English actress Judi Dench at a dress rehearsal of ‘Hamlet’, making her London debut as Ophelia in 1957.

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Bob Haswell/Getty Images

English actress Judi Dench at a dress rehearsal of ‘Hamlet’, making her London debut as Ophelia in 1957.

Bob Haswell/Getty Images

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1. Judi Dench built a career around Shakespeare’s work.

Dench shone in several Shakespeare roles, from star-crossed lover Juliet, to the tragic Lady Macbeth, to the comical Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now at 89, she says the roles and lines have stuck with her.

“It’s the only thing I can remember. I can’t remember where I put my shirt yesterday or a pair of shoes. I can’t remember what’s happening tomorrow, and I can’t remember what happened last week. Sonnets and Shakespeare I can remember… Something to do with the fact that the way he writes is like the beat of your heart.”

She reflects on all her roles in the new book Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent. It chronicles a series of conversations over four years between Dench and her friend, the actor and director Brendan O’Hea.

2. Writing this novel helped both of them during COVID lockdowns.

O’Hea said he considered another title for the book – Herding Eels – because it was so hard to get Dench to talk about her craft. But working on it together during the pandemic really helped, because they were able to just focus and go through all the plays.

“I’d have to say, ‘Well, look. There’s some Butterkists in the other room, or there’s a glass of champagne waiting for you. Let’s just do five minutes.’ I know your game, she’d say. So, yeah, it took a lot of coaxing. She’s very, very slippery… But we got there in the end.”

Dench has also been struggling with deteriorating eyesight, which has limited her ability to take on new roles.

“I never had realized that I need to know exactly where a speech is on a page and in relation to the other speeches,” Dench said. “Well, of course, I can’t do that. I can be taught a part, but I have to know actually where it sits. And that’s impossible now.”

For Dench, putting together this book was a savior during a particularly difficult time. “So it’s not only saved our life during COVID but saved mine during this time when I can’t say yes to a part because I can’t see it… There are pluses to be had though, if you look for them.”

3. Dench and O’Hea believe Shakespeare is still relevant.

O’Hea points to how Shakespeare’s work is embedded in the English language. “You know, we didn’t know the word ‘assassination’ until Shakespeare coined it. And there’s the whole raft of other words and phrases that Shakespeare came up with.”

And for Dench, nobody has written about the human experience quite like Shakespeare. “The whole raft of human feelings — about love, about envy, about idolatry, about sadness, about death, about the afterlife — there’s nobody who has written like that and who still remains with us in our, as I say, everyday expressions.”

Part of the beauty in it to Dench, is that there’s no right way of doing Shakespeare.

“Somebody who has been in love for the first time — they may not have been in love the way that Juliet is in love. But nevertheless, they understand the emotion. And Shakespeare was able to distill that.”

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Erika Ryan. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

Balenciaga’s Le City bag is bringing back the early aughts

Fashion is in love with the early 2000s right now, and Balenciaga, the Kering-owned brand, has brought back the signature Le City bag, which was introduced in 2001. The new bag, which comes in small and medium sizes with adjustable shoulder and crossbody straps, is available in black, yellow, green, light purple, metallic steel gray, metallic silver, white, blue and beige. The style and construction of the new versions of the bag — studs as well as leather-strung zipper pulls and rivets are included — were inspired by the archival bags. A small Le City bag is $2,350, while a medium bag goes for $2,850. (The small metallic silver Le City bag is $2,390 and the medium version is $2,900.) The bags are sold at balenciaga.com and in select stores. Also, as part of the reintroduction, a campaign featuring portraits of Kate Moss, Danish model Mona Tougaard, Chinese actress-singer Yang Chaoyue and Korean singer Juyeon was shot by fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti.

Kinn Studio and Almina Concept collaborate on first retail space

(Lauren Moore / Design Assembly; Kinn Studio)

Jewelry label Kinn Studio and womenswear brand Almina Concept have collaborated on a new six-month pop-up space at mini style mecca Platform in Culver City. It’s the first bricks-and-mortar space for each brand. AAPI founders Jennie Yoon of Kinn Studio and Angela Gahng of Almina Concept wanted to give shoppers a personalized experience while acknowledging L.A. and their Korean heritage. You’ll find fine jewelry and vintage watches from Kinn Studio along with Almina Concept’s contemporary fashion pieces, which are made in Seoul, South Korea. The look of the minimalist shop was created by L.A.-based interior designer Lauren Moore of the Design Assembly. 8850 Washington Blvd., Culver City, kinnstudio.com, almina-concept.com

‘Louis Vuitton: A Perfume Atlas’ explores the world of fragrance

Louis Vuitton is giving customers and readers a look at how its fragrances are made with the release of the book “Louis Vuitton: A Perfume Atlas” ($160, Thames & Hudson), which captures Louis Vuitton master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud as he searches globally for ingredients used for the French brand’s fragrances. Through illustrations, photography and text, the 380-page book covers how flowers are cultivated, the seasons for growing and the techniques used at harvest. It also explores how essential oils are extracted and used to create fragrances. The book, which comes in three cover offerings (rose, lemon and jasmine), is by Cavallier-Belletrud and co-author Lionel Paillès, illustrator Aurore de la Morinerie and photographer Sébastien Zanella. Also, the limited-edition “A Perfume Atlas” box set ($5,000, in-store only) includes 45 vials with extractions of raw materials selected by Cavallier-Belletrud. The book is available at louisvuitton.com and book retailers.

