There is Nothing like a Dame A novel by Bronwen Welsh Copyright© 2017, 2018 & 2019 Bronwen Welsh A sequel to 'The Might-Have-Been Girl' and 'All the World's a Stage'

Chapter 53  . A brief Australian tour and back to England

Returning to our visit to the McDonalds, my Mum had a saying, “Visitors are like fish, they go off after three days”. With that in mind, we decided to bid farewell to the McDonalds and continue our Australian trip on Monday morning. While we had enjoyed our stay, and I'm sure they enjoyed seeing us too, there is no doubt that our presence had disrupted the routine of the farm and it would be good for them to get back to normal.

By now we knew our way back to the main highway between Melbourne and Sydney. Reggie was driving and I was looking out at the scenery, so different from England. Some words came into my mind and I started to recite:

'I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains...'

“That's nice,” said Reggie. “Where does it come from?”

“Aunt Peggy showed me a book of Australian poetry last night. It's from a poem called 'My Country' by Dorothea McKellar. She wrote it in England when she was homesick. It has six stanzas, but most people only know the second one according to Aunt Peggy. I must buy a book of Australian poetry before we go home.”

After several hours' driving, including a stop at Gundagai to see the 'Dog on the Tucker Box' memorial based on a line from an old bush poem 'Bullocky Bill', which was also in Aunt Peggy's book, we turned off at Yass to drive to Canberra.

This is not a travel guide but a word or two about Canberra seems appropriate. It's one of those rare capital cities especially built as such, part-way between Sydney and Melbourne when both cities vied for the honour. It seems there is still some rivalry between the two to this day. We were struck by the wide boulevards and gracious buildings such as the High Court and National Gallery, built along the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. This was named after the American architect who drew up the first designs when the city was constructed on what was originally a sheep station. As the place of Australia's federal government, many of the inhabitants are public servants and most of the rest service them with businesses, shops, hospitals, transport, etc. Australia's Parliament House is at the centre of the city, and many embassies are located close by, often built in the traditional.designs of their countries.

We stayed three days, only giving ourselves enough time to scratch the surface, but we also wanted to see something of Sydney, and we were due to fly out on the following Sunday. What can I say about Sydney? It's as different as can be from Canberra, with narrow winding streets and horrendous traffic; in fact, it reminded me of London in that respect! It's all about the harbour of course, and we took a ferry trip to see the sights and also visited the famous Opera House, which as a place of entertainment was especially interesting for me. We took a tour of the building and also attended a concert by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to perform on one of its stages.

All too soon, it was time to head for the airport and the long flight home. At least Reggie and I would be sitting together in First Class.

The trip back passed without incident except at the very end when we were taking our suitcases through the Arrivals' Hall at Heathrow Airport. I knew that reporters hung around there looking for someone famous to interview, but I hardly put myself in the category. Nevertheless, two young men suddenly appeared, one holding a camera with which he proceeded to take a picture without asking permission. I suppressed my annoyance with some difficulty as the other man announced himself as a reporter from the 'Daily Bugle' and asked if I had enjoyed my trip to Australia.

I had been given advice on dealing with reporters. “Always tell them as much of the truth as you can, otherwise they will make something up,” Dame Emily told me

Hence I told them that I had had a very successful trip to Melbourne performing in 'Romeo and Juliet'.”

“Taking some British culture to the colonies,” remarked the reporter with something like a sneer.

“Hardly. The theatre in which I performed is one hundred and fifty years old and there are some very fine local performers over there. I was flattered to be asked to be a guest performer,” I replied.

After a few more exchanges, he let us go.

It must have been a slow news day as the next morning, the picture of Reggie and me appeared on page three together with a headline “Stratford's Harriet Stow wows the locals with Shakespeare in Melbourne Australia”. This was followed by a short article which the reporter had made up telling how impressed the locals were to have a star come out from England to perform. I felt a bit annoyed, as it was the reverse of what I had said, but what can you do?

Reggie and I took the train to York, and we spent a week getting over jetlag, although I found time to visit the family in Brid. Everyone was well, including Thomas. I had been in regular contact with Emma of course, who assured me that all was well, but it was still nice to see for myself.

I received a call from Richard, my agent, saying that there was a meeting in London for the principal players of the 'Romeo and Juliet' film to meet the producer and director, which I should attend. A few days later I took the train to London and a taxi to one of those tall buildings which have appeared in recent years.

The lift rushed me to the twentieth floor and I was shown into a large room with a central table and a panoramic view of the city. Dame Emily and Leon McKeen were there, but not Richard Jenkins. I later found out that he was still filming in America and sent his apologies via his agent who had come in his place. Also seated at the table were two men in their fifties at a guess and whom I recognised from seeing pictures of them.

I was introduced to Max Millar, the producer, and Cecil Richardson the director of the film. I shook hands with both gentlemen who said they were very pleased that I had been able to join the cast. In some ways, I thought it was a small miracle that I was there, as even some of the smaller parts were to be played by people better known than me. Reggie said that this was my chance to become a world-famous star, and I wasn't even sure if I really wanted that. Max was kind enough to say that my reputation preceded me and they had never considered anyone else for the part of Juliet, which he had seen me perform twice. He thought I gave the best performance of any actor of my generation. This was high praise indeed from someone with the reputation as Max Millar had. Dame Emily and Leon seemed to know him well and were on first name terms with him and also Cecil. I wondered if Dame Emily had a hand in putting my name forward for the part.

“I believe this will be your first film?” said Max.

“Yes, Mr Millar,” I replied. “I've had two small parts in television productions, really just cameo rôles. A performance of 'Romeo and Juliet' was recorded in Singapore and Britain, but I know that's nothing like shooting a film.”

Max smiled. “As you probably know, there have been at least twenty film versions of Romeo and Juliet, plus other films like 'West Side Story' which was based on it. It's also been produced for television numerous times, so you may be wondering why another version? In our view, it's a story for the ages and one that audiences never tire of. We are bringing together a star cast and believe that it will be a critical as well as financial success,” he said.

Cecil now took over. “We will commence shooting with sequences on location in Verona itself. There are some parts of the old city which are almost untouched since before Shakespeare's time. I should mention we will not be using the so-called 'Juliet's House'. While it was built in the thirteenth century, the balcony was added in the twentieth century. Anyway, it's one of Verona's top tourist attractions and they would never agree to us shutting it down for a week's filming. No, we will build that set in Pinewood Studios where we will shoot the interiors after we return to England.”

He turned to Richard Jenkins' agent. “How long before Richard is free?” he asked.

The agent looked embarrassed. “About a week. There were some unfortunate delays or he would have been finished by now.”

Cecil continued: “Our locations in Verona have been booked for six weeks' time. We had to bring them forward a bit but we should still have plenty of time. We are going to start rehearsals for the smaller parts in a couple of weeks time. I realise that you all know your lines already. One thing I should mention about this film is that we intend to use Shakespeare's full text with no cuts. I know some films have been drastically shortened; even Olivier cut characters and swathes of text from his film of Hamlet, probably because feature films usually ran for about ninety minutes when it was made. We want this production to be used as a reference for several generations of students studying Shakespeare.”

“So no pressure then,” said Dame Emily with a laugh, and we all joined in.

Max asked if there were any questions. I had a couple.

“I hope you will forgive me asking, but I haven't been on overseas location for a film before. Does the company organise flights and accommodation?”

“Yes, we do. You will fly Business Class Verona, which takes about two hours. Everyone will have single rooms in a four or five-star hotel. I take it you don't speak Italian?” I shook my head. “We will make sure you are accompanied by someone who speaks Italian and English. At this stage you are not well known so unlikely to be bothered by the local population; nevertheless, Italian men are rather notorious for approaching attractive women, so we will make sure that you are not bothered by them.”

I felt that I was blushing slightly at what I'm sure he meant as a compliment.

Leon said “I should be happy to accompany you, my dear. I speak passable Italian and I could pass you off as my daughter.”

“And I will join the two of you, posing as Leon's wife,” said Dame Emily, with a wink that Leon couldn't see.

“That's very kind of you both,” I replied.

“One other thing is costume fittings. We will need you all to come to London for that in a couple of weeks and a further visit for final adjustments a couple of weeks later,” said Max.

There being no more questions, the meeting wound up and Dame Emily invited me to have a cup of tea with her.. I feel I should emphasise that Dame Emily wasn't implying that I wasn't safe accompanying Leon. I know some older actors have a 'reputation', but he wasn't one of them.

Dame Emily and I had a good chat over tea. This was my first time going overseas on location so I was happy to receive any advice she could give me.

“It will be hot in Italy, so take light clothing for when you are not in costume which I'm afraid may be made of heavy material. A formal gown and heels might be a good idea as sometimes the local mayor holds a reception for us. Even with your limited experience of shooting television, you know that there can be a lot of time sitting around while each scene is set up, and I find it a good opportunity to catch up on books I've been intending to read,” she said.

“I was thinking that I might do a short course in basic Italian before I go,” I said.

“Other languages come in handy, even if it's only enough to ask where to go to the loo,” she said, smiling.

Having a few spare weeks before travelling to Italy, I spent a few days at the Youth Theatre in Stratford. I had been feeling guilty that so much of the work had fallen on Madge, with both Dame Emily and I being away. She now had some help and seemed to be coping very well, but she was happy to see me. She was very complimentary about my trip to Melbourne which apparently had been reported on in the local paper In turn, I was interested to hear how the students were going. Madge knew about the film and how it would be my last appearance as 'Juliet'.

“Do you have anyone in mind to take over the rôle?” I asked.

We have a couple of potential candidates,” she replied. “It's a pity you are getting too old for it but that happens to us all. I have to tell you that you will leave big shoes to fill.”

“Thank you, Madge, that's a real compliment coming from you,” I replied.

“'Give credit where credit's due' is my motto,” she said.

