A Brief Tale of Theatrical Genius

There was once a brilliant West End musical actor who had the rather serious flaw of being atrociously unreliable and prone to prevaricating the people he worked for to an unbearable extent. Such was the case after one particular incident that the London theatre establishment declared he would never be hired again.

However, there came a time when a certain director was desperate for male leads at the last minute and the only possible option was to call on this troublesome one. His reaction was disbelieving and he was very near to putting the phone down with great satisfaction, but listened to the offer nonetheless. There was one important clause in the deal: the only kind of contract they were willing to give him was employment running on a day-to-day basis. If there were any problems it was clear he'd be out for good, but he grudgingly accepted the terms with a wry smile on his face.

The first night of the production came and he brought the house down with a majestic display. No incidents whatsoever. The bosses were highly pleased their gamble had paid off. A matinée performance was scheduled for the next day and actors were required to arrive around half an hour before as usual. The lead made sure he was at the theatre in time, but deliberately lingered outside for a good 15 minutes. As expected, his mobile started ringing: "Where the f*ck are you? The show starts at 3pm!" was the aggravated demand of his director.

"I was waiting to see if you renewed my contract."