audition for Sally Bowles in Cabaret, something that felt so foreign to her. She’d appeared in loads of stage plays, yes, but she’d never been in a musical before, and she wasn’t even sure whether she had a good singing voice; however, when you’re presented with an opportunity to play such a legendary character, of course, you’re going to take it.
So, Dench launched herself into the project head-on, even if she did have to audition in the wings, too scared to stand on the stage. Admitting that it was a scary prospect to take on the role, she revealed (via The Guardian), “Cabaret is different in that I’m not on stage all the time, and I’m not carrying the play”.
She detailed her experience of facing the duration of the play, adding, “But I still haven’t come to terms with the long run, and some nights it doesn’t come off at all, not for a minute. I approached Cabaret with terror. I was aghast, but I love to do the thing that is so difficult. But I adore it.”
By throwing herself into the deep end, Dench was able to discover new skills and learn more about herself as a performer.
“In the last three weeks I have found a completely new way of singing which is totally effortless…a glorious feeling,” she admitted, “At the beginning I said I was never going to say ‘How now my lord’ again…that I would never do these parts again unless I could put them to music.”
Dench’s tenure as Sally Bowles was actually a massive success, and she had nothing to worry about. The actor performed the role at London’s Palace Theatre for the year, although it wouldn’t be long before she went back to her Shakespearean roots, performing in A Winter’s Tale in 1969.
