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Overview
It is their first day at Drama Arts, and the nervous students huddled in a circle are told in no uncertain terms that here, unlike at any other drama school, they will be taught to Act. To Be. To exist in their own world on the stage. But outside is the real world-a pitiless, alluring place in which each of them in their most fervent dreams hopes to flourish and excel.
Nell, insecure and dumpy, wonders if she will ever be cast as anything other than the maid. She'll never compete, she knows, with the multitude of confident, long-legged beauties thronging the profession- most notably Charlie, whose effortless ascendance is nothing less than she expects. Meanwhile, Dan, ambitious and serious, has his sights fixed on the role of Hamlet, as well as on fiery, rebellious Jemma. Over the following decade, these young actors grapple with haphazard tours, illogical auditions, unobtainable agents, deluxe trailers, rocky relationships, and red-carpet premieres. This dazzling new novel from Esther Freud uncovers a world of ruthless ambition, uncertain alliances, and the many-sided holy grail of Success. Praise for Summer at Gaglow (A New York Times Notable Book): "A shrewd and absorbing novel, a near-seamless meshing of family feeling, history and imagination."-New York Times Praise for Love Falls: "Nobody else can write this well about the bravery and the sad wisdom of children. In a culture which dins with brashness and self-advertisement, attending to Esther Freud's still, truthful voice becomes not only a pleasure but a necessity."-Jonathan CoeCustomers Also Bought
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781608196906
- ISBN-10: 1608196909
- Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
- Publish Date: November 2011
- Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.64 pounds
- Page Count: 320
Related Categories
The dramatic life of the theatre
In her seventh novel, Lucky Break, Esther Freud draws on her own experience as a drama student and actress (and the wife of actor David Morrissey) to explore what it takes to pursue a life dedicated to acting. Her cast is a group of young men and women who meet on the first day at a prestigious (and pretentious) drama academy and stay connected over the next decade, even as their professional paths diverge.
Rather than focus on a single character, Freud throws her net wide, the better to explore the varied experiences of these potential thespians. The circle of friends includes plump and plain Nell, who worries that her looks will garner her nothing but small parts as the maid or best friend and grabs at the opportunity to play a penguin in a traveling children’s show. Charlie, whose exotic beauty easily wins her leading roles, finds her interest waning as she discovers new skills that have nothing to with her appearance. Perhaps the most ambitious of them all, Dan, chosen to play Hamlet while still in school, realizes success upon success, but all his accomplishments seem fragile, balanced against a future filled with unknowns. His wife Jemma never pursues her own dreams, finding that Dan’s victories demand sacrifices by the whole family.
Freud creates an atmosphere that is filled with the rich particulars of an actor’s life. Tense auditions, grasping agents, red carpet premieres and predatory directors dot the landscape of seedy pubs, dismal hotels and out-of-the-way location shoots. Freud is able to cast an equally sympathetic eye over all her characters, following their ups and downs with empathy and accuracy. When Nell wavers between two agents, the loyal worker toiling in the crowded office versus the glamorous professional behind the rosewood desk, we never sense Freud’s judgment despite the faint hint of satire.
Best of all, Freud captures the ebb and flow of luck, good and bad, and the literally life-changing effect it has on careers. Bad luck can be as simple and devastating as an outbreak of acne on the day of a shoot, and good luck as fortunate as simply picking up the right phone at the right time. That both occur is one of the many delights of this engaging novel.
The dramatic life of the theatre
In her seventh novel, Lucky Break, Esther Freud draws on her own experience as a drama student and actress (and the wife of actor David Morrissey) to explore what it takes to pursue a life dedicated to acting. Her cast is a group of young men and women who meet on the first day at a prestigious (and pretentious) drama academy and stay connected over the next decade, even as their professional paths diverge.
Rather than focus on a single character, Freud throws her net wide, the better to explore the varied experiences of these potential thespians. The circle of friends includes plump and plain Nell, who worries that her looks will garner her nothing but small parts as the maid or best friend and grabs at the opportunity to play a penguin in a traveling children’s show. Charlie, whose exotic beauty easily wins her leading roles, finds her interest waning as she discovers new skills that have nothing to with her appearance. Perhaps the most ambitious of them all, Dan, chosen to play Hamlet while still in school, realizes success upon success, but all his accomplishments seem fragile, balanced against a future filled with unknowns. His wife Jemma never pursues her own dreams, finding that Dan’s victories demand sacrifices by the whole family.
Freud creates an atmosphere that is filled with the rich particulars of an actor’s life. Tense auditions, grasping agents, red carpet premieres and predatory directors dot the landscape of seedy pubs, dismal hotels and out-of-the-way location shoots. Freud is able to cast an equally sympathetic eye over all her characters, following their ups and downs with empathy and accuracy. When Nell wavers between two agents, the loyal worker toiling in the crowded office versus the glamorous professional behind the rosewood desk, we never sense Freud’s judgment despite the faint hint of satire.
Best of all, Freud captures the ebb and flow of luck, good and bad, and the literally life-changing effect it has on careers. Bad luck can be as simple and devastating as an outbreak of acne on the day of a shoot, and good luck as fortunate as simply picking up the right phone at the right time. That both occur is one of the many delights of this engaging novel.