“I’m doubly appreciative because I know free time is a scarcity when you’re in the middle of a performance run. When we announced you would be stopping by the studio this morning, we had a lot of interest on Twitter about what it’s like to work on the West End. Can you tell us a bit about that, what it’s like behind-the-scenes? What does the average day look like for a principal player?”
Sadie and Will fielded that one, jumping in with a pack of PR-friendly lies that made the theatres sound like something out of an Enid Blyton book. All jolly midnight feasts and togetherness. As opposed to a hard, professional grind and a social atmosphere that could be like navigating a snake pit. If one of them came out with a smarmy “There’s no ‘I’ in team,” she was pulling a Richard and walking out.
The questions continued, with the PR puppets continuing to supply most of the answers. Sadie had a habit of inserting little side remarks even when Tara directly addressed someone else, so as to keep herself in the shot. Lainie kept a smile on her face and wished she were back at work. At the actual Metronome, not the sunshine-and-rainbows My Little Pony version Will was spinning.
For the first five minutes, Tara kept the interview focused on the performances. It was obviously polite opening filler, since anyone actually interested in the plots of the plays could look them up in five seconds on Wikipedia. Lainie waited, cynically and on edge, for the inevitable.
They came back from another ad break, and Tara’s smile turned syrupy.
Here we go.
“I imagine things can become fairly intimate,” Tara said, her eyes moving meaningfully between the two couches, “when you’re working so closely together. And little birds have been Tweeting that there’re a few love stories happening off-script, so to speak.”
“Have they?” Sadie couldn’t have looked more coy if she’d put a finger to pursed lips and gazed wordlessly into the distance. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Jack’s knee. “I try not to look at social media too much.”
Richard raised his eyes to the ceiling, and Lainie bit back a smile. Stress was bubbling at the base of her throat, and it really wanted to emerge as a nervous giggle.
“You don’t find it raises an issue, having relationships in what is, after all, your workplace?” Tara’s voice was a little sharper behind the sugary gloss. Lainie would have been interested to know what she was like behind closed doors, or in the opinions of the studio interns.
“As you said, it’s a workplace. We’re professionals, and we don’t bring our personal lives into the job.” Sadie crossed her long legs and leaned back, smiling at Jack. He looked uncomfortable. Maybe he wasn’t sure how to act when Sadie wasn’t actually plastered to his face. “I think it’s fairly natural that actors fall in love. You spend so many hours together, and you have something fundamental in common, which is always a strong beginning.” She shrugged and smiled. Lainie was going to have to revise her opinion of Sadie’s acting skills, because she was almost likable in this persona. “Add in a strong dose of chemistry, and, well...”
“And I suppose it doesn’t hurt when you’re acting out love scenes every night,” Tara said, with a knowing smirk.
Sadie laughed. “It’s only acting, of course, but—well, let’s just say it can be more fun with certain people.”
“But potentially risky, I would think, if you hit a bump in the road offstage and have to maintain a consistent performance?” Tara looked directly at Lainie and Will, but again it was Sadie who piped up.
“I imagine it could be a challenge, but I think anyone serious about their career would be able to put the job first. I can’t speak from experience, though.” She stroked a circle on Jack’s leg with her fingertips. “This is new territory for me. Meeting Jack was an...extraordinary experience for me. I can’t imagine making a habit of dating my costars.” Demurely, she looked up between her lashes. Straight at Lainie.
Zing.
Lainie could imagine the pings as the #WMULondon Tweets picked up their momentum.
Tara’s smile was more genuine now. She must have visions of high ratings dancing in her head. Pushing back her hair, she turned to the Metronome couch. “At the risk of being shockingly tactless,” she said hopefully, “I understand things might have been a little...challenging at the Metronome recently, from a personal perspective.”
“In what way?” Richard asked politely.
Tara’s pause lasted only a fraction of a second, but she definitely hesitated. Straightening her back, she smiled again, narrowly. “Your recent breakup, Elaine and Will, was fairly well publicised. You’ve clearly managed to carry on in a professional capacity, but it can’t have been easy. Especially when things have taken a...shall we say, unexpected new direction?” Her gaze went pointedly to Lainie’s and Richard’s entwined hands, and then returned to Lainie’s face. “There’s been a lot of speculation about your new relationship, Elaine, particularly when it’s—well, fishing in the same pond, to put it bluntly. How are you dealing with that? And you, Will? It must be difficult for you.”