'She was a member of the Malvern Repertory Company for three years after she left drama school and played a fair amount then. Less in recent years.'

'And the first of these – which she threw away – came when she was playing Lady Macbeth. What happened?'

'The first one was upsetting, but she told no one about it. Thought it was an isolated bit of malice. She says she can't remember what it said, only that it had the drawing of a coffin. Then a second came and a third and fourth. During the third week of the season my wife kept breaking down and had to be continually prompted. On the Saturday she ran off the stage during the Second Act and her understudy had to take over. It's all a matter of confidence. If you think you're going to dry up – drying is the theatrical jargon I believe – then you dry. She was able to return to the part after a week but it was a struggle to get through the six weeks. After that she was due to appear at Brighton in a revival of one of those thirties murder mysteries, the sort where the ingenue is called Bunty, the hero is Clive and all the men wear long tennis flannels and keep dashing in and out of french windows. Curious affair. Not exactly her kind of part, she's a classical actress, but there aren't a lot of opportunities for middle-aged women. Too many good actresses chasing too few parts, so they tell me. Same thing happened. The first quotation appeared on the morning the play opened and they came at regular intervals thereafter. The play came off after four weeks and my wife's performance may have had something to do with it. She thought so. I'm not so sure. It was a stupid plot, couldn't make sense of if myself. Clarissa didn't act again until she accepted a part in Webster's The White Devil, at Nottingham, Victoria something or other.' 'Vittoria Corombona.'

'Was that it? I was in New York for ten days and didn't see it. But the same thing happened.