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The Actresses
At a drama school reunion, recriminations spiral into an accusation of rape.
They all met again at the Drama School the Hollywood celebrity, the out-of-work soap star, the understudy, the Shakespearian hero.
Thirty-six years ago, they dreamed of the great parts awaiting them. What they did not know was that the parts would soon dry up, for the actresses. Because they had stopped being young.
once an actress, always an actress and on this hot, summer's day it becomes clear that age does not wipe out ambition. Or desire. Or memory. Or love. So when the Reunion culminates in an accusation of rape that dominates every newspaper in the country, the past – sweet, cruel, tragic – comes flooding back, and the actresses become the stars of the story.
Perceptive, shocking, gripping and wise, this could only have been written by somebody who has been there.
They all met again at the Drama School the Hollywood celebrity, the out-of-work soap star, the understudy, the Shakespearian hero.
Thirty-six years ago, they dreamed of the great parts awaiting them. What they did not know was that the parts would soon dry up, for the actresses. Because they had stopped being young.
once an actress, always an actress and on this hot, summer's day it becomes clear that age does not wipe out ambition. Or desire. Or memory. Or love. So when the Reunion culminates in an accusation of rape that dominates every newspaper in the country, the past – sweet, cruel, tragic – comes flooding back, and the actresses become the stars of the story.
Perceptive, shocking, gripping and wise, this could only have been written by somebody who has been there.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Barbara Ewing
26 books58 followersBarbara Ewing is a UK-based actress, playwright and novelist. Born in New Zealand, she graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BA in English and Maori before moving to Britain in 1965 to train as an actress at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London.
She made her film debut in the horror film 'Torture Garden' (1967) for Amicus Productions, followed by 'Dracula Has Risen from the Grave' (1968) with Christopher Lee for Hammer Films. Both movies were directed by Freddie Francis. Her other films included 'The Reckoning' (1969), 'Eye of the Needle' (1981), 'Haunters of the Deep' (1984) and 'When the Whales Came' (1989).
The television role for which she is best known is that of Bradley Hardacre's mistress Agnes Fairchild in the Granada Television comedy series 'Brass', alongside Timothy West (1982–84). In 1986, she played Treen Dudgeon in the short-lived BBC series 'Comrade Dad', alongside George Cole and Doris Hare. In 1978 she had appeared in an episode of Euston Films' The Sweeney (S4-E7 'Bait').
Her 1989 one-woman show, 'Alexandra Kollontai', about the only woman in Lenin's cabinet in 1917 was a great hit in London, and at the Edinburgh and Sydney Festivals.
More recent TV appearances have included episodes of 'Casualty', 'Doctors' and 'Holby City' on the BBC, and 'The Bill and Peak Practice' on ITV, as well as appearances in various adaptations of Ruth Rendell mysteries.
She made her film debut in the horror film 'Torture Garden' (1967) for Amicus Productions, followed by 'Dracula Has Risen from the Grave' (1968) with Christopher Lee for Hammer Films. Both movies were directed by Freddie Francis. Her other films included 'The Reckoning' (1969), 'Eye of the Needle' (1981), 'Haunters of the Deep' (1984) and 'When the Whales Came' (1989).
The television role for which she is best known is that of Bradley Hardacre's mistress Agnes Fairchild in the Granada Television comedy series 'Brass', alongside Timothy West (1982–84). In 1986, she played Treen Dudgeon in the short-lived BBC series 'Comrade Dad', alongside George Cole and Doris Hare. In 1978 she had appeared in an episode of Euston Films' The Sweeney (S4-E7 'Bait').
Her 1989 one-woman show, 'Alexandra Kollontai', about the only woman in Lenin's cabinet in 1917 was a great hit in London, and at the Edinburgh and Sydney Festivals.
More recent TV appearances have included episodes of 'Casualty', 'Doctors' and 'Holby City' on the BBC, and 'The Bill and Peak Practice' on ITV, as well as appearances in various adaptations of Ruth Rendell mysteries.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 28, 2018
"THE ACTRESSES" by Barbara Ewing (herself an actress, as well as a writer) is one of the most entertaining and insightful novels I've read so far this year.