Something else happened on my return to Stratford. The first day I arrived back and opened the door of the apartment, I knew instantly that something had changed. Looking around, all the furniture was in the same place and it wasn't until I stepped into the kitchen and saw an envelope on the bench, addressed to me in Frances's handwriting that I knew for sure what that change would be. I opened it, drew out the single sheet of paper and read as follows:

'Dear Harriet,

Love,
Frances'

I sat for a while thinking about the letter. There was no date on it so I didn't know when Frances had left. A thought suddenly came to me; Frances had always been the 'wife' in the relationship even when she was Frank, and she did most of the cooking. I stood up and walked to the refrigerator and opened it. As I feared, there was very little inside – some milk, butter and a pot of marmalade.

I checked the freezer. There were a couple of frozen dinners The pantry was similarly bare, just a few tins of baked beans. This was not good. I looked at my watch; Dale wouldn't be home for three hours, so I left the flat and drove to the local supermarket. I returned half an hour later with three large bags filled with groceries, fruit, vegetables and a cooked chicken. I had decided to make a chicken casserole which was a favourite meal of Dale's, and one big enough to last a few days.

I set to work and the time flew by. The casserole had been ready just ten minutes when the key turned in the lock and Dale walked in. I was shocked by his appearance but hope I masked my feelings. He looked thin, haggard and ten years older than when I last saw him.

“Harriet!” he exclaimed. “It's so nice to see you again. What have you been cooking? It smells delicious.”

“It's a chicken casserole,” I replied. “I thought you might fancy a home-cooked meal.”

Dale's face crumpled. “Oh Harriet, how am I going to live without her?”

I rushed over and put my arms around him and held him while he sobbed. The emotions had been bottled up inside him too long, and now he was finally letting it all out.

Later, when we sat down to eat some of the casserole, I noticed how hungry Dale was, in fact, he went back for seconds. I wondered how long it was since he'd eaten properly. I didn't push Dale, letting him decide if he wanted to talk, and eventually, he did.

“I'll be frank with you Harriet, I don't know what I'm going to do. I even thought about ending it all.”

He saw the shocked look on my face and went on: “Don't worry, that phase has passed, and I assure you I'm not going to do anything silly.” That was a relief.

“In the note she left, Frances said that she still loves you dearly and believes you love her. Do you think there is any way you can work this out and be together?” I asked. “I'm an actress, not a psychologist. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but do you think some professional help might be worth pursuing?”

“Yes, I am considering that,” replied Dale. “I'll try anything if it will help us to get together again.”

“Well, she's still the same person, even if she looks different on the outside,” I said. “One thing I want you to be clear on is that even though Frances is proposing to go down the same road that I did years ago, that doesn't mean I am biased in her favour. I want to stay strictly neutral and if there is anything I can do to help two dear friends, then I will.”

Dale smiled, the first time I'd seen him do that since he came home.

“And you are a dear friend to both of us and we want it to stay that way. I know that this is something Frances has to do to live a fulfilling life, so there is no way I'll try and persuade her to give it up, even if she listened to me, which I doubt. If I can't come to terms with it, then the only thing I can do is give her her freedom and hope she finds someone else.”

I felt like crying now; Dale was so selfless, and if ever proof was needed that he loved Frances, then this was it. I didn't like leaving him on his own in the apartment but I had to spend time in York with Reggie, and it wouldn't be long before I'd be flying to Italy.

While back in York, I didn't spend all my time lazing around. I always enjoyed my times as a 'housewife' with Reggie of course and I also visited Bridchester to see the family. I've mentioned previously that I've recorded some 'talking books', which have become very popular, especially with commuters on their way to and from work. I had been asked if I would record 'A Little Princess', a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, published in 1905. Burnett was born in Manchester but lived part of her life in America. A prolific writer, her other two most famous children's books are 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' and 'The Secret Garden'. The publisher of the audiobooks suggested that if 'The Little Princess' was successful, they might ask me to also read the other two.

As previously mentioned, I had to travel to London for a costume fitting. We would be adhering to the tradition of using Elizabethan costuming which is multi-layered and uses heavy materials such as wool and fur. Women wore tight-fitting bodices and the richer ones wore a heavy floor-length skirt, often parted at the front to show an underskirt. These items were worn over a hooped frame or 'farthingale' which gave body to the gown. I would be wearing a very rich gown for the ball scene when Juliet meets Romeo. This would take place on location in a very old Verona mansion. There's no point in building a set if you can use the real thing.

I have always considered it one of the joys of acting that I get to wear some amazing costumes based on the clothes of times gone by. That's part of the reason that I dislike playing Shakespeare in modern dress, even though it's been pointed out to me that in Shakespeare's time, that's exactly what they were doing most of the time.

A couple of weeks later I returned to London for final fittings by the talented theatrical costumiers, who assured me they were looking forward to seeing their work on the big screen.

All too soon, it was time to start packing my suitcase for the trip to Italy. Reggie would try to come over for a weekend while I was away since Italy is a short flight compared to going to Australia. He could fly over on Friday evening and fly back on Sunday.

To be continued.