Festival show must go on for dame Judi
Actress Judi Dench pulled a Boswell Book Festival event back from the brink of disaster, writes Stephen Houston. Spectators grew impatient and some actually left as the session was hit by a technical glitch on Saturday morning. A full recording of Dame Judi’s hour- long interview from the previous night was to play to a sell- out crowd in the grand marquee. But organisers acted fast to save the day. Luckily Dame Judi had spent the night in the lap of luxury at Dumfries House and was on hand in the morning. She had been wined and dined by Prince Charles himself, who paid a surprise visit to watch her interview at the opening event of the festival. He escorted Dame Judi to and from the stage in the pavilion. In the interview she was asked why she had come all the way to Cumnock and she said simply: “Because the prince asked me.” Festival director Caroline Knox was full of praise for the way Dame Judi happily stepped in after the broadcast went blank after 15 minutes. She said: “It was a dreadful moment. I rushed from the Baillie Gifford Marquee, where the event was taking place, straight into the library wondering how on earth we could salvage the situation. “To my amazement Dame Judi was sitting there enjoying a quiet moment in the midst of her hectic schedule. “She asked me what was wrong. As soon as I told her she smiled, calmly rose from her chair and said, in the very truest theatrical tradition, ‘ Well I’ll simply have to go on then’ and off she went.” And guests loved it, saying: “The interview was even better than last night. “We all won a watch and everyone left very happy. “Trust M to save the day. She got a standing ovation.” Organisers say this year’s festival was “spectacularly successful”, with thousands attending over the three days. It was bathed in sunshine, with many people taking a picnic with tables and chairs. Huge queues marked the arrival of journalist Matthew Parris for his fiery talk on Saturday afternoon. See the Ayrshire Post for pictures next week. ●