The story begins in London during the 1990s at a reunion there - on a hot, summer day - of the members of the London Academy of Dramatic Art, Class of 1959. Among them is an actor from Wales who had gone on to become a Hollywood star and world celebrity, thrice married, and a real 'babe magnet'; an out-of-work soap opera star; a celebrated Shakespearean actor with a overwhelming conceit that comes from having a widely recognized talent, as well as being a chronic philanderer in a longstanding marriage to a fellow classmate who felt forced to put her promising acting career aside in order to be a good, supportive wife and mother to their 3 children; a lifelong understudy; 2 struggling middle-aged actresses who are firm friends who maintain together the hope of being "discovered" for their talent at long last; a gay actor who made a niche for himself as a character actor; a celebrated actress of stage and screen with her own painful secret from long ago; and a gray-haired woman, whose promising career as the youngest of the Class of 1959 and unforgettable husky voice in the early 1960s faded to nothing too soon, and she - for mysterious reasons - lapsed into obscurity til re-emerging to attend this reunion.
As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear to the reader that "age does not wipe out ambition. Or memory. Or love." Controversy ensues shortly after the reunion in which one of the famous members of the Class of 1959 becomes embroiled in a criminal case that attracts a hornet's nest of notoriety from the media.
Even with the drama of the court case later in the year, what I also found utterly fascinating was the author's fleshing out of the lives of all the main and supporting characters in this novel. I can't help but have a deep admiration and respect for anyone who goes to acting school and on to pursue an acting career. For such a career offers few, if any guarantees. And for the women who become actresses, the older they become, the more the likelihood that their opportunities for any work in the profession --- much less, rewarding work --- dry up. Molly McKenzie, the out-of-work soap opera star in her mid-50s, is a case in point. Early in the novel, in an introspective moment, she admits to herself that 'I was quite mad to ask to be written out of a crap telly soap where I was playing a well-paid glamorous part, thinking I'd get more serious work. What is 'serious' work? In my profession all work is serious. There is almost no work for women of my age. Men in their fifties are in their prime, women are old: end of story.'
This is a novel that keeps on giving, and when I reached its end, I was reluctant to leave because I became so immersed in the rich and -- for some of the characters - sad, tragic lives of the Class of 1959. For anyone going to the beach or a summer home for R&R, I highly recommend reading "THE ACTRESSES."
The story begins in London during the 1990s at a reunion there - on a hot, summer day - of the members of the London Academy of Dramatic Art, Class of 1959. Among them is an actor from Wales who had gone on to become a Hollywood star and world celebrity, thrice married, and a real 'babe magnet'; an out-of-work soap opera star; a celebrated Shakespearean actor with a overwhelming conceit that comes from having a widely recognized talent, as well as being a chronic philanderer in a longstanding marriage to a fellow classmate who felt forced to put her promising acting career aside in order to be a good, supportive wife and mother to their 3 children; a lifelong understudy; 2 struggling middle-aged actresses who are firm friends who maintain together the hope of being "discovered" for their talent at long last; a gay actor who made a niche for himself as a character actor; a celebrated actress of stage and screen with her own painful secret from long ago; and a gray-haired woman, whose promising career as the youngest of the Class of 1959 and unforgettable husky voice in the early 1960s faded to nothing too soon, and she - for mysterious reasons - lapsed into obscurity til re-emerging to attend this reunion.
As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear to the reader that "age does not wipe out ambition. Or memory. Or love." Controversy ensues shortly after the reunion in which one of the famous members of the Class of 1959 becomes embroiled in a criminal case that attracts a hornet's nest of notoriety from the media.
Even with the drama of the court case later in the year, what I also found utterly fascinating was the author's fleshing out of the lives of all the main and supporting characters in this novel. I can't help but have a deep admiration and respect for anyone who goes to acting school and on to pursue an acting career. For such a career offers few, if any guarantees. And for the women who become actresses, the older they become, the more the likelihood that their opportunities for any work in the profession --- much less, rewarding work --- dry up. Molly McKenzie, the out-of-work soap opera star in her mid-50s, is a case in point. Early in the novel, in an introspective moment, she admits to herself that 'I was quite mad to ask to be written out of a crap telly soap where I was playing a well-paid glamorous part, thinking I'd get more serious work. What is 'serious' work? In my profession all work is serious. There is almost no work for women of my age. Men in their fifties are in their prime, women are old: end of story.'
