At the youthful age of 82, Dame Judi Dench isn’t retiring for anyone, just a little like her latest role as an ageing Queen Victoria in Victoria and Abdul for which a joyous trailer and poster have been released.
Dench teams up again with the Philomena director Stephen Frears on a story which is based on the latter years of Queen Victoria who reigned over England for 64 years between 1837 until her death in 1901 and her relationship with a young Indian clerk who she befriends after he is sent to her court. Dench is reprising her role as the cantankerous Queen after she portrayed Queen Victoria back in 1997 in Mrs Brown alongside Billy Connolly from an earlier episode in the royal’s life, so stepping back into her persona should have come quite naturally to the veteran actress.
Clad in Queen Victoria’s black mourning dress that she wore ever since her beloved Prince Albert died, Dench portrays the Queen in a stern yet open minded manner who refuses to be controlled by anyone who possesses racial tendencies. The trailer is full of light-hearted moments as Victoria nods off at the banquet table surrounded by dignitaries, to taking a dance on the veranda with her newest friend who not only provides a supportive arm to lean on but opens her eyes to new cultural experiences.
Written by Lee Hall, Victoria and Abdul also stars Ali Fazal, Adeel Akhtar, Simon Callow, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, Ruth McCabe, Tim Pigott-Smith, Julian Wadham, Olivia Williams, Fenella Woolgar.
Victoria and Abdul hits cinemas September 15
Victoria and Abdul Official Synopsis
The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
