Twenty-Four Theo
Twenty-Four
THEO
I wasn’t expecting that.
I know I dared Lucie to go for the stage kiss but that was easy bravado when it wasn’t me who had to initiate it. Romeo’s kiss didn’t require anywhere near that level of bravery – just a slow peck, really.
But Lucie Hart is fearless .
I knew it before, but now I’m in awe of her.
Ced came back half an hour ago to find a transformed company. Ophelia hasn’t stopped gushing for the last hour and Lucie isn’t frowning like she was. Together we’re lighter, as if that dared kiss broke the stalemate between us. It feels like we’re in it together with this scene – like we’d found with Shrew and Tempest .
Maybe that’s what we have to do with all of the summer programme pieces: find that energy and go with it.
Ced is rehearsing his Iago soliloquy from Act I, Scene 3 of Othello as Ophelia directs. I join Lucie on the props trunk and we watch him together.
I completely underestimated Ced when I watched him for the first time. He was doing his Falstaff on the day I met them all, a comedy drunk, and I didn’t realise how much skill it took to make that look effortless. Now he’s been given meatier roles to portray, the transformation is remarkable.
‘He’s good,’ I whisper to Lucie.
‘He always was,’ she returns, as if reading my thoughts. ‘We need to make sure he’s as much a part of this programme as we are. He’s been overlooked for far too long.’
I nod, staring at the mug of tea I’ve just made. ‘I got a lot of stuff wrong when I met you.’
‘Ah well, you live and learn, eh?’
Her smile is warm when I look up.
‘I’ve learned never to call you chicken.’
She muffles her laughter behind her mug. ‘So now you know. I think tomorrow will be okay.’
I hold her gaze for a moment before turning back to Ced. ‘Me too. The audience aren’t going to know where to look.’
‘As is should be,’ Lucie replies.
When I look back at her she’s smiling into her tea.
*
‘Stage kisses,’ Dougie intones, shaking his head. ‘Tricky little bastards. Always the thing I loathed the most.’
Lilia rolls her eyes and accepts her brandy from Michael, who’s just returned from the bar. ‘Don’t recall you loathing it when we did it, darling.’
‘Ah yes, well, that was because it was you …’
I haven’t seen Dougie blush before. It’s a revelation. He’ll probably blame it on the warm interior of The Star and Hope this evening, but he’ll be fooling nobody. I still haven’t worked out what the deal is with these two, but it’s clear there’s a history of chemistry. Whether it was ever acted upon is anyone’s guess and perhaps part of their game.
It feels good to be here after today’s rehearsal. I needed this: to relax and unwind and, most importantly, not think about Romeo and Juliet.
‘I had to smooch Judi Dench, back in the day,’ Cyril pipes up, his blue eyes twinkling. ‘Can’t say that was ever a chore.’
‘She’s a darling. I’d have smooched her,’ Lilia says, causing a tide of raucous laughter to swirl around our table. ‘Not that you would ever have had the chance, when we were doing it. Thank heaven the theatre’s more enlightened now. Actresses these days get all the fun.’
‘You broke enough hearts in the theatre without adding a female contingent to your list of victims,’ Dougie laughs, earning a blown kiss from my landlady.
‘So, Theo, just how steamy are you making it?’
‘Lilia, you know a gentleman never tells,’ I grin, knowing this will never be enough to satisfy her.
‘Excellent riposte , sir. Shame it will be lost on me. What I want to know is how soon after your Romeo debut tomorrow will your wilful lip-locking hit the headlines? And should we perhaps set a little sweepstake now to that effect?’
‘Capital idea!’ Michael pipes up, his single malt sloshing in his glass. ‘Always up for a flutter or two.’
‘So we’ve heard,’ Cyril grins, casting a wink at me.
‘I don’t know,’ I reply, my own cheeks burning now. ‘I mean, I hope what we do catches people’s attention but I don’t want to jinx it.’
‘Wise,’ Dougie nods. ‘Boring, but wise.’
I give a small bow. Lilia tuts beside me.
‘He’s only on his first drink of the night, boys. We’ll wear him down.’
I have a feeling my ship may be sunk …
I settle into my seat as the conversation drifts from Romeo to reminiscence, enjoying the chatter and the bawdy jokes, the memories shared and the drinks freely bought. Turns out all of Lilia’s boys have Romeo’d at some point in their careers, Dougie winning the most-played Montague with four productions, then Cyril with two and Michael with one, ‘owing to an unfortunate backstage plummet that put the main man out of action’. He says this with just the smallest hint of glee, making me wonder if old Mickey might have had a hand in his leading actor’s literal downfall. I wouldn’t put it past him, that’s for certain.
The Star and Hope is quiet tonight, save for our merry band. I like it this way: it feels like I’m part of an exclusive, secret club. While things in The Garden Players are on a more even keel, this place – and this company – are my secret support system. I wonder what Lucie and Ced would think if they could see me here with Lilia and her boys. Would it shock them? Would they even care?
The new programme for the summer will bring us closer, but I’m aware of the gulf still between us. I don’t know anything about Ced beyond his work with The Garden Players (and the failed auditions for Hamlet ), and only what he’s told me about Lucie’s ‘first job’ of the day. I’ve been coasting a little, I realise, too focused on the task at hand to think of anything else. That has to change.
I just need to get R&J’s premiere out of the way and then the charm offensive begins.
That’s if Lucie and Ced are willing to open up to me …