This is a novel that keeps on giving, and when I reached its end, I was reluctant to leave because I became so immersed in the rich and -- for some of the characters - sad, tragic lives of the Class of 1959. For anyone going to the beach or a summer home for R&R, I highly recommend reading "THE ACTRESSES."
March 5, 2018
One of my absolute all time favorite books, it was entirely a mistake I even read it at all. I was at a secondhand book shop, worked out how much I had to spend, and reached for a battered copy of 'The Horse Whisperer' to add to my total. Little did I know that as I added it to my pile of books, I had in fact grabbed this book instead, and I was initially disappointed when I got back to the place we were staying (we were on holiday, and there was no chance of going back to the seaside town I'd bought this book from at the time) But eventually I did read it, and the story threw me. It was so...personal. The characters histories, the sex scenes, the imagery. I was around 14, and I think maybe the Horse Whisperer would have been more appropriate. Most people seem to assume that there is nothing 'inappropriate' in a book- in fact to this day I talk to other adults who act surprised that a book can even have a sex scene in it! so no one thought it odd to see a 14 year old on the beach reading this little gem.
I kept it a secret how much this book taught me, because not too long after that I read Jean M Auel's "Earth Children" series and that completed my education. Finally I knew what other kids were talking about when they made dirty jokes, so instead of just laughing along I actually understood. I'm not saying a 14 year old should read this, but I did, and I grew up reading it a few more times. I can say at 24 that I love it as much now as I did then. I still adore the Terrence Blue storyline, I still love the old romances and flings. I'n fact, I love the new romances and flings too. I haven't read this one for over a year, but maybe it's time to go back to it.
I kept it a secret how much this book taught me, because not too long after that I read Jean M Auel's "Earth Children" series and that completed my education. Finally I knew what other kids were talking about when they made dirty jokes, so instead of just laughing along I actually understood. I'm not saying a 14 year old should read this, but I did, and I grew up reading it a few more times. I can say at 24 that I love it as much now as I did then. I still adore the Terrence Blue storyline, I still love the old romances and flings. I'n fact, I love the new romances and flings too. I haven't read this one for over a year, but maybe it's time to go back to it.
August 7, 2022
Beautifully written. Full of glamour and scandal
March 31, 2018
First read this wonderful book when it was first released 20 years ago. Am amazed at how relevant it still is to-day. A group of drama students graduate from RADA in 1959. Thirty years later at their reunion the women discover that the men are still getting the top roles while they are reduced to starring in trashy movies and commercials. After the reunion an accusation of rape is made against one of the actors and all the students are forced to confront decisions made and secrets kept 30 years earlier. I loved this book first time round and it's still a terrific read.
September 1, 2012
I really love Barbara Ewing's Historical novels, to be honest this did nothing for me :(
April 12, 2018
Fabulous. Re-released after 20 years and so relevant
August 7, 2022
Beautiful
January 30, 2018
I enjoyed this, but not as much as Ewing's historical novels. There was a bit too much explicit sex in it for my middle-aged prudish taste - but having said that, it is all about 'Age and Desire', specifically in the fifty-something actresses of the title. The desire is for sexual relationships, yes, but also for work, for appreciation, for love and for justice. It did draw me in, and the characters, as always with Ewing, are painstakingly and beautifully drawn.
December 11, 2018
A trashy tale well told. Perfect fluffy fiction.
May 8, 2010
The story of a group of actors and actresses that graduated from drama school in 1959 and the events that took place after a class reunion, The Actresses is an enjoyable and easy to read book. The pace is gentle but sure and there are many poignant moments. I did feel though, perhaps due to the nature of the characters, that I was watching a play rather than being totally immersed in the narrative.
April 23, 2023
Easy to read but lots of inter-related characters and plot threads to keep track of. I admired the author's exploration of women facing upper middle age, which threatened to end their opportunities to do what they loved as performers. Some of the sex seemed gratuitously described, but the climactic rape trial was suspenseful, and resolutions to their messy lives gave most of the women happily ever after hope. Kinda trashy, kinda soapy, kinda rewarding reading.
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July 26, 2009great read!!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews