Page 76 of Such a Good Couple
Annie: The public are notoriously stupid … I wouldn’t trust them to vote in a dog show.
Maggie: Lol.
Annie: I feel really bad but I’m relying on Rachel to give me updates cuz I keep falling asleep the second I get home from work. The tiredness is insane, I can’t do anything, it’s cock-blocking my life!
Maggie: Ahh don’t worry, that passes. The second trimester is way easier. Do you know for definite how far along you are yet?
Annie: Going off the Provincetown date, maybe 12 weeks? Still can’t believe after nearly two years of trying, a bitta pre-cum did the job! Next week I’ll get final confirmation, scan is booked.
Maggie: And Conor?
Maggie frowned, watching Annie typing. Surely she’s bloody told him by now?
Annie: Maggie … I can SEE what face you’re making even through text. I’ll tell him in the next few days. I’m just enjoying me and Rachel being in our happy bubble right now.She’s taking such good care of me. We’re so excited.
We?Maggie thought. Before she could reply to question the wisdom of nesting with her friend, another message dropped in from Annie.
Annie: So how’s the project going?!
For a split-second Maggie had a jolt thinking Annie was referring to her ‘getting healthy’ project but of course she meant the work she’d tentatively started with the theatre project.
Maggie: Actually good, I feel like this idea has been building inside me all this time and so when I go to my office, it starts pouring out. It’s really evolved so fast. I have that Zoom tomorrow! It probably won’t lead to anything but you never know! At least this producer didn’t ignore me. I used my maiden name. I do not want anyone calling me a Nepo-Wife if anything actually happens with the show. Have to go get the girls from their horse-riding. Tell Conor!!!
The next morning Maggie raced through the obstacle course that was getting her two girls ready for school – they’d only just started back after the summer holidays. As she furiously plaited hair and reassured them about the new classroom they were still getting used to, her mind was elsewhere, ricocheting between her meeting with the producer Drew Schwartz that morning and Fionn’s arrival in the afternoon.
Once the girls were gone, she did a thorough sweep of the bedroom to make sure she hadn’t left anything incriminating in her usual hiding places. She binned a clutch of candy bars she’d forgotten were in her underwear drawer. She considered eating them but she’d started the day so well with a green juice andit was a Monday so she wasn’t allowed to purge. She also knew that if she started, there simply weren’t enough bars in the house to satisfy her – the floodgates would be open and she’d soon be down in the kitchen trying to sneak more food without Betty seeing. It would throw the whole day – she’d be too distracted with the thoughts of the next binge to focus on the meeting. No, no, no. Today was going to be a good day. A light lunch and a normal dinner with Fionn.
At 11 a.m., she settled herself at her desk with a peppermint tea and logged on to Zoom. It was just after lunchtime in New York, which she felt was a promising time for Drew to have scheduled the meeting. If he’d suggested later in the afternoon, she’d be feeling way less optimistic. The last meeting of the day was never a good sign.
She clicked the Zoom link of the Google invite and in seconds he appeared on her screen.
‘Maggie!’ Drew was New York Attractive, meaning he still had his original teeth and a pleasingly dishevelled look. He was probably around fifty. ‘So good to meet!’
‘You too.’ Maggie smiled, trying to hide her nerves.
‘Thank you so much for meeting me so quickly. I know it was too short notice for your agent to join us but also it’s nice to have a more informal chat before the business side starts!’
Maggie had lied about having an agent so she just nodded, smiling.The business side STARTS?
She quickly quelled the elation. In America, showbiz people could be very intense – they’d claim to love you and love your idea and then, out of nowhere, ghost you. Maggie had no frame of reference for Americantheatrepeople but she knew she should manage her expectations. She tried to dial down the wattage of her smile.
‘So,’ Drew clasped his hands together, ‘I thought it’d be good to start by telling you a bit about Peek Show Productions. I’massuming, since you’re west coast, you might not have caught any of our shows before.’
‘I’ve heard amazing things,’ Maggie supplied, trying to sound interested but not off-puttingly eager. ‘And I saw clips from the adaptation ofThe End of Alice. That sounded like some show, congratulations on the Tony.’
‘Ha! Yes, thank you.’ Drew grinned. ‘It just goes to show that a little controversy can sometimes help.’
‘Yeah … it’s some story. I read the book years ago. I’m sure it took a lot of convincing of investors to get it on a stage.’
‘Well, theatre, in my opinion, is the last real arena for challenging narratives. Cinema is a sanitised marketing machine now. Art has been commodified into oblivion. I think when it comes to making theatre … everyone kind of knows we’re gonna be making a loss so why not just say “fuck it” and make the work we want to make!’
‘Yeah absolutely …’ Maggie agreed, in what she hoped sounded like the knowing voice of an insider. She was self-conscious about how long she’d been out of this world.
‘So a modernMedeain Hollywood? I have to say we loved the pitch and, of course, the sample scenes you sent. Where did the idea come from? It’s so simple and yet feels so fresh!’
‘Well,’ Maggie stole a glance down at the notes she’d positioned in front of her, ‘I guess I find the Hollywood wives to be intriguing. How do they cope with what their husbands are doing at work all day? The scrutiny. The rumours. Power corrupts and infidelity in Hollywood is just rife. Plus, the whole trading in for younger women is practically a Hollywood rite of passage for male stars. The parallels withMedeafeel so obvious but when I went to see if anyone had done anything with the idea, there was nothing.’
Drew nodded. ‘I loved the echoes of self-mutilation in the cosmetic procedures that your Medea undergoes to try andkeep Jason. And the translation of Medea’s obsessive passion in Euripides’ version to the monumental self-relegation that women of hugely successful men must do to further their partners’ careers. Such urgent themes. So incredible that a play from the fourth century BC is still so relevant. This is a seriously exciting prospect, Maggie.’
