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I saw a small bar with a scattering of trendies in it and I nodded towards it.
‘Want to have a quiet drink, just the two of us, like a date?’ I asked, teasing him, which was a fair effort given my mind was racing a million miles an hour, but I wanted to slow him down and sit and talk about this.
‘Will you come home with me afterwards?’ he asked as if we didn’t live together.
‘Maybe.’
‘Those odds will do,’ he grinned and led me across the road. We sat on a bench seat out the front and ordered a drink from the waiter.
‘Why didn’t you tell him you’d think about it at least?’ I asked. ‘Give it some serious thought.’
‘Cathy, I’d be doing it for you, not me. We don’t need the money. We own our place thanks to Dad; we’re doing what we love. Why would I do it?’
‘Bigger picture stuff here,’ I said and tried to make Heath rethink the offer. I tried to stay calm and not sound hysterical or pushy when I really wanted to shake him. ‘The best and the worst thing about being on the stage is that nobody knows us unless they are theatre junkies and even then, we’re only talking local crowds,’ I said. ‘Sure, people in our village know us, we’ve lived there long enough that they know we are actors. If they read the reviews or go to London or nearby theatres to see us in plays, they’ll give us a pat on the back, but otherwise, we’re kind of anonymous.’
I stopped talking while the waiter delivered our drinks and Heath paid. Then Heath raised his glass and we toasted again to good health and great roles – one of our regular toasts.
‘Anyway,’ I continued, keeping him on track, ‘Imagine the size of the audience you could reach by acting in film and the profile you could build – hundreds of thousands. And if you wanted to return to the stage after making a couple of films, imagine the appeal that would have to stage producers and the audience you could pull in. You could pick and choose your stage roles!’ That was a brilliant point, we both knew it.
He sat and thought about that for a while. Good, at least I got through to him. I kept quiet and watched the passing parade of night dwellers.
Then he shook his head and said, ‘Nuh, I would be miserable. I’d ruin his movie; I’d be a pain in the ass to work with. You’ve got to know your limitations, Cathy. But you,Wyldegirl, you’d be fantastic on the big screen. I mentioned you to him.’
Well, that’s the dream to be on the big screen, if I ever got picked up.
‘Did you? Thanks,’ I said, half enthused and half devastated. If Edgar wanted me, he would have asked for me, and now I know for sure he doesn’t.
‘How did he take it?’ I asked.
Heath shrugged. ‘I don’t know the guy but I think he was seriously pissed off – I don’t think anyone has ever turned him down before.’
‘Yeah, well who would, except you,’ I said. ‘There are established actors out there throwing themselves at Edgar, and he offers a guy on the stage that hardly anyone has heard of a role in his next movie and that guy blows him off.’
We looked at each other and then we burst out laughing. It was so funny that it was tragic. I hyperventilated every time I thought about it. Later, I would come to realise that Edgar didn’t take being turned down well … not at all.
*****
Entertainment Weekly
RUMOUR FILE:
Stage actor turns down film director
Rumour has it that Cordelia Lewis’ production ofCat on a Hot Tin Roof(its season just finished at the Apollo) had several VIP guests in the closing night audience –film director, Edgar Linton (Lost in Hate; The Journey) and his supermodel sibling, Isabella.
The rumour mill is in full swing as Linton and stage actor Heath Earnshaw were seen talking in earnest and our sources tell us that Earnshaw turned down a role in Linton’s next film. Now there’s a man who loves to tread the boards!
Or is there more to it? Earnshaw and theWyldegirl, fellow actor, Catherine Earnshaw, are an item and perhaps a stage director has cast them in a future production as lovers on stage as well?
Chapter 5– The separation
Now…
After reading the salubrious opening night reviews for our latest production,Henry VI,and after great love-making, we walked to the village for breakfast basking in our contentment. The morning was crisp and the walk beautiful and peaceful. No one was around. We crossed over the small waterfalls, along the foot-worn track enjoying the green surrounds. The sun was out but it was chilly; the moors were unpredictable – I’ve had sun, rain and treacherous wind all in one long journey.
I was so busy watching where I put my feet because the earth was slippery that I ran into Heath who had stopped in front of me and I hadn’t noticed.
He straightened me up. ‘Remember hiding here that time when Dad went out andyourbrother threatened to kill me?’ Heath grinned like it was a big joke.
