Is Judi Dench right – are young actors only obsessed with fame?
Wannabe stars don’t always understand the importance of theatrical history, but it’s showbusiness that’s to blame The American star Jason Robards once told me about the first time he ever walked onto a stage to rehearse a professional part, requiring him to enter through a door and deliver his first line. He’d no sooner turned the handle and put one foot through the doorframe when the director screamed from the stalls, “ALREADY BAD!” To young actors jostling for a space in the acting profession, this must seem typical of how they’re regarded by the oldies. Experienced performers are always bewailing the shortcomings of young actors, the most recent of them being Judi Dench, who, in a rare interview last night at the Cheltenham literature festival, lamented the fact that, although talented, young graduates show no interest in developing their craft through studying their predecessors or the traditions of the profession. Her comments will find a ready audience with many over-50s treading
