Golden Pavements

As a child I loved 'The Swish of the Curtain' and always wondered what happened next... So I was delighted to discover that Pamela Brown had written a series about the Blue Doors.
Whilst this book wouldn't stand on its own, the story rattles along, and I was absolutely hooked. There are no plot or character subtleties to worry about, the story is told in an episodic way. But what carries it is the detail and enthusiasm for acting and theatre craft, and the characters' drive to succeed.
I wonder what younger readers will make of the story - it is very much a period piece, but I think that the simplicity with which the story is told make it accessible to even less confident readers. And although the characters are young adults, there's nothing in the book that would make it beyond much younger readers.

My thanks to Steerforth Press/Pushkin Press and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Golden Pavements is the third in the Blue Door series of books by Pamela Brown set around a group of children (three sets of siblings) interested in theatre, who are now training to be professional actors, and aspire to make their amateur theatre, the Blue Door Theatre, in their hometown of Fenchester, professional. While I say this is the third book, the events of this book start before the second book, Maddy Alone, and continue past the events of that book. So when we start, Nigel, the eldest has spent some time at the British Actors Guild Dramatic School while the others (with the exception of Maddy who is still twelve) have just come in for their first term. Soon enough they are absorbed in theatre life, with things to be learnt and shows to be put on, but alongside also having to deal with the reality of living life on their own on meagre allowances, and having to penny pinch or take up jobs (even against rules) to make up where they’re falling short. We see them in their time at the Academy, their tours and summer jobs, the time that Maddy joins them, and finally as they leave the Academy and set off to set up their own repertory company. At times, we are following all of the children, while at others, one or more of them as they take up jobs (like Lyn and Vicky serving as assistant stage managers in a small repertory company for ten weeks). They have fun but the work is hard as well, and some lessons of life they must learn the hard way.

This instalment in the series focused on the experiences of young actors (or producers, or stage managers, or anyone connected with the theatre) when they first begin to translate their dreams into reality. The children’s amateur productions or experience helps them but working in a professional setting is a completely different cup of tea. While this doesn’t discourage any of our young heroes and heroines, they experience both highs and lows, good performances and bad ones, tough days and golden ones. Probably written on the basis of the author’s own experiences, this feels very real (But she managed to achieve this effect with the first book in the series as well, which she wrote when 14 or 15, what had me especially in awe was that she could out forth the ‘grown ups’’ point of view very fairly as well)—the kind of experiences they undergo, their hopes, aspirations, decisions that they take, and I had great fun going along with them. I haven’t read very many books in a theatre setting, but this one while not going into every little detail gives one a fairly good idea of the workings of the process, of the hard work that goes into it, and of the fact that despite all of this, the result may not always be a happy one. I also found all of the children very likeable (as in the previous instalments), and even when they don’t take the right decisions on everything or are veering off course, one can’t fault them for it because these are mistakes that anyone can (and would probably) make. This was a fast-paced, endearing, and absorbing read, and I enjoyed myself very very much reading it.

Pamela Brown was a British writer, actor, and producer of children’s television programmes. The town of Fenchester is based on her own town of Colchester. Very passionate about the theatre, she and her friends put up plays as children, and she went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (using her earnings from The Swish of the Curtain).

This book was first published in 1947, and is being republished by Pushkin Press on 25 June 2019.

This book covers the same time period as Maddy Alone, but shows what the rest of the group was up to while Maddy was becoming a film sensation. The six young adults are getting on wonderfully at the acting academy (definitely not RADA, oh no!), but the book doesn’t make them all prodigies. They have to work for their success, and they also have to work for their money. A lot of the book explores their jobs as they gain experience in the theatre, and I particularly enjoyed seeing Lyn and Vicky working in a small repertory company. It’s brilliant to see the determination of all the characters to make their dreams come true, and as in the first book, there’s a real sense of camaraderie and friendship and cosiness that suffuses the book.

"The third book in the Blue Door series, which starts with The Swish of the Curtain, the classic story which inspired actors from Maggie Smith to Eileen Atkins.

'How do you think you'll like the Academy?'
'Like it!' cried Lyn. 'I love it already. I'd not have missed it for the world. This has been the happiest day of my life.'

At the Actors' Guild in London, the Blue Door Theatre Company are throwing themselves into anything that will bring the dreams of their own theatre to life - touring the country with the Guild's summer productions, working behind the scenes at local theatrical companies, even taking walk-on parts between classes.

But just as plans for their own beloved Blue Door seem almost within their grasp, a disaster threatens to destroy one career for good..."

I love that this old British books are being re-released!