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

Chapter 38   Camelot

I arrived in Warwick three hours before the start of the rehearsal and parked 'Bluebird' outside a café close to the theatre. I hadn't eaten since I had a cup of tea and a biscuit mid-morning and I was famished. I'm one of those people many women hate – I can eat what I like and don't put on any weight! I think it's something to do with my metabolism.

I chose a table and looked at the menu. The waitress, a very pretty young woman walked up to take my order and instead stood staring at me.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Harriet Stow who's going to play 'Guinevere' in 'Camelot'?” she asked. I assured her that I was.

“It's so nice to meet you. I'm playing one of your 'ladies in waiting' in the show. It's my first part on stage in a proper theatre and I've only got two lines but I'm a bit nervous,” she said. “Can you give me any tips please?”

I smiled. “When I first started out, an old actor said I had to remember three things; 'be on time, know my lines and don't bump into the scenery'. It was a joke of course although there's some truth in it. To that I would add that when you're onstage, it doesn't matter how small a part you have, you have to be acting and reacting all the time because the audience will be aware of you even if they're focussing on someone else. If you do it well, then the director will notice too, and you'll go on to get bigger parts.”

She smiled. “Thank you so much; I'll remember that.” She paused: “Oh I'm sorry, you're here to eat and I'm taking up your time.”

“That's alright. I look forward to working with you. By the way, you haven't told me your name.”

“It's Mary Rose,” she said.

“That's a very pretty name. Well, Mary Rose, I'll have a meat pie, chips and peas, with jam roly-poly and custard for 'afters'. I hate acting on an empty stomach. I'm always worried that people in the front row will hear it rumbling.”

She smiled and went off to order my meal from the kitchen.

It was simple food but well cooked and as I departed, leaving a generous tip, I waved to Mary Rose and said “See you this evening'.

I had arranged to meet Stephen the director, at six o'clock in the theatre, ninety minutes before the rehearsal started, so that we could block out my moves in each of the scenes I was in, and there were quite a few of them.

“How are you going with the part?” he asked, a delicate way of asking if I knew my lines yet.

“I think I should be alright,” I replied. “But I've brought the book just in case.” Of course, I was sure I knew the part but I didn't want to sound over-confident, just in case I did have a 'dry', then I'd look foolish.

We proceeded to block out my movements and those of others onstage and I made notes about each scene. We just finished before the cast arrived for rehearsals to start at seven-thirty. They all assembled on the stage and Stephen introduced me.

“Everyone, I'd like to introduce Harriet Stow from Stratford who has kindly agreed to step in for Elspeth, who, as you know is not feeling too well at present. I'd like you all to make her welcome.”

There was a smattering of applause and Stephen asked if I would like to say something.

“Good evening everyone. I'm very happy to be here. I'm sure you are all aware that I'm a professional actress, but that doesn't mean that I know everything, far from it. This will be my first experience of acting in a musical, so I'm looking forward to learning from all of you who have plenty of experience in this area of theatre. I've seen a video of your production of 'The King and I” and I'm very impressed with the standard, especially taking into account that most of you have jobs and are only doing theatre part-time. Anyway, enough of me making a speech; we're eating into valuable rehearsal time, so I'll hand you back to Stephen.”

Stephen took over and announced the first scene to be rehearsed, the one where as 'Guinevere' I arrive at Camelot and meet Arthur. Playing 'King Arthur' was Gareth Thomas. With a name like that, I'm sure you've guessed that he was Welsh and naturally enough a very good singer. The original King Arthur, if indeed he existed, could easily have been Welsh as no-one knows exactly where he came from, and there is a suggestion that Cornwall was once part of Wales.

We ran through the scene which includes three songs, two by Arthur, 'I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight', followed by my 'Simple Joys of Maidenhood', and then after we meet, Arthur sings 'Camelot'. We skipped the last part of the scene where the water nymph Nimue sings 'Follow Me' to Merlin. I thought it went well for a first run through. Afterwards, Stephen came up on the stage and made a few minor suggestions which I committed to memory, and then we went through it again, this time completing the scene.

I was impressed with John Hawkins who played 'Merlin', and also with Sue Berryman who played 'Nimue'. She had a lovely soprano voice. I wondered why she hadn't been offered 'Guinevere'.

At the conclusion of the rehearsal, I congratulated her. “You would sing Guinevere's songs better than I can,” I said.

Sue laughed: “This is actually my first time onstage with Warwick. My normal rôle in the company is vocal coach and assistant to the musical director. We were going to look for someone to play 'Nimue' but since it's such a short part, just one song and knowing I'm a singer, Stephen said why didn't I do it? So here I am, but I would never tackle a part like 'Guinevere' since I'm not an actor. You are doing it amazingly well for a first rehearsal.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Each to his or her own, I suppose. When you sing in costume with the scenery and lighting, I know it's going to be a magical moment. I'd appreciate any advice you can give me on the songs I have to sing. I'm still a novice in that area.”

