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Back The Actresses Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. THE ACTRESSES
  3. About The Actresses
  4. Contents
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. About Barbara Ewing
  49. Also by Barbara Ewing
  50. An Invitation from the Publisher
  51. Copyright

Then suddenly she realised how audacious her plan was, how many quantum leaps into the unknown would be required. She laughed aloud in the empty antique shop, laughed and laughed but it was real laughter, the way she used to laugh when she was young. In an antique mirror she caught a glimpse of herself: her mouth open, her pale face, but her eyes were crinkled with real humour, real laughter thank God. It was all right: she was not mad. Thinking, though, that she looked too pale after no sleep she felt around in the bottom of her handbag, found a lipstick. This is rather red, did I ever wear that? she thought, looking at it. She forgot that Viola had given it to her, that hot summer’s afternoon with Molly on the lawn.

Carefully she applied it to her lips, watching herself in the antique mirror.

She remembered other red lips: the painted red lips of Zarko the clown up on Blackheath so long ago, Zarko the friend of her father in the circus. Her father’s lover, she supposed.

Her own lips were red now and lifted her face, made it different, brighter and brave. She picked up the telephone.

She would fly like her father, after all.

27

People queued every night to see Lives in the room above the pub. The reviews for the new play had been unanimous:

Eurydice Smith is a new and exciting talent. Here is an author who has, without saying it in words, written a crueller indictment of homelessness and the un-thought-through concept of community care than all the opposition spokesmen put together. She has shown the human cost of policies that were enacted not for social but for economic reasons. Every member of Her Majesty’s government should be made to see this play, and be ashamed.

Emmy Lou’s reviews had been the sort actors dream about:

Emmy Louise Brown seems to reach inside her character and show us a real person and it is someone you will never forget... don’t miss this intelligent and moving performance... wonderful, certainly one of the best performances I have seen from an actress this year.

In her small white flat in Finsbury Park Emmy Lou glowed and shone in the mirrors, smiled at Sarah Siddons, did her voice and body exercises as usual. She was a working actress.