Michelle Terry: \u2018A formidable smile and disarming twinkle\u2019<\/p>\n
Actor and artistic director at Shakespeare\u2019s Globe<\/p>\n
My first professional job was with Penelope Keith in Theatre Royal Bath\u2019s 2004 production of Blithe Spirit<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t a show that went by when the audience didn\u2019t applaud the moment she walked on stage. They needed her to know how much they loved her. And there wasn\u2019t a show that went by that she didn\u2019t give them a performance worthy of their love.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> 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: \u201cBecause darling, you\u2019re asking for the laugh, not the jam.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Penny\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n May you twinkle in peace, Dame Penelope Keith.<\/p>\n \u2018She was so true. And so funny\u2019 \u2026 Aden Gillett with Penelope Keith in Blithe Spirit at the Savoy theatre, London, in 2004. Photograph: Tristram Kenton\/The GuardianSusannah Waters: \u2018She took care over every syllable\u2019<\/p>\n Writer and director<\/p>\n 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\u2019s church. The actor they\u2019d 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\u2019s house in Surrey; I drove over, heavily pregnant with my second child, who would arrive a few days before the final performance.<\/p>\n She was never less than 100% committed to the script \u2013 my first \u2013 faithful to its rhythms, eager to serve my intentions, though of course she could have thrown her weight around if she\u2019d wanted to. But she didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \u2018It was a privilege to witness her hard work\u2019 \u2026 Penelope Keith pictured in 2017. Photograph: ShutterstockSamantha Spiro: \u2018Her characters were grand, snobbish, dragon-like \u2013 but always lovable\u2019<\/p>\n Actor<\/p>\n 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 \u201cformidable\u201d and \u201cyou don\u2019t want to get on the wrong side of her\u201d. 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\u2019m so grateful I got to work with her and giggle with her.<\/p>\n \u2018She threw herself into it\u2019 \u2026 Penelope Keith as the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, 2020. Photograph: GSCMatt Pinches: \u2018Audiences were utterly spellbound by her voice\u2019<\/p>\n Co-founder and producer, Guildford Shakespeare Company<\/p>\n Penelope Keith wasn\u2019t simply one of Britain\u2019s great actors; she was one of theatre\u2019s greatest champions. We first met Penny in 2008 when she came to see our production of As You Like It<\/a> by the lake at the University of Surrey. She wasn\u2019t there as a guest of honour, but simply as an audience member. She was endlessly curious and genuinely supportive of theatre-makers.<\/p>\n