“Sure, I'd be happy to do that,” said Sue. In the following weeks she took me through all my songs and as a result, I'm sure I sang them much better than I would otherwise have done. She told me that I had an unique voice with more power than that of most woman, but she put that down to my acting career. I did wonder if she suspected my past was a little unconventional, but she said nothing, and anyway, the theatre is a great place to work if you don't quite fit the standard image.

Then we went on with the next scene which takes place five years later, where Arthur has the idea of the round table. The following scene is where Guinevere meets Lancelot. I noticed that Martin Benson, who played 'Lancelot' had not been present at the start of the rehearsal and must have sneaked in late. He was a very handsome young man and I instantly decided that he was rather full of himself, so a great choice for Lancelot!. That said, he was a good actor, and our first scene together went well. Most people know the story of how Guinevere takes an instant dislike to Lancelot but eventually falls in love with him, and he with her. It's a rather clichéd storyline, but after all, it is a fantasy. That sort of thing doesn't happen in real life.

The time flew by and soon it was time to finish for the evening. We all bade each other 'good night', and I drove down to Stratford in 'Bluebird'. Dale and Frank were pleased to see me.

“How did the rehearsal go?” said Frank.

“Very well for a first run-through. I wondered how I'd feel being the 'new girl', but they are all very friendly despite me being the only one of the cast being paid. I was worried that that might lead to bad feeling.”

“I'm sure they realised that their production would have been in trouble if you or someone like you hadn't taken over the part of 'Guinevere',” said Frank. “I'm betting you know all the lines already, and another amateur actor probably wouldn't.”

“Well, yes I do know the lines, of course,” I replied. “You know me and my memory.”

Dale said: “I'm a bit worried about you driving around on your own at night. Frank or I would be happy to drive you to Warwick for the rehearsals and performances if you like.”

“I do have my mobile phone, but if you really want to, and it doesn't cause you too much inconvenience, then I will accept and thank you very much,” I replied, knowing that Reggie would feel happier if I had one of the boys with me. I felt bad about them having to wait around for three hours until the rehearsal finished, but they insisted that they were happy to do it, especially Frank who is mad about theatre and would be happy sitting in the stalls watching us rehearse. I have suggested to him that he might like to try acting himself, but he insists he'd be too nervous.

I had told Stephen that I'd like my presence in the production to be low-key, but somehow the news got out, and the following week when I turned up for rehearsal, Stephen said: “I suppose I'd better show you this,” and he handed me a copy of the 'Warwick Gazette'.

The headline said “SHAKESPEAREAN ACTRESS TO STAR IN 'CAMELOT'”
'Imperial Shakespeare Company rising star Harriet Stow has taken over the rôle of 'Queen Guinevere' in the Warwick Theatrical Society's production of the musical 'Camelot' after the original actress had to withdraw through illness. Harriet, who has just been starring in the ISC production of 'Romeo and Juliet', had expressed an interest in expanding her repertoire.
This will be the first time that a professional actress has performed with the amateur theatrical company and they are looking forward to working together and learning from each other.'

The article was accompanied by a picture of me performing in 'Romeo and Juliet'.

“Oh dear, bang goes my 'low-key' approach,” I said. “I hope Elspeth is not upset about the article. I wouldn't call pregnancy an 'illness'.”

“Well, since the news broke there has been a huge increase in ticket enquiries,” said Stephen. “Every cloud has a silver lining, at least for us, but I can assure you that nobody I know spread the news.”

“I suppose with so many people in the company, it was almost inevitable that the news has leaked, even unintentionally. It puts a little extra pressure on me, but I'm sure I can cope with it,” I said.

Rehearsals continued and everything seemed to be going well. I was pleased that Mary Rose, as one of my ladies in waiting performed her part well, and I could see her moving on to bigger things. Meanwhile, Sue regularly took me through my songs and made some helpful suggestions which I felt really improved them.

“I know you are a bit worried about your singing voice, but you mustn't be,” she said. “You have a very good voice and with all your acting experience you certainly have your breathing under control. Do you remember Richard Burton in the original production of 'Camelot'? He did a 'Rex Harrison' and more or less spoke the words but everyone was happy with his performances. You have a very good voice and you do sing the songs, as well as being a fine actress, so I'm sure the audience will love your perfomances.”

I was very happy to receive her assurances. Of course, actors and actresses have to have self-confidence or we couldn't do what we do, but we are human as well!

One evening after the rehearsal had finished, Stephen asked if I could stay back for a chat.

“How do you think it's going?” he asked, obviously wanting a professional's viewpoint.

“Very well, I think. Everyone seems to be working really hard.”

