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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

Later, he knocked on the door, came into his spare room in his paisley pyjamas as Emmy was snuggling down under the duvet, under the David Hockney print on the wall. She thought suddenly, he looks old... we’re getting old... thank God I got this last chance.

‘Goodnight Emmy darling,’ he said, ‘I’m proud of you.’

‘I do love you Harry,’ said Emmy Lou, and he turned out the lamp. Just as he went out of the room she murmured, ‘I feel like a quite different person when I’m working, as if I am – myself – at last. And I only get that feeling when I’m playing other people. Isn’t that strange?’

‘It isn’t strange to me because I understand exactly what you mean,’ said Harry. ‘And this is your part, and this is your chance.’

*

So that when, two days later, a letter arrived from Pamela Angel in the mailbox downstairs in her Finsbury Park flat, Emmy Lou was unprepared for the contents.

•

My Dear Emmy Lou,

You know how I admire your work, you were wonderful as Alice, I will never forget your performance. But the cold hard facts of the matter are that Dame Helen Storey wants to play it and she would be a draw at the National in a way that it wouldn’t be possible for you to be. I am so sorry and hope you won’t be too disappointed. I am of course thrilled to be going to the National to direct and very sorry I can’t take my original cast with me. I will of course advise your agent but I wanted you to hear the news from me first. Thank you for all the hard work you put in, I’m sure we’ll work again together one of these days. And I enclose a cheque for forty pounds, your share of the profits.

With much love,

Pamela Angel.

Emmy Lou only read the letter once.

From the window of her flat she could sometimes see the old couple in the block across the road. He would bring his wife a cup of tea on a tray. Today they were not sitting by the window; all Emmy Lou Brown could see was a rather wilting pink geranium in a pot.

28

The rape trial of Terence Blue was set down to begin on 3rd December.

The Lord Chancellor and the Director of Public Prosecutions announced again that Great Britain would not countenance a Show Business Media Grotesque. That it was with deep disapproval that they noticed that the complainant had spoken to newspapers in another country. That the best traditions of British Justice would nevertheless be upheld; that the trial would be held in camera if the British media over-extended their coverage to the detriment of either the complainant or the defendant and that the early holding of the trial was to avoid just this.