Home might be in London but Warwickshire has always been a favorite part of the country for me -- especially Stratford-upon-Avon, which has a magic all its own. Even as a schoolgirl, on a visit with my parents to see a production of King Lear at the Shakespeare Theater, I was aware of the town's special atmosphere.That was long before I wanted to be an actress. My first ambition was to be a designer and I originally trained as a scenic artist. Then I became very serious about dancing. At almost five feet two inches I'm the right height for a ballerina. but my father, a doctor, wisely pointed out that, however successful, dancers have to give up quite early and find another career. And at least as an actress I've had the chance to dance on stage, as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.
It was as a professional actress that I next returned to Stratford in 1961, to rehearse The Cherry Orchard with Dame Peg (Peggy Ashcroft) and Sir John (Gielgud), prior to opening in London's West End.
Stepping on to that famous stage was almost as daunting as my debut at the Old Vic company four years earlier, which was followed by six wonderful months on Broadway. But as an actor you mustn't think too much of all the great people who've trod the boards before you or it's impossible to put one foot in front of the other.
I've never not been nervous before a performance and it doesn't get any better. The more you do the more you have to prove. Also all actors are superstitious, I think. Most superstitions, like whistling, are based on commonsense. Whistle in a theater and you bring down the safety curtain -- and probably get killed in the process. To keep bad luck at bay I always observe the same ritual about putting on my make-up. Nerves aren't all bad, though. They create adrenalin and that helps provide the huge amounts of physical and emotional energy you need for stage work.
During my seasons at Stratford I loved wandering around some of the town's famous attractions. When I lived in Chapel Lane I'd often pop into the 15th-century Guild Chapel where Shakespeare,
as a pupil at the Grammar School next door, would have attended morning service in the whitewashed chapel.
'Shakespeare's Church', The Holy Trinity, in the old town of Stratford, was a favorite walk. Shakespeare died on his birthday, 23rd April 1616, and is buried in the chancel beside his wife -- the former Anne Hathaway -- his favorite daughter Susanna, her husband, Dr. Hall, and Thomas Nash, husband to Shakespeare's grand-daughter Elizabeth.
Visitors can still see the registers where the entries of the poet's baptism and burial are displayed. The 15th-century font is one in which he was baptized. While the great 'American Window' in the chancel depicts the Seven Ages of Man from As You Like It in Old Testament characters.
The heroine of As You Like It, Rosalind, is one Shakespearean heroine I've never played. But there have been plenty of others. Ophelia in Hamlet, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Maria in Twelfth Night and Juliet -- once at the Old Vic and later in Zefferelli's production. I've also played Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra, in Antony and Cleopatra.
I was very frightened of taking on Cleopatra--not least as everybody said it was an unsuitable part for me to play! (For which Dame Judi won the 1987 Oliver Award for Best Actress.)
After my father died, we bought a house in the little village of Charlecote, just five miles outside Stratford. Nearby Charlecote Park, an Elizabethan manor, now in the care of the National Trust, is a magnet for tourists. Fallow deer still graze beneath the oak and chestnut trees, but the story of how, when a young scamp by the name of Will Shakespeare was caught poaching deer he fled to London and fame, is apparently totally without foundation.
I still return to Stratford for charity recitals. I remember once when I was at the theater I looked out of the dressing room window and thought about the evening I saw King Lear with my parents and the following day we sat on a bench across the river from the theater during a matinee. Those memories are still so vivid -- watching the audience take their seats and hearing the tannoy calls to the actors floating across the water. It must be about 45 years ago, but the special Stratford magic is still there.
Huge thanks to Raymond Stryczek for providing me with this article.