‘You mean he deliberately limited our publicity?’
‘Ooh, mustn’t say that. Might be slander. Let’s just say that most of Show-Off’s energies during the week of your opening went into Lanthorn Productions’ new musical at the King’s.’
‘But surely that’s criminal?’
‘Tut, tut, you mustn’t use words like that, Charles. When you’ve been dealing with theatre managements as long as I have, you come to realise that there’s a very thin dividing line between skilful dealing and what you choose to call crime. Paul Lexington wasn’t sufficiently experienced, so he ended up the wrong side of that line.’
‘Hmm. I wonder what’ll happen to him.’
‘Well, I think it’ll be a long time before he surfaces in the West End again. The Society of West End Theatre Managers’ll see to that.’
‘Yes, but I’ve somehow a feeling he’ll pop up again somewhere. That sort always finds someone new to believe them.’
‘True. Incidentally, Charles, Kate was saying the other day what a long time it is since we’ve seen you, and wouldn’t it be nice if you could come over for dinner one of these evenings. I said it’d be difficult because you d got the show, but now of course. .’
‘Yes. Sounds great.’
‘With Frances, of course. I mean, I gathered at that first night that you were back together again. You are, aren’t you?’
‘Well. . er. . not exactly.’
So what happened to them all in the weeks running up to Christmas?
Valerie Cass was convicted of killing Michael Banks, but the charge, to which she readily confessed, was manslaughter, and she was sentenced to three years in prison.
Lesley-Jane Decker landed a very good part in a television series about the Bloomsbury Group, which guaranteed her six months’ work and national recognition when the show hit the screens. She also, in her mother’s absence, got to know her father for the first time, and found she got on with him very well.
Alex Household spent two weeks in hospital and, when he came out. decided to give up acting and join a monastery dedicated to a pantheistic view of the universe.
Peter Hickton kept his cast up most nights rehearsing for the Prince’s Theatre, Taunton’s, annual pantomime, Babes in the Wood, in which Salome Search played a somewhat gnarled principal boy.
Paul Lexington, from his new base in Hull, set up a company called Pierre Productions, whose aim was to put Northern club comics into end-of-the-pier summer seasons.
Malcolm Harris, who had received no money from the production of The Hooded Owl except for the pittance of the long-lapsed option, went back to his school teaching. In his evenings he worked on a play about Mary, Queen of Scots, because his wife’s mother had read somewhere that costume drama was coming back.
Dottie Banks continued to entertain a stream of men in Hans Crescent. Then, to everyone’s surprise, she died of a drug overdose on Christmas Eve. She must have missed her husband more than she showed.
George Birkitt received the first scripts for a new series of Fly-Buttons and sent them back to the producer, complaining that his character hadn’t got enough lines. He also opened two supermarkets, which pleased him greatly. suggesting as it did that people were starting to think of him as a star.
Wallas Ward met a very nice black dancer at a party and settled down with him in Pimlico.
Frances Paris had an offer on the house in Muswell Hill. It was two thousand less than the asking price, but, because the housing market was depressed, and on the advice of her son-in-law, she accepted it.
And Charles Paris? He got drunk.