Judi Dench: Shakespeare – Der Mann, der die Miete zahlt
translated by Christa Schuenke
An evening with Elke Wieditz as Shakespeare, Christoph Heckel as Brendan O’Hea and Christa Schuenke as Judi Dench.
As part of the LESARTEN Festival in Weimar, Christa Schuenke, together with the two actors Elke Wieditz and Christoph Heckel, will give a reading of her translation of Judi Dench’s book Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent on March 27, 2026, 6:00 p.m., in the book cube of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library with the support of the German Shakespeare Society.
There are not many people as familiar with Shakespeare’s work as the English actress Judi Dench, who has been on stage for seventy years and has also appeared in several Shakespeare film adaptations as well as many other films, including her role as M in the James Bond films. With her colleague Brendan O’Hea, she talked about her work as an actress, her portrayal of numerous female Shakespeare characters, about acting in an ensemble, and the work with Shakespearean language, especially with blank verse. The memory of the now 91-year-old is just as phenomenal as her humour. The conversations between her and O’Hea over the span of four years have resulted in a wonderful book. Shakespeare – The Man Who Pays the Rent. In addition to their conversations about a total of 20 dramas in which Judi Dench played leading roles, Dench reflects on important stages of her life, personal and professional, on working with well-known colleagues and, of course, Shakespeare. Judi Dench especially loves Shakespeare’s sonnets. That’s why some of her favourite sonnets will be performed at our reading.
An evening with Elke Wieditz, Chrisoph Heckel and Christa Schuenke
Elke Wieditz
Elke Wieditz was an actress at the German National Theatre Weimar for many years. She will read some of the numerous Shakespeare quotes in the book and recite a few of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Christoph Heckel
Christoph Heckel was also an actor at the DNT for a long time and will play the role of interviewer Brendan O’Hea.
Christa Schuenke
Christa Schuenke is a literary translator and, among many other works of English, Irish and American literature, has translated Shakespeare’s sonnets* and, recently, Judi Dench’s wonderful book into German.
*The translation of Christa Schuenke’s Shakespeare sonnets was available as a DTV paperback for more than three decades. Unfortunately, it is no longer on sale, but in autumn 2026, it will be republished by Dörlemann in a new hardcover edition.