“We can thank you for that. It's the first time they've performed with a professional actor and it's been an eye-opener to them how much you concentrate on getting things right. They've really lifted their game to try and match you. I wish we could afford to get a professional to take part in every production, but I don't think we'd find someone else who was willing to be so generous in their contract.”

I smiled: “Well sometimes actors go for months 'resting' and they might be willing to take a smaller contract just to get some income. I've been fortunate in working regularly, but I'll never take that for granted. Anyway, I'm learning so much from you and the company that I almost think I should be paying you, not the other way around.”

There was only one thing that bothered me about the production and it wasn't something I felt I could share with Stephen. I had noticed that Martin was always surrounded by the younger female members of the cast. 'Like moths to a flame' I thought to myself. I strongly suspected that he was the type of young man who picked a young woman, flattered her until he got what he wanted and then dumped her. I was concerned that this might affect the production. His latest conquest was Mary Rose. I saw the way she looked at him and I knew that there was no future in it. Should I say something to her or not? I wasn't sure. Maybe she would think that I was jealous and wanted him for myself. When a woman thinks that about another woman there is no way of convincing her that she is wrong.

It was good that early on, I had obtained some excellent Opening Night seats for Reggie, Dale and Frank as I was informed that it had now sold out.

“That's a first for us,” said Stephen. He was diplomatic enough not to say that it was largely due to my presence, but I was sure that was what he was thinking. So no pressure! Then he continued: “I had a call today from someone representing a couple of local schools, enquiring if we had seats for several hundred students to see the show, and I regretfully had to tell him I couldn't oblige.”

I suddenly had one of my 'bright ideas'.

“Stephen, we're having two full dress rehearsals, what if we made the second one a preview show and sold tickets at a reduced price?”

He beamed; “Now why didn't I think of that?”

“Well, it's a common practice in professional theatre now. It helps the cast to have an audience prior to opening night so that they can adjust their performance to audience reaction, and of course, it does bring in more money. Maybe it's not done in amateur productions?”

“It would be a first for us. I'll have to run it past Basil of course and then speak to the cast and crew, but I think we might just get a positive reaction.”

And that is what happened. Stephen very kindly acknowledged the idea as mine and also said how it would help the cast when the audience reacted such as laughing or applause. Everyone was in favour of change and the big bonus was the additional income from an extra performance, even though the tickets were sold at a reduced price. It turned out to be another sell-out show.

There's something about being in full costume and makeup, with the scenery and lighting, that makes the performance go up a notch. We had now graduated from a piano to a twenty-piece orchestra, all amateur but very fine musicians. Permission had been obtained to make an archive video recording for the company's records and also so that the cast could see themselves as the audience would. We were promised a viewing after the season was over. When I watch myself performing, I can always see things which I could have done better, so I was happy not to see the recording yet.

The day of the first dress rehearsal, I was standing in the wings with Mary and my other 'ladies in waiting', waiting to make my entrance. Harry Mulligan who was playing 'Merlin' was standing beside me, unrecognisable in his flowing robes, long hair, and beard, and Sue was dressed in a shimmering green gown as 'Nimue'. I was dressed in a gorgeous multi-coloured gown as befits a woman about to become the queen at Camelot.

Gareth Thomas as 'King Arthur' was already on-stage in his russet and green doublet and hose singing. Soon it was my cue to walk on-stage with my attendants.

The performance went well and Stephen was very pleased. I was glad for him as I knew he felt he was taking a risk converting the second dress rehearsal into a preview performance.

A few days later we were standing in the wings again, but this time we could hear the loud buzz of a capacity audience beyond the curtains. Sue was standing next to me

“I don't know how you can be so calm,” she said. “I'm shaking.”

“I'm calm because I know what I'm doing, just as you do,” I said, squeezing her hand. “You'll be fine.” And of course, she was.

It's different performing in front of an audience. The players feed off their energy and response to what is happening on-stage. This audience consisted mainly of young people and we could tell that they were really enjoying the show. At the conclusion, there was generous applause and four curtain calls.

Stephen called us all together after the performance and congratulated us on how it had gone: “I've never seen you perform so well. You're all stars!” he said.

After that, I went back to the flat for a good night's sleep.

The first performance was on a Saturday night. Reggie was driving down from York and Frank and Dale were driving me to the theatre as I had stayed in Stratford overnight after the preview performance. I arrived early at the theatre to dress in my first costume and do my makeup, while they went off to have a meal. At Stephen's insistence, I had been allocated a dressing room on my own. The rest of the cast were having their makeup applied by a specialist artist, but as a professional, I was used to applying my own, and it had passed muster at the dress rehearsals. Then I had a coffee and some sandwiches as was my routine before a performance.

I was sitting there relaxing when there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” I said.

The door opened. It was Mary and she looked terrible. I could see she had been crying, and my heart sank.

To be continued

Many thanks once again to Louise Ann and Julia Phillips for spotting my 'typos', thus allowing me to correct them before publishing.