Thin Ice

Charles Harwood is an out-of-work actor, but fill-in jobs aren't for him. He doesn't want to drive a minicab, deal dope or have 'another string to his bow' - he's a purist. And without any acting to do, the main event of his day is an audition for an ice-cream commercial.

The next job, and getting through the day on the few quid in his pocket, are Charlie's main preoccupations. In one day, he wends his way through a traffic jam in his dilapidated car and meets old faces. An after-work drink turns into a big night out - an opening-night party, followed by a sexual encounter with a soignee star with an arthritic hip.

This is the world of Charles Harwood and most other actors in the business. It is a hand-to-mouth, event to event, lifetime spent in a state of controlled desperation.