Maggie Smith brings on the laughs at the Fairway Galle Lite Fest

The scene at Edison Hall, Jetwing Lighthouse was that of a sold out audience that was in a
constant stream of excited giggles.

The room suddenly erupted in a standing ovation and the festival’s much buzzed about guest walked up to the stage. At the Galle Literary Festival for the first time, Maggie Smith is one of England’s most recognizable actresses and requires little introduction.

The audience ranged from those who have followed her work as a stage actress, to drama worshippers of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”, “Lady in the Van” to fans of Downton Abbey’s sassy Dowager Countess of Grantham to her younger fans that see her only as the beloved head of Gryffindor House.

Her event titled “The Serious Art of Being Funny” was moderated by writer and friend Charlotte
Breese with an introduction by Sallyanne Atkinson. Throughout the hour long event, Dame Maggie shared stories of her life both on and off the stage and screen.

From behind the scenes tidbits of filming in Jaipur for the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” series to her thoughts on period drama costumes her anecdotes had the audience in a continuous bout of stitches. She also shared her “tedious” but long standing trick for memorizing lines- keeping them hand written down to each punctuation.

Between the waves of laughter that subdue for a few sober minutes, she is asked whether she
‘camps’ her diverse resume of characters she answers back in a tone echoing a certain Dowager
Countess “I never camp”. “You just play them as honestly as you can” she says simply.