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Michelle Terry: ‘A formidable smile and disarming twinkle’
Actor and artistic director at Shakespeare’s Globe
My first professional job was with Penelope Keith in Theatre Royal Bath’s 2004 production of Blithe Spirit. Her reputation preceded her, and I was nervous, but I was immediately greeted by her formidable smile and that disarming twinkle in her eyes that never stopped twinkling.
We did that production together for a year, going from Bath on to a national tour, then into the Savoy in London. Despite her various attempts to thwart it, there wasn’t a show that went by when the audience didn’t applaud the moment she walked on stage. They needed her to know how much they loved her. And there wasn’t a show that went by that she didn’t give them a performance worthy of their love.
About halfway through the run, I kept killing a moment that had always previously got a laugh. I knocked on her dressing room door to ask her what I was doing wrong, and I retell to this day a story she told me about the acting couple the Lunts and a breakfast scene they performed together and the passing of some jam. The story goes that he used to get a laugh when he asked for the jam, and then, for some reason at some point during the run, the laughter stopped. He asked his wife why that was happening and she replied: “Because darling, you’re asking for the laugh, not the jam.”
It was Penny’s kind, wise but clear note to me that only the truth is funny. She was so true. And so funny. And to be that funny you not only need craft, wit, wisdom and exceptional talent, you also need an umbilical connection to the audience to know where to take them at every given moment. She was truly brilliant, and I will be for ever grateful.
May you twinkle in peace, Dame Penelope Keith.
Susannah Waters: ‘She took care over every syllable’
Writer and director
I was a completely untried writer in 2001 when the Covent Garden festival took a punt and commissioned me to write a series of monologues for Elizabeth I, to be performed alongside a concert of viol music in St Paul’s church. The actor they’d already hired for the job was Penelope Keith, and though I could have chosen Elizabeth at any age, I chose to embody the monarch in her last year of life. We rehearsed the monologues at Penelope and her husband Rodney’s house in Surrey; I drove over, heavily pregnant with my second child, who would arrive a few days before the final performance.
She was never less than 100% committed to the script – my first – faithful to its rhythms, eager to serve my intentions, though of course she could have thrown her weight around if she’d wanted to. But she didn’t change a word. It was a privilege to witness her hard work, the care she took over every syllable. And she and Rodney welcomed me into their house, asked about my family, were never grand or made me feel small in any way. Two years later, we toured the show. I can still hear her delivery of the words when I close my eyes. It was a huge honour to have an actor of this calibre take me seriously on my first outing. I will always be grateful.
Samantha Spiro: ‘Her characters were grand, snobbish, dragon-like – but always lovable’
Actor
My second job out of drama school was playing opposite Penny in a play about Elinor Glyn and the original It-girl, Clara Bow. I was warned by a few people that she was “formidable” and “you don’t want to get on the wrong side of her”. I found the opposite; Penny was giggly, mischievous and extremely generous. I learned so much from her by watching her. Her comic timing was exquisite while always grounding everything in truth. She was totally unique and brought something to her characters that only Penny Keith could. Grand, snobbish, dragon-like, but always lovable, as she managed to bring a vulnerability to every character she played. I’m so grateful I got to work with her and giggle with her.
Matt Pinches: ‘Audiences were utterly spellbound by her voice’
Co-founder and producer, Guildford Shakespeare Company
Penelope Keith wasn’t simply one of Britain’s great actors; she was one of theatre’s greatest champions. 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 wasn’t there as a guest of honour, but simply as an audience member. She was endlessly curious and genuinely supportive of theatre-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 woodland camp, crackling with rescued fragments of music from court. At the play’s close, it sprang into life and Penny’s unmistakable voice floated through the trees to bless Rosalind and Orlando’s marriage. Her voice seemed to come from the landscape itself – audiences were utterly spellbound.
She stayed in touch with us long after those productions. Whenever I bumped into her locally, she would ask, “How’s the company? Are audiences coming? How’s everyone getting on?” She remembered people by name and cared about the fortunes of a small regional theatre company as though they were her own.
If she couldn’t make a production, she’d leave the most charming voicemail explaining why. If she did come, she’d stay afterwards to congratulate the company, and a handwritten card praising the production would often follow. Those gestures meant the world.
During the pandemic, we decided to create an online version of A Christmas Carol and asked whether she might play the Ghost of Christmas Past. She didn’t hesitate. Following all the regulations, she came to our rehearsal rooms, where it was just her, a camera operator and a green screen. She threw herself into it, delivering a beautiful performance that helped reassure audiences that theatre was still alive, even in the darkest of times, and would endure.
Penny was a theatre person through and through. She loved actors, stage managers, directors, technicians and audiences with equal affection. She understood that theatre isn’t just about stars; it’s about communities of people creating something together. The last time I saw her was at the Yvonne Arnaud theatre’s 60th anniversary gala. We shared a wave and a brief chat, and she was exactly as she had always been: gracious and interested in others. Guildford Shakespeare Company was fortunate to share a small part of her journey, and our audiences were fortunate to share a little of her magic.
