Veteran British actor Dame has said deteriorating eyesight has left her unable to perform on stage or in films, reflecting on the challenges of living with after a career spanning seven decades.
Dench, 91, has been living with the condition for more than a decade. Speaking to BBC Radio on Thursday, she described how it has affected her ability to work and carry out everyday activities.
“I can’t be on stage, I can’t do a play anymore, I can’t do a film anymore, I can’t read anymore,” she said.
“So you’ve got to adjust to all that, and make allowances for it and just get on and don’t think about it too much.”
She also said she could no longer recognise faces, meaning she sometimes nearly hugged strangers after mistaking them for people she knew.
Despite these challenges, Dench spoke about her enduring love for William poetry and reflected on her career, including her disappointment with the 2019 film Cats.
Dench has received widespread critical acclaim over her seven-decade career, winning an Oscar and a Tony, alongside seven Olivier awards. She is also known internationally for playing M in eight James Bond films.
Her theatre and screen career includes major Shakespearean roles such as Juliet, Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra. Speaking about the playwright’s poetry, she said:
“I am besotted by the sonnets, I just love them,” she said.
“The way he summed up so simply the way that any of us feel about, well, anything,” she added.
Reflecting on performing, Dench said taking on roles had always involved a degree of uncertainty, even after decades in the profession.
“For me, always frightening, but that’s part of it,” she said. “It’s part of what that fear generates, an energy that you can use up, use the energy.”
“It’s always ‘work in progress’, always.”
Dench has also expressed disappointment with the 2019 film Cats, directed by Tom Hooper. She played Old Deuteronomy in the screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hugely successful musical.
The film featured an ensemble cast including James Corden, Idris Elba and Taylor Swift but received a largely negative critical reception.
In her forthcoming memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, Dench reflects on the production and the opportunity she believes it missed to create a successful screen adaptation, Variety reported.
“Oh God, I can’t bear it – and (Lloyd Webber) had waited so long for it to be made,” she wrote.
“What a waste of all that goodwill and talent. I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film. I never saw the final cut so I can’t judge. All I’ll say is nobody sets out to give a poor performance or make a bad film. You do your best, offer something up and hope that people will get on board and join the party.”
Dench was nominated for a Razzie award for her performance in the film.
Reflecting on why productions sometimes fail to meet expectations, she wrote:
“It’s a miracle that anything is ever made – films, plays, TV – let alone turn out to be a success, because there are so many moving parts.
“Sometimes things just don’t work out: the timing’s wrong, the cast don’t gel, the elements don’t coalesce. But people’s intentions are mostly honorable. There were no villains in the making of Cats. And if something isn’t a success, then there are always things you can say you’ve learnt.”
Dench’s memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, is scheduled for release on November 3.
