Page 40 of You Float My Boat

‘Yeah. You should totally have him rehearse lines with you,’ she hissed. ‘I thought you put it in your rules anyway.’

‘But that’s in public.’

‘So do it in private.’

It was as I took my phone back that I realized the incessant chatter in the theatre had dropped to almost silent, and I looked up to find Linus glaring at us.

‘If you two have finished your own meeting, can we get on with the one the rest of us have come here for?’

‘Sorry, Linus,’ mumbled Stella, and the pair of us immediately sat up straighter, a feat in itself considering Linus’ glare was usually considered withering at the very least. Every single person on the rows in front of us turned around to see who he was talking to, and it would have been hard to tell if Leo hadn’t stood up from the front and waved.

‘Ah there you are, Stella, hello. Glad I could persuade you to come and join in our merry show. Let’s chat after, okay?’

‘I hate him,’ she hissed.

I had to bite down on a loud laugh at the look of fury on Stella’s face, especially because even Linus seemedto take it as a warning not to call us out again. One loud clap of his hands and the attention of everyone in here was back on him.

‘Welcome. Welcome. Thank you all for joining us, and thank you for being part of the journey for Oxford University’s summer production ofTwelfth Night. This year promises to be a very exciting time for all of us, and it goes without saying that we are ecstatic to welcome award-winning actor, Leo Tavener, as Duke Orsino. It’s the first time in the history of Oxford productions that we’ve had an Oscar winner perform hereafterthey’ve won their award.’

Linus’ simpering grin was only made worse by the girlish giggle he let out as he looked down at the front row. Stella groaned as Leo jumped up again, turned and waved to everyone in the rows behind him, which only increased the already deafening cheering and whistles piercing the air.

‘You’re too kind, too kind. It’s my honour, and I’m so happy to be here. Don’t forget my door’s always open if you need advice of any kind. I was once a beginner too,’ he crowed before sitting down.

Cecily, who up until this point had been mostly quiet, while also staring at Leo, cleared her throat and removed the microphone from Linus’ hand.

‘Hello, everyone. I concur with Linus, this year is going to be the most exciting year yet. You’re all on the brink of something very special.’ She grinned, though I couldn’t tell if she was smiling because she was genuinely excited about the play or because she had a very obvious crush on Leo. ‘Now, without further ado, wewill announce the roles. Following this session, notices will be posted in the artists’ vestibule including back of house teams, rehearsal schedules and important dates for you to be aware of. Please do check it, and any changes we make will be emailed also.’

Everyone on the first three rows sat up straighter, the anticipation of finding out their parts buzzed like electricity throughout the theatre, especially when Leo jumped onto the stage to join Linus and Cecily.

‘Oh, hell no. If I get called, I’m not going up there.’

‘Good luck telling them that,’ I hissed back to Stella.

Cecily cleared her throat once more and looked down at her clipboard, then straight at the pair of us. A mischievous smirk quivered on her lip.

‘Starting with the supporting roles …’

Stella groaned loud enough that the group on the row two in front of us turned around.

‘The Sea Captain will be played by Simon Lamb, understudy James Barrell …’

‘Let’s save applause until the end, please. Otherwise, we’ll be here all day,’ cried Linus over a round of loud whooping and cheering.

My head fell back against the seat rest. By my calculation there would be at least ten minutes of Cecily talking, and Linus asking everyone to be quiet. The part of Hannah Smith as Washer Woman Three got an even bigger cheer.

Linus would combust at this rate. Somehow he managed to keep the excitement on a steady simmer until finally …finallywe were at the role I’d been crossing my fingers about for weeks.

‘The part of Viola will be played by Violet Brooks, understudy Sarah Josephs.’

‘Yes, Vi. I knew you would,’ Stella nudged me in the ribs, ‘well fucking done.’

Thankfully he made no indication for me to join the three of them on stage so I stayed put.

‘Olivia will be played by Stella McAdams, understudy Aditi Patel.’

I reached over and squeezed Stella’s hand, ‘Eeek. We did it Stel. This is going to be such an awesome summer.’

It took another thirty minutes for the rest of the production names to be read out, which included fifteen of Leo addressing the team again to assure everyone that he would be available twenty-four/seven for any and all acting advice people wanted, before excusing himself for another meeting. Following further congratulations, and after Cecily handed all the principal characters a thick folder containing the official schedule of rehearsal times for the next month, we finally escaped only to find it raining heavily outside.

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