“Laughing, mischievous and extremely generous”: a tribute to Penelope Keith | stage

Michelle Terry:’Enormous smile and disarming flash

Actor and artistic director At Shakespeare’s Globe

My first professional job was with Penelope Keith in the Theater Royal Bath’s 2004 production of Blithe Spirit. Her reputation preceded her, and I was nervous, but I was immediately greeted by her enormous smile and that eerie twinkle in her eyes that never stopped flashing.

We did this production together for a year, taking it from Bath to a national tour, then to the Savoy in London. Despite her various attempts to thwart the matter, there was no performance that did not pass without the audience applauding the moment she came on stage. They needed her to know how much they loved her. And there wasn’t a show that didn’t give them a performance worthy of their love.

About halfway through the trip, she continued to kill the moment that had previously always made her laugh. I knocked on her dressing room door to ask her what I was doing wrong, retelling a story she told me to this day about the acting duo the Lunts and their breakfast scene together and passing around some jam. The story goes that he was laughing when he asked for jam, and then, for some reason, at some point while running, the laughter stopped. He asked his wife about the reason for that, and she replied: Because, my love, you are looking for laughter, not jam.

It was Penny’s kind, wise but clear observation to me that only the truth is funny. She was so honest. And very funny. To be funny you need not only ingenuity, intelligence, wisdom and exceptional talent, you also need a secret connection with the audience to know where each moment is taking them. She was truly amazing, and I will be forever grateful to her.

May you shine in peace, Mrs. Penelope Keith.

Susannah Waters‘I paid attention to every syllable’

Writer and director

I was a completely untried writer in 2001 when the Covent Garden Festival took a gamble and commissioned me to write a series of monologues for Elizabeth I, to be performed alongside a viol concert at St Paul’s Church. The actress they actually hired for the job was Penelope Keith, and although I could have cast Elizabeth at any age, I chose to portray the Queen in the last year of her life. We rehearsed the monologues at Penelope and her husband Rodney’s home in Surrey; I drove pregnant with my second child, who would arrive a few days before the final performance.

She was never at least 100% committed to the script – a first for me – faithful to its beats, eager to serve my intentions, although of course she could have thrown her weight around if she wanted to. But she didn’t change a single word. It was an honor to witness her hard work, and the care she took in every syllable. She and Rodney welcomed me into their home, asked me about my family, and they were never great and never made me feel small in any way. Two years later, we toured the exhibition. I can still hear her pronounce the words when I close my eyes. It was a huge honor to have an actor of this caliber take me seriously in my debut. I will always be grateful.

Samantha Spiro: ‘Her characters were grand, arrogant, dragon-like – but always lovable’

actor

My second job out of drama school was playing opposite Penny in a play about Elinor Glynn and the original girl Clara Bow. A few people have warned me that it’s “huge” and “you don’t want to get on the wrong side of it”. I found the opposite. Penny was funny, mischievous and so generous. I learned a lot from her by watching her. Her comic timing was great while always grounding everything in reality. She was completely unique and brought something to her characters that only Benny Keith could bring. Big, arrogant, dragon-like, but always lovable, she managed to bring a vulnerability to every character she played. I’m so grateful to have worked with her and laughed with her.

Matt pinches: “The audience was amazed by her voice.”

Co-founder and producer of the Guildford Shakespeare Company

Penelope Keith was not just one of Britain’s greatest actors; She was one of the theater’s greatest heroes. We first met Penny in 2008 when she came to see our production of As You Like It by the Lake at the University of Surrey. She was not there as a guest of honor, but simply as an audience member. She was endlessly curious and truly supportive of the theater makers.

Five years later, when we staged As You Like It again, director Tom Littler invited Penny to lend her voice to Hymen, the goddess of marriage. We had an old gramophone on stage among Duke Senior’s camp in the woods, blaring bits of music salvaged from the court. At the play’s conclusion, Benny’s clear voice burst into life and floated through the trees to bless the marriage of Rosalind and Orlando. Her voice seemed to come from the scene itself, and the audience was completely mesmerized.

She stayed in touch with us long after those productions. Whenever I met her locally, she would ask me: “How’s the company doing? Is the audience coming? How’s everyone doing?” She remembered people by name, and cared for the fortunes of a small regional theater company as if they were her own.

If you can’t produce, you’ll leave the most charming voicemail explaining why. If she came, she would stay afterwards to congratulate the company, often followed by a handwritten card praising the production. Those gestures mean the world.

During the pandemic, we decided to create an online version of A Christmas Carol and asked her if she could play the Ghost of Christmas Past. Didn’t hesitate. After following all the regulations, she came into our rehearsal rooms, where it was just her, the camera and green screen operator. She threw herself into it, and gave a beautiful performance that helped reassure audiences that theater is still alive, even in the darkest of times, and will continue.

Benny was a theatrical person all the time. I loved actors, stage managers, directors, technicians and audiences with equal affection. I understood that theater is not just about stars; It’s about communities of people creating something together. The last time I saw her was at the 60th anniversary concert of the Théâtre Yvonne Arnault. We waved and chatted, and she was just as she always was: kind and interested in others. The Guildford Shakespeare Company was lucky to share a little of her journey, and our audiences were lucky to share a little of her magic.