West End Boys West End Girls

Francine slips into her silks, cut high above her pubic line, revealing skin she had shaved close that morning in her cast iron bath. She enjoys the preparation before the shows, the make up and the costume. She deliberately applies her paint, delineating the face she wants to show from the face she owns. It is not the identity she was born with, for under the foundation are scars from the plastic surgery. In the accident, it was her nose that was the main point of impact. The ear has been repaired, but she is conscious of the damage. She angles her head when she meets others, thus hiding the deformity. Those in the car with her were not so fortunate. Her sister died a week later without regaining any recall, while her mother and father were killed outright. Francine survived and for the past decade she has been alone in the world. It is seven o’clock. Within the Palais de Rouge, a small, non-exclusive club in the side streets of the Left Bank of Paris, Francine sits at her dressing table, while on stage the company have been rehearsing a new parade sequence. She has a new frock to be presented alongside the expensive scenery. In the end parade, it is the costume and her breasts that the audience will be watching with interest and she will play to that audience. Her face, however beautiful, will not appeal, for the clientele in the club are no better than voyeurs, and she is little more than meat offered to them. Although Francine is the eleventh richest woman in France, she has rejected the world of her wealth and used that wealth for other pursuits. Since her twenty-first birthday, she has been wholly responsible for her financial situation and used her money to establish a foothold in artistic circles. The executor of her late parents’ estate and her personal advisor, has been impressed by her abilities to handle great amounts of money, but has concerns over where those funds are going. She has invested in this club as well as managing estates in Paris and Mustique. Soon she will add a residence in London to her portfolio. Her guardian thinks that while property is a good investment, theatrical productions are not such a solid guarantee of return. Francine paints the final line to her face and then deftly lifts the costume onto her shoulders. The dress has been cut out to allow her breasts to fall tidily to either side of the bodice and she applies some rouge and glitter. She is wealthy and yet she chooses to work in the chorus line, in a production that is little more than a brothel with a stage. Being orphaned at a young age was her tragedy. Her family, wealthy Parisians lived a good life, too good a life, for the expensive fast car in which they were travelling stopped all too suddenly. It took the parents and one of the girls to a premature grave and left one child to grow up rich, yet alone. Now grown up, Francine has re-invented herself as a dancer and showgirl, each night facing an audience who know nothing of her history. Her guardian, who saw the girl hold his coat tails for advice, now sees her turned into a confident woman, her place settled in an industry of her choosing and her whole life ahead of her. The press have been kept at a distance by her guardian and a discreet veil has been pulled across the behaviours of this errant heiress and her new interests, in the way only French society can maintain. If the audiences knew who was dancing for them each night, they would marvel that she could integrate so easily. She is the eleventh richest woman in France, but has no interest in her birth right. There is a knock at the door. She has left instructions with the management that only a few select visitors are allowed to disturb her before the show. The knocks grow louder and the handle swivels, controlled by whoever feels that they have rights to her private domain. She calls in her Parisian tones to the person behind the door to wait, while she wraps a silk shawl around her shoulders to hide her modesty. ‘Francine, open the door’, comes the voice of the man outside. ‘Wait Julian!’ she finishes powdering herself and slips the key in the ancient lock to allow him to join her. He is in his early thirties and smartly dressed in a garish suit that matches his luminescent glasses. Julian is not her lover. As the son of her guardian, he has inveigled his way into her life, assisting her and advising her, sometimes against the wishes of his father, on matters of spending her wealth. He has a degree in French law and works, without enthusiasm, in his father’s successful practice in Paris. ‘We have found a theatre,’ he said ‘I think I shall visit London this week.’ Francine lifts the corner of her mouth, acknowledging Julian’s endeavours. Under her instruction, he has begun negotiations with London producer, Michael Leighton, to take her money and spend it on a new conceptual musical. ‘Let me see the figures,’ she commands. She has been waiting for this news. This is her chance to step out of the shadows and conquer the International theatres. He presents her with the documents and she scans them, quickly absorbing the basics. Francine has plans to mount her own production and in secret has been building a project around her latest lover, Alessandro. Originally from Brazil, her new beau has travelled extensively throughout Europe trading as an illusionist. His reputation has grown since taking up a residency at the Palais de Rouge and he has become something of a phenomenon in the Parisian club scene. Skilful and eloquent in many languages, the magician can charm prince and pauper alike and then make best of friends of them all and it was this charm that attracted Francine. She studied his first performance, and after watching him defy science with his illusions, called him to her dressing room, for a personal demonstration. Their courtship was swift, as she was captivated by his performance on and off stage. Francine’s financial influence over the club ensured that Alessandro had a future in her domain. Although she plays only minor roles in the show, she is a major shareholder in this club and by using her influence to nurture the young magician, has arranged for Alessandro to receive the correct publicity and attention. This was a disappointment for Julian, who had known Francine all her life sharing her interests in the Parisian theatrical underworld. With Alessandro in the picture, Julian’s influence over the young heiress became marginalized and he ceased to be her confidant. ‘I want to get dressed,’ says Francine handing back the paperwork half read. ‘Go to England. Do it whenever you can, make it happen’.