Author(s): Barbara Ewing

NZ Fiction

The life of an actress is never dull. But what happens when you reach fifty? If you're an actor, the work pours in; if you're an actress, suddenly the wrinkles start showing and your agent stops calling. So it seems to this group of thespians, now all in their fifties, meeting for a drama-school reunion. There's Juliet, beautiful, brittle star of the stage, Pauline, a good actress in her own right but often overshadowed by her ebullient actor husband Anthony; blowsy, sexy soap start Molly; the three wise monkeys Emmy Lou, Franny and dear old Harry; sweet Izzy and Terence Blue, Hollywood superstar, heart-throb extraordinaire. But age doesn't wipe out desire, ambition or memory. So when the celebrations culminate in an accusation of rape, the past comes flooding back and the present takes extraordinary and unexpected turns.