May 1, 2021
Aging but indomitable actress Anne-Marie shares her reminiscences as she recuperates from knee surgery in her Paris apartment. She may be telling her story to someone, but exactly who remains a mystery. Perhaps she's speaking to a journalist writing a feature about her recently deceased longtime friend, French actress Giselle Fayolle. Anne-Marie recalls the pivotal events and people in her life, including the phantasmal and formative vision of watching actors as they seemed to walk above the street in her small town in northern France and creating a photo album for an alter ego named Anne-Marie The Beauty. At 19, Anne-Marie goes to Paris, wins an audition, and is mesmerized by beautiful Giselle, who, at 21, is already destined to become a star, overshadowing Anne-Marie. Celebrated novelist and playwright Reza is interested in more than surface beauty in this tale of friendship, aging, and what gives life meaning. Anne-Marie, who still remembers the names of those hometown players from her youth, endures, sharing her view of life as a great arc in this brief yet richly symbolic, humorous, and poignant tale.
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June 1, 2021
This short monologue by award-winning novelist and playwright Reza follows the life and career of Anne-Marie. Having grown up in Saint-Sourd-en-Ger, France, a mecca for actors, Anne-Marie catches the acting bug and at age 19 travels to Paris to audition. There she meets the famous actress Giselle Fayolle, who becomes a source of influence and fascination. Moving back and forth in time, Anne-Marie relives her many roles on the stage and laments the ones that passed her by. In describing her family, she says her husband is boring and organized, but in a good way, and that her son will no doubt buy the cheapest urn when she dies. She wonders if her titanium knee joint will be cremated with her. As she ages and moves toward the end of her life, she concludes, "You start out as little people, and you're little people in the end." Anne-Marie often refers to herself in the third person, as if she is someone else. VERDICT Reza triumphantly creates a nuanced and powerful portrait of aging that will resonate with ambitious readers.--Jacqueline Snider, Toronto
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