Judi Dench says worsening eyesight prevents stage and film acting

Actor Dame Judi Dench has stated that she can no longer perform on stage or in films due to her deteriorating eyesight, according to reports by the Guardian, the Irish Times, RTÉ and BBC News. Speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday, the 91-year-old actor said that she can no longer read or perform. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

The Guardian, the Irish Times and RTÉ reported that Dench was diagnosed in 2012 with age-related macular degeneration, a condition that has made it difficult for her to recognise faces. Dench explained that she often approaches the wrong people to hug them before realising her mistake, and noted to the interviewer that she could not see her face at all, the Irish Times and RTÉ reported. The Guardian and the Irish Times both noted her continued affection for Shakespeare's sonnets, while the Irish Times and RTÉ reported her sadness at no longer being able to see bluebells. [1][2][3]

BBC News reported that Dench also recalled meeting American actor Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win the Academy Award for best actor, when he came backstage while she was performing in Amy's View in New York. She described the encounter with Poitier, who was accompanied by director Richard Eyre in her dressing room, as thrilling. [4]

Dench has earned an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards, and seven Olivier Awards over a career spanning seven decades. She was born in York, England, in 1934. As FTMQ News reported earlier, her diagnosis with age-related macular degeneration was first made public over a decade ago. [8][10][11]