Tea With The Dames

Throughout their professional careers, acclaimed actresses Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith have met up for marathon conversations covering both the personal and the professional aspects of their lives. Now in the autumn of their years, ‘Tea With The Dames’ is a filmed recollection of one such meeting between four dear friends who also happen to be British acting royalty.

…quickly becomes sparkling champagne in the company of four fine dames and their mischievous histories.

Though ‘Tea With The Dames’ might initially feel like a mild contrivance, the reality and warmth of director’s Roger Michel’s documentary is anything but. The dames shared histories and bawdy candour quickly melt away any potential pomposity. Wilfully deconstructing their own feelings towards the legends they’ve trod the stage with and successes they’ve shared in, an emotional umbilica gradually forms between each of the leads. So, whilst we might know them rendered in the dreams and fables of the great bard or the filmmakers who followed him, each of these dames has been there for one another. Initially conjoined by their profession, now inseparable as a result of their shared history, this is a warm hearted exchange you are duly invited to, with many laugh out-loud contained herein.

Rich, ribald and increasingly unapologetic, each dame’s charm radiates from the outset. Unpretentious and unscripted, ‘Tea With The Dames’ is a welcome and disarming descent into warm laughter and gentle insight with four esteemed friends we should all raise a glass to.

What starts as tea, quickly becomes sparkling champagne in the company of four fine dames and their mischievous histories.