The Rehearsal

An engaging new novel about love, on-stage and off

In the spring of 1971, Will Bartlett, an ambitious director at a small resident theatre, has an idea: he will invite his cast of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to his country farm for a month, giving them the opportunity of "becoming" their characters, and enhancing the realistic atmosphere of his next production. Will's family grudgingly agrees to his sudden change of plan, but events and personalities rapidly spiral out of his control. The cast of nine men and one woman is already unevenly balanced, but the situation is made even worse when Melinda--the woman playing the part of Curley's Wife--fails to turn up at the farm as expected. Will's wife, Myra, takes the role, although she has not been on stage since their daughter, Beth, was born. Sixteen-year-old Beth is furious, having already decided that the part should be hers. When the self-obsessed Will remains oblivious to the problems between Myra and Beth, as well as the increasing distance between himself and his wife, Myra finds herself looking at her husband's best friend in a new light. The tension grows between members of Will's family, and the other actors find themselves drawn into a complex tangle of relationships, leading them to question not only how well they know each other, but also how well they know themselves.

Dettagli