A PRISONER OF BIRTH by Archer

Author:Archer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-05-28T15:24:00+00:00

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

DANNY ROSE FROM his place and joined the standing ovation, not least because if he hadn’t, he would have been one of the few people in the theater who was still sitting. He had enjoyed the play even more a second time, but that was possibly because he’d now had a chance to read the script.

Sitting in the third row among the family and friends of the cast had only added to his enjoyment. The set designer sat on one side of him, and the wife of the producer on the other. They invited him to join them for a drink in the extended interval. He listened to theater talk, rarely feeling confident enough to offer an opinion. It didn’t seem to matter, as they all had unshakable views on everything from Davenport’s performance to why the West End was full of musicals. Danny appeared to have only one thing in common with theater folk: none of them seemed to know what their next job would be.

After Davenport had taken countless curtain calls, the audience slowly made their way out of the theater. As it was a clear night, Danny decided he would walk to the Dorchester. The exercise would do him good, and in any case, he couldn’t afford the expense of a cab.

He began to stroll toward Piccadilly Circus, when a voice behind him said, “Sir Nicholas?” He looked around to see the box office manager hailing him with one hand, while holding a taxi door open with the other. “If you’re going to the party, why don’t you join us?”

“Thank you,” said Danny, and climbed in to find two young women sitting on the back seat.

“This is Sir Nicholas Moncrieff,” said the box office manager as he unfolded one of the seats and sat down to face them.

“Nick,” insisted Danny as he sat on the other folding seat.

“Nick, this is my girlfriend Charlotte. She works in props. And this is Katie, who’s an understudy. I’m Paul.”

“Which part do you understudy?” Nick asked.

“I stand in for Eve Best, who’s been playing Gwendolen.”

“But not tonight,” said Danny.

“No,” admitted Katie, as she crossed her legs. “In fact, I’ve only done one performance during the entire run. A matinee when Eve had to fulfill a commitment for the BBC.”

“Isn’t that a little frustrating?” asked Danny.

“It sure is, but it beats being out of work.”

“Every understudy lives in hope that they’ll be discovered while the lead is indisposed,” said Paul. “Albert Finney took over from Larry Olivier when he was playing Coriolanus at Stratford, and became a star overnight.”

“Well, it didn’t happen the one afternoon I was on stage,” said Katie with feeling. “What about you, Nick, what do you do?”

Danny didn’t reply immediately, partly because no one except his probation officer had ever asked him that question. “I used to be a soldier,” he said.

“My brother’s a soldier,” said Charlotte. “I’m worried that he might be sent to Iraq. Have you ever served there?”

Danny tried to recall the relevant entries in Nick’s diary.

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