by EILEEN WOOD
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AGEING is a fact of life – but when you have had a lifetime career on stage and screen some of its challenges become amplified.
The face that graces the posters changes with time, and that’s what the public tends to see. Yet, according to screen icon Hayley Mills, the inner essence of the person is ageless.
“You know we are so identified by the external, with how we look, that we ignore who we really are, which is our essence,” she told The Senior.
The well-remembered child actress of the ’60s, who eventually morphed into the mature and much-loved star of movies, TV and stage, is back in Australia to star with sister Juliet in the satirical and sentimental comedy Legends, written by Pulitzer Prize winner James Kirkwood.
Described as “a funhouse of gossip, rivalry, reminiscence, longing, scandal and... a sexy male stripper named Boom Boom”, Legends tells the story of two ageing movie stars trying to revive their fading careers. There’s just one problem – they loathe each other.
“These two characters have had illustrious careers and are dealing with what happens to a lot of actresses – the parts get thinner and thinner on the ground,” said Hayley.
“If you’ve been practising your craft all your life, the chances are you are going to get better at it.
“The time when women are at the peak of their ability, they’re not getting the roles. We’ve experienced that and these characters in the play have experienced that.”
However, Hayley is quick to point out the characters are very different kinds of animals from Juliet and herself.
“We’re very fortunate in that we have a very full life apart from acting. We have families and partners and children and grandchildren.
“The two women in the play, they are actresses and that’s all they know.”
Hayley said her 2008 battle with breast cancer had changed her in many positive ways.
“I saw it as a challenge and I’d often wondered how I would react in a real disaster such as in war or the blitz.
“Would I be the brave one trying to help people out of a fallen house or would I be the one running away sobbing?
“It was an opportunity to find out what I was made of.
“I discovered that I am a fighter and I discovered that I am extremely stubborn.
“It brought down a lot of barriers that I never knew I had between me and people and my relationship with life generally.
“I learned that when you have a life-threatening thing going on, the only way to deal with it is to live in the moment.”
