Book Club Meets: Women speaking their minds, with Dame Harriet Walter

Happy Place with Fearne Cotton

Friday, 3 January 2025 - 29 minutes

Do you find yourself keeping quiet when you have plenty to say? Dame Harriet Walter – who has played 21 of Shakespeare’s female characters – has written She Speaks, which goes between the lines and imagines what Shakespeare’s women might really have wanted to say. She Speaks was our Happy Place Book Club read for December. In this chat with Fearne, Harriet explains why she felt it was so important to finally let these female characters speak their minds. Harriet also expands on the characters in order to comment on modern day issues like the way ageing women are treated. Fearne and Harriet chat about whether art mirrors the social hierarchy of its day, or perhaps offers an alternative worldview. Plus, Harriet reveals how female actors keep themselves in character when they’re waiting (often a long time) to speak on stage... Thank you to Little Brown Audio for the use of She Speaks audiobook, narrated by Harriet Walter. Listen to Book Club Meets: Liane Moriarty Listen to Book Club Meets: Miranda July Listen to Book Club Meets: Gillian Anderson Listen to Book Club Meets: Patric Gagne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.