Tea with the Dames

This documentary four living legends of British stage and screen:

-Lady Dame Joan Plowright

She has acted in countless movies, including “Tea With Mussolini”, “Enchanted April”, and most recently, in “The Spiderwick Chronicles” as Aunt Lucinda. She was the third wife of Sir Laurence Olivier.

-Dame Maggie Smith

A veteran actress, she is best known for playing the Mother Superior in “Sister Act”, Wendy in “Hook”, Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series, and as the wealthy dowager on Downton Abbey.

-Dame Judi Dench

A veteran of stage and screen, she is best known for playing Queen Victoria in “Her Majesty Mrs. Brown” as “M” in the James Bond films, and in recent years “The Best Exotic Marigold Motel”, “Victoria and Abdul”, and “Murder on the Orient Express.”

-Dame Eileen Atkins

A veteran actress and screenwriter, she has appeared on “Upstairs Downstairs”, “Cranford”, “Gosford Park”, “Doc Martin”, and most recently on “The Crown” as Queen Mary.

Watching the film, it’s as if the audience is a fly on the wall, watching friends having a conversation with one another. These four women have years of experience on stage, television, and film. Beyond that, they are friends, and interact with one another as such.

As each woman refers to a project she was in, be it a TV show, play, or movie, the documentary then shows footage from that project. It was wonderful to see early works of each of the women, clips that audiences may not have seen before. Also, many of the dramatic works were for British companies and projects; it is my guess that much of this footage has not been seen by American audiences.

Listening to the ladies as they sit and have a chat, a spot of tea, a flute of champagne, their experiences as artists and as women have been phenomenal. Many have worked together, and have shared experiences together. For example, Lady Dame Joan and Dame Maggie talk about their experiences working with “Larry”, who is known to the rest of the world as Laurence Olivier.

It’s interesting to see the Dames interact with one another; they are all octogenarians, have issues of hearing loss, vision loss, and memory loss. That being said, all of them can recite a soliloquy they learned for a role, untold countless years ago.

There is a wealth of knowledge in these four women. They are a living part of the history of British theater.

I recommend this film to everyone, especially those who love theater and cinema. These women are from a golden age of theater in Britain. We will not bear witness to anything near their greatness again.

“Tea With the Dames”, now available on Blu Ray, DVD, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and Hulu. 5 stars.