Neither of us were too happy about our move north, but we both realised that it was the only thing we could do in the circumstances. I had been made redundant and with little prospects of a job down here in the south, moving up north was the only answer. For one thing, the cost of living was cheaper in the north, and so were houses, but it did mean leaving our friends.
The first thing we decided on once we had settled in was to kick start our social life. We joined a local fitness club, and it was after a discussion from somebody we met up with there that we both went along to an open night at a local semi professional drama group. The group had its own small theatre with seating for around two hundred, and they put on both amateur and professional shows. At the evening, we were made very welcome, and on the strength of this, decided to join.
Amanda was the actress in our family, and I was quite happy to settle for a life back stage putting my hands to props, lighting, and sound, or just be there helping out as a stage hand. Amanda was a very outgoing sort of person and was soon well accepted into the group, playing the leading or supporting female roles with equal relish. We both enjoyed the social life offered in the drama group: the barbeques, walks and treasure hunts in the summer, and then there was the dinner parties and social gatherings when the night drew darker.
Most of the members of the group were couples, but there were two single guys and three single women. One of the single guys, Rodger, a long time member of the group, usually played the male leads. He was very good. The problem was he knew it, and tended to be a bit over the top sometimes.
I knew he fancied Amanda, and would chat with her at every opportunity, but she assured me that as far as she was concerned, there was nothing in it. I did often get slight pangs of jealousy when they had intimate scenes together.
Afterwards, she would laugh. If I made a comment, she would kiss me and say, "We are only acting, you know."
I knew that the group was working on a shoestring budget. The professional productions we did were expensive to stage, and if we did not sell most of the tickets, we were only breaking even. Our own productions were costly to put on also, and even though everyone helped by supplying their own costumes and helping with props for the productions, we continually seemed to need more and more money. We raised some through table top sales and other events, and we did get a small grant from the local council, but when we met up for the annual general meeting, we found out just how bad things were.
The message was a blunt one. If we did not get more money in, we would have to close down before the next annual meeting. What we needed were more bums on seats; we never played to a full house. Everyone looked glum as the chairman asked for ideas. The usual ones like raising the admission cost and upping our membership fees came from the floor. But it was Bill, a new member who had joined us a few months ago, who came up with a most interesting and controversial idea.
Bill had spent some time in the professional theatre, and he said that one thing that always filled seats were sex and nudity. "Put a warning on your show poster that there are scenes of nudity in the production," he said with a smile "and you will fill the theatre, and not with just the perverts; you will obviously get your share of them, but you also will get the curious ones and the guys who come along with their wives who wouldn't normally go to a normal production."
Everyone at the meeting looked at each other, and when the discussions started, some members said we shouldn't pander to the baser tastes by putting on productions to titillate and thrill. Mike, who usually produced our shows, pointed out that there were many high quality productions available where nudity was called for such as The Graduate by Paul Simon and Peter Shaffer's play Equus. Then Joanne, one of the single girls in the group, raised a point, asking if there were actors among the group who would be willing to appear naked on stage.
Again, everyone looked at each other.
John, the chairman, smiled. "I think that's a very good point Joanne has raised. Are there members among us who would be willing to appear naked on stage?"
People looked around the room. Rodger had his hand up; so did Joanne who had posed the question, and to my surprise, so did my wife, Amanda. There were also two more, a married couple, Ted and Samantha.
John nodded as he counted the raised hands. "Well," he said, "we could certainly put on a production. I suggest that as it was Bill's idea, he get together with Mike and a couple of others and come up with some ideas." After more discussion, the meeting broke up.
It was not until we were on our way home that I was able to bring up the subject of Amanda's offer to appear in the productions where nudity was required. She grinned when I brought it up.
"I didn't think you'd mind. I know how you like showing me off."
I felt a little self conscious over this remark because she was right. Amanda was an extremely attractive woman and I had always been proud of her. I actively encouraged her to wear clothes that showed off her figure, especially her breasts, two of her best points. It had always excited me to see the way other guys looked at her.
"Showing you off is one thing," I said, "but you appearing naked in public is another."
She smiled. "But it's not really in public, is it? It's on the stage."
We drove the rest of the way home in silence. I don't really know why I was complaining. It had always been a secret fantasy of mine to see Amanda naked in front of other people