Short Story
BOUNCING BACK
T
Jenny Campbell, Sherborne Scribblers
he first night reviews were savage; far worse than the cast had anticipated. ‘Not since Adelaide Bingham’s ‘Juliet’ have I witnessed a more lacklustre performance,’ wrote one theatre critic. ‘Time this Lady Windermere hung up her fan for good!’ penned another. And, so on and so on… ‘She’ll never recover from this,’ said Brenda Braithwaite, with just a tad too much relish for Lottie’s liking. Brenda was the young prompt and understudy to Margo Sylvester, the leading lady. ‘Course she will,’ said Lottie, an unlikely Duchess of Berwick. ‘Like one of them bloomin’ boomerangs our Margo is. Trust me, I’ve known her for years and she always bounces back.’ ‘So why has she locked herself in her dressing room and not spoken to any of us? She may be the star, but I think we deserve an explanation for last night.’ Lottie ignored the remark. ‘What I don’t understand, Brenda, is what spooked her all of a sudden? I mean, right up until the interval, she was giving one of her best performances – better than any Redgrave or dear old Dame Sybil in her heyday – and the next, it was if she had seen a ghost. Did you notice anything from down there in the pit?’ ‘Who, me? No,’ murmured Brenda. She had been applying another coat of mascara and was admiring the effect in the mirror. ‘Perhaps she’s getting a touch of the dementias, forgetting her lines like that.’ ‘You watch your tongue, madam! Our Margo never forgets her lines. No, something happened last night and I mean to find out what it is.’ A loud tap on the dressing room door, accompanied by a cheery ‘Final call, ladies!’ signalled curtain up time. ‘Oh, well. Once more unto the breach,’ said Lottie, stubbing out her fag in an old metal ashtray. ‘I’ll catch you in a minute,’ said Brenda as she gathered up her script. But Lottie was already out of earshot, joining other cast members making their way backstage. ‘Have you seen Margo, yet?’ she whispered to Lord Darlington. But he merely shook his head and raised his eyes heavenward with hands in prayer. The lights in-house dimmed, the curtain went up and every other member of the
126 | Sherborne Times | April 2021