Cartier renovates and reopens its South Coast Plaza store

Luxury house Cartier’s renovated and expanded boutique at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa celebrates all things Orange County and Southern California. The Moinard Bétaille agency, which has collaborated with Cartier for decades including on the flagship store in Paris, took inspiration for the elegant revamped space from SoCal’s varied landscape and terrain. (Think Newport Beach and Laguna Beach meets Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree.) As you enter the store, which reopened in April, the first things you’ll likely notice are the three-dimensional facade as well as the large panel featuring a panther by François Mascarello. In the boutique’s mix of fine jewelry, watches, leather goods, fragrances and more, you’ll also find local flora, palm tree-inspired handcrafted staff columns and a hand-painted Moss & Lam mural. And don’t forget to spot the lacquer and mother-of-pearl panel by Atelier Midavaine in the bridal area, the dahlia-shaped custom chandeliers in the space and the Lasvit glass canopy light, which was inspired by the area’s skate parks. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, cartier.com

‘Mickalene Thomas: All About Love’ arrives at the Broad

Mickalene Thomas, “Afro Goddess Looking Forward,” 2015, rhinestones, acrylic, and oil on wood panel, 60 x 96 x 2 in.

(Mickalene Thomas)

In these challenging times, the “Mickalene Thomas: All About Love” exhibition at the Broad could be the antidote we need for healing and redemption and truly being able to love others and ourselves. After all, the exhibition takes its name and several themes from the acclaimed bell hooks text centering around the question, “What is love?” As the first international tour of Thomas’ work, this showcase features more than 80 works from the last two decades and examines topics including beauty, politics, memory, erotica and sexuality, with a focus on the people who have been marginalized and excluded in art history. In the exhibition, you’ll discover mixed-media painting and collage, photography and more, including large-scale works, from the innovative Camden, N.J., native. The exhibition’s themes also are part of fresh programming in collaboration with Thomas, with a summer concert series in the works and in-gallery programs focused on women and Black and queer communities. “Mickalene Thomas: All About Love,” which was co-organized by the Hayward Gallery in London, the Broad and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, runs from May 25 to Sept. 29. 221 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, thebroad.org

‘Simone Leigh’ exhibition comes to LACMA

Simone Leigh, “Sentinel,” 2019. Right, “Dunham,” 2023, courtesy artist, Matthew Marks Gallery.

(Timothy Schenck)

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The exhibition “Simone Leigh” is the first comprehensive look at the artist’s work, with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art showcase featuring about 20 years of the artist’s production in ceramic, bronze and video in addition to her powerful 2022 Venice Biennale presentation. According to a synopsis from LACMA, Leigh has continued to explore questions around “Black femme subjectivity and knowledge production” as well as addressed “historical periods, traditions and geographies with her art referencing vernacular and hand-made processes from across the African diaspora, as well as forms traditionally associated with African art and architecture.” “Simone Leigh,” a traveling exhibition that was organized by the ICA Boston and co-presented in SoCal by LACMA and the California African American Museum, runs from May 26 through Jan. 20. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, lacma.org

Michael Kors Collection returns to Beverly Hills

(Michael Kors Collection)

Designer Michael Kors is having a full-circle moment by bringing his Michael Kors Collection boutique back to Beverly Hills after a nearly four-year hiatus. The new two-level space, which recently opened at the European-inspired Two Rodeo Drive, has a spare yet luxe residential vibe thanks to a large video wall, blackened steel, raw concrete, antique brass, gold Calcutta marble, oxidized maple and natural light. (This is the North American debut of this new Collection store concept.) In the stylish mix, look for women’s pieces from the spring and summer collection and other goods at street level along with handbags and other accessories on the lower floor. 242 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, michaelkors.com

Billy Reid opens a new Venice store

Designer Billy Reid is thrilled by his brand’s 12th store location — this one on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. That’s because, although he has Southern roots, Reid, a Council of Fashion Designers of America multiple award winner, spent four years living in Los Angeles. The new SoCal outpost also allows Reid’s luxe brand to connect with customers face-to-face, after having built L.A. into one of the brand’s biggest markets largely through e-commerce. The store will carry the men’s and women’s collections as well as accessories — all within a space that features Reid’s take on modern Southern decor along with tall ceilings, exposed trusses and brick, and a large glass storefront. The look of the space includes Turkish rugs, various artworks and a large bookshelf spanning the back wall. 1351 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, billyreid.com