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

Chapter 4   The Assistant Director

The following day I arrived early at the theatre. I had my notebook in hand, ready to record everything that I‘d learned from working with Chris. This was a unique opportunity, and I was determined to make the most of it. Chris was early too.

“Good morning Harriet. Today I'm going to start blocking out the scenes and I'll be obliged if you'll take notes for me.”

“Certainly Chris,” I replied. “I know what 'blocking' is of course but can you tell me where the expression first came from?”

“Well it's generally thought to derive from the practice of nineteenth century directors to use a model of each set and use wooden blocks to represent the actors. W.S.Gilbert was known to use this method for the Savoy Operas.”

I laughed. “Well that's interesting. When I was quite young, one of my favourite toys was a model theatre with cut-out characters which slotted into wooden blocks. My older sister and I spent many happy hours performing plays we made up ourselves, moving the characters around the stage, so really we were blocking too. I wonder if that's how we both came to be actresses?”

Chris smiled. “It sounds like a strong possibility,” he replied.

For the rest of the week, I worked hard, not only rehearsing but also taking copious notes as Chris rehearsed the play. My notebook was rapidly filling with diagrams of the character blocking and other points that I picked up.

On Friday afternoon, as soon as the rehearsal finished, I loaded up 'Bluebird' and drove to York. By the time I‘d arrived, Reggie was home and insisted that we go out to a local café for tea. There was no objection from me!

We had only been apart for a week, but the old saying about 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' is very true, and after we returned from the café we were not long out of bed!

The next morning, we drove to Bridchester where we would be staying overnight with Mum. I was anxious to see how she was looking, although there was no visible difference from when I last saw her only a week previously. She insisted that she still felt fine which was good to hear. We all went to Emma and David's house to see the children and Reggie called over to see his parents for a while.

On Sunday, we took Mum to church, then went to a restaurant for lunch, and later in the afternoon returned to York. I was up at five o'clock the following morning to drive back to Stratford for more rehearsals, while Reggie went to the university. This routine continued while the rehearsals were in progress.

On Tuesday, Chris had news for me. “I've been asked to go to London to meet the directors of the Globe Theatre. We are thinking about mounting a co-production,” he said. “I know it's short notice but I'd like you to take over the rehearsals for the next two days while I'm away.”

That was a shock. I'd been in charge for about an hour during the script reading, but this was much more responsibility.

“I would have had to find a way around it if I didn't have confidence in you, but I'm sure that you can cope for two days. I'll give you a list of suggested scenes to rehearse and let you take it from there.”

I confess that Chris's remarks made me a little better. After all, how much damage could I cause in two days? Chris announced my temporary elevation to Acting Director at the end of the day's rehearsal, and said he was sure we could all cope without him. I did my best to look confident as I stood beside him.

The following morning I was early at the theatre ready to take charge. As it happened, Wednesday was the first day that everyone was expected to be 'off book' – no more scripts. That was one thing at least that I didn't have to worry about. However, it wasn't long before there was a matter for concern. I have decided not to name the actor concerned as he has now established an illustrious career, so I will call him 'Joe'. We began to rehearse a scene in which Joe had a large part and it quickly became apparent that he didn't fully know his lines. I had to prompt him a couple of times when he had a 'dry'. I also noticed that at one point where he had a break from speaking that he was supressing a yawn. I didn't think that he was bored, it struck me that he was actually very tired.

The end of the scene coincided with a break, so before he could disappear, I walked up to Joe and quietly said that I would like a word with him. He looked miserable, but agreed, and we walked to the little office that I was sharing with Chris.

“I'm sorry,” he muttered as soon as we entered the room. “I know I'm not on top of my game at present but I promise I'll try harder.”

“Joe, I know that you're better than this. Am I right in thinking that you are very tired?”

He looked like he was going to cry. He hesitated and then it all spilled out like a torrent.

“You're right of course. Did you know that Deb my wife just had twins? They're our first children and she's not really coping, in fact she's exhausted, we both are. We're lucky if we get two hours uninterrupted sleep each night.”

I silently cursed my lack of empathy. Naturally I'd heard about the twins but not having children myself it hadn't occurred to me that it would lead to such an upheaval in their household. Since then of course I've heard that many young mothers, especially first-time ones are chronically sleep-deprived.

“I'm sorry Joe, I should have realised. Is there no-one who can stay with you and give Deb a hand. What about her mother?”

“Her mother would love to but she's living in America now. She married and went over there to live but it didn't work out and now she's on her own. She just can't afford to come back at short notice.”

“There must be something we can do,” I said. “Let me talk to Penny Lane about it. I can't promise anything but when I explain the situation she may have a solution.”

Joe brightened up for a moment but then his face fell. “Won't it have to wait until Chris comes back?” he said.

“I don't see why. He's left me in charge and that means I'm acting in his place. You go off and have a coffee and I'll ring Penny.”

Joe looked a bit brighter when he left the office and as I picked up the phone and called Penny Lane, the CEO's secretary, I prayed that I hadn't given him false hope.

Penny and I got on very well, especially when she first realised that I wasn't going to make any remark about her name (and yes, her parents were Beatles fans).

I explained the situation to her and asked if there was any way we could fund Joe's mother-in-law to return urgently to England. She was most sympathetic. “Yes we do have a contingency fund for special cases. I'll have to talk to Duncan about it of course, and he's in a meeting at present, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can.”

When I returned to the auditorium, I chose a scene where Joe did not appear. Instead, he sat in the stalls and studied his part. It was about an hour later that Penny appeared at the doorway to the stalls and beckoned to me. I quietly walked over to her, not wanting to disturb the actors on stage.

“I spoke to Duncan and he says we can fund the air fare for Joe's mother-in-law. Can you ask Joe to come back to my office and we'll set the wheels in motion.”

I beamed at her. “Thank you so much Penny, I'll leave it in your capable hands.” I looked up to where Joe was staring intently at us and beckoned him down.

“Good news Joe,” I whispered. “Go along with Miss Lane and she'll organise your mother-in-law's flight. I'll see you again in the morning.”

For the second time Joe looked like he was going to cry. “Thank you so much Harriet, and thank you Miss Lane.”

With that they disappeared through the doorway and I returned to concentrating on what was happening on-stage, feeling very relieved that a crisis had been averted.

The following morning I was at the theatre early as usual, wanting to check through the scenes we were going to rehearse before the cast arrived. Joe arrived only a few minutes later.

“I wanted to get here early to thank you for what you did yesterday. Deb was thrilled and hopes she can thank you in person soon; she reckons you're our guardian angel.”

“Thank you Joe, but the guardian angel rôle belongs to your mother-in-law. Have you heard yet when she will be arriving?”

“Yes. I don't know if Miss Lane pulled some strings, but Carol will be here at the weekend. Deb couldn't stop crying when she heard, she was so relieved.” He paused. “You know, it's a funny thing but I think the twins felt the change in us because they slept right through to five o'clock. That's the best night's sleep we've had since they came home from hospital.”

“I can't speak from experience of course, but I think babies are a lot smarter than we think, and they respond to the atmosphere around them. Once your mother-in-law arrives I think you'll find that things are even better.”

“I'm really counting on it,” said Joe. “I really need this job, and when you asked to speak to me I was worried that you'd be putting me on a final notice.”

I smiled. “I never had any thought of that. I could see something was wrong and I'm only sorry that I wasn't smart enough to figure out what it was. By the way, what are the twins names?”

Joe smiled “Charlotte and Denise,” he replied.

“Very pretty names,” I responded. “I hope everything works out well when your mother-in-law arrives.”

The following morning, Chris arrived back from London, and before the cast arrived, he appeared in the auditorium where I was busy studying the script and my notes.

“Hi Harriet, how did things go?” he greeted me.

“Well, I think. I suppose you heard about the problem with Joe?”

“Yes I did,” he replied and I couldn't tell from his expression what he thought of my actions.

“If I exceeded my authority, I'm sorry, but I felt that something needed to be done in a hurry.”

He smiled. “You used your initiative and that's exactly what a director needs to do. Naming no names, there are some directors who don't seem to realise that actors have a life off stage and how it can impact on what happens when they are on stage. It was probably just as well that you were in charge as some men find it easier to discuss a personal problem with a woman rather than with a man. I'm sure we'll soon see a difference in Joe's performances.”

He was right. Even before Deb's mum arrived, there was a distinct improvement in Joe's acting. I think a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and Deb's too of course. A couple of weeks later, I was invited to tea to meet Deb and her mum. The twins were behaving like little angels and there was an air of calm in the house. Thank goodness for mothers! Both women were so grateful for my minor rôle in solving the problem that I felt rather embarrassed, but I hope I was graceful in accepting their thanks.

Two weeks later, Dale drove to London and returned with Frank and 'all his worldly goods'. These consisted of his Ikea desk, partly dismantled to fit in the Jaguar, an office chair, two suitcases of clothes, three plastic garment bags, one of which contained a suit and the others the women's gowns Frank wore when he went out as Frances. In addition, there were three boxes, two of which were labelled 'books', and one 'CDs and odds and ends'.

I had room in my bookcase and offered it to Frank for his books and CDs if he so desired. The rest of his effects fitted into Dale's room. Even though it had been a tight squeeze to fit everything into the Jaguar, Frank had been thoughtful enough to get Dale to stop at a florist and after kissing me on the cheek, he handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

“Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here Harriet,” he said.

“You're very welcome, Frank. You can both stay as long as you like, but if you find somewhere you really like, I quite understand that you will want to take it,” I replied.

Dale had taught Frank how to drive, and he practised when he was in Stratford, but living in London with its frequent public transport, a car would have been an expensive extravagance. However, living in the country and having to drive from Stratford to Warwick for work, at least initially, a car was now justified. Frank knew as much about cars as I did, but fortunately Dale was there to take him car-hunting.

The next day they went off to tour the used-car dealers and see if they could find something suitable. When I arrived home from rehearsal that evening, they were both looking very pleased with themselves.

“I found Frank a really nice Honda Civic. It's like yours only a later model. I've been very impressed with how well yours runs, and after we took it for a test drive Frank decided that was the car for him.”

“I'm glad Dale was there,” said Frank. “He played the salesman like a violin. We even started to walk away, saying there were other cars we wanted to see, and he came running after us and said he'd take another hundred pounds off the price if we signed for it there and then.”

I had to laugh at that. “He did exactly the same thing when I bought 'Bluebird',” I said. “I hope they didn't talk you into arranging the insurance?”

“If I'd been on my own I probably would have gone along with it, but Dale told me I could organise my own insurance at a better rate. I've done that and I'll pick up the car tomorrow.”

“Well, that deserves a celebration. How about we go out to dinner, my treat?” I said, and that's what we did.

Rehearsals continued and so did the weekend routine. The last weekend before the 'Two Gentlemen' season started Reggie was playing football, so I went to Brid on my own. Mum's birthday was coming up soon and when I asked her what she would like me to get her, she had her answer already prepared.

“I don't need a 'thing' darling as I have everything I need, but what I would like to do is see you perform in 'Two Gentlemen'. Do you think you could arrange that?”

I nearly broke down. The unspoken message was that Mum wanted to see me perform for one last time. I think she saw the look on my face because she said “Come here” and started to hug me. The tears really did start to flow then.

When she released me she saw them and she chided me gently. “I'm not dead yet, darling, or anything like it!”

I managed a smile through my tears. “Of course you're not, I'm just being silly. Do you think Emma will drive you down? I'll make sure you get your favourite seats in the stalls.”

“I'll speak to her,” said Mum. “I'm sure she'll be just as keen as me to see you on-stage again.”

“Do you think she's jealous of me Mum? After all, she was the actress before I ever stepped on a stage.”

“I think she's very happy doing what she's doing, being a housewife and a mother, which is an honourable profession too,” said Mum.

“I agree, Mum; I didn't mean it to sound as though I thought she was throwing her life away. Look, I'll speak to Emma, you shouldn't have to do it.”

Mum smiled. “Alright, now how about a cup of tea?” she said.

Later that day I rang Emma about Mum's birthday request. “Would it be possible for you to bring her down to Stratford, see the play and stay overnight in a hotel with her?” I said.

There was a pause before Emma answered. I suddenly realised the cause and not for the first time cursed my thoughtlessness. “Emma, if you are able to donate your time, I am happy to cover all the costs involved, the theatre tickets, hotel and meals and your fuel costs.”

“There's no need to do that,” she responded a little tartly, and I could tell from her tone that I had upset her. There's a saying 'When you're in a hole, stop digging' and I felt that I was in danger of doing just that. Without meaning to I had pointed out the difference in our financial situations and that was unforgivable.

“Emma, we're sisters and we need to be honest with each other,” I said gently. “I really didn't mean to offend you. I have been very fortunate in my career so far, and I'm earning more money than I ever expected to, but I really owe it all to you. I still remember when you suggested the job at Apollo Players which started everything off for me, and I am still in your debt for that. It would mean a lot to Mum if she could come to Stratford and only you can make that happen for her. The least I can do is not let you be out of pocket doing it. Please will you say yes?”

Emma laughed. “Of course I'll do it; I know how much it means to her, and to you of course.”

“You, David and the children mean a lot to her too. In all this I've forgotten to ask if David's prepared to baby-sit them all for a day and night? Perhaps you'd better ask him.”

“He's in between plays at present and he isn't working at the school every day, so I'm sure something can be arranged,” she replied.

To be continued.

Many thanks to Louise Ann and Julia Phillips for checking the text for typos and errors to be corrected before posting this chapter. I am very grateful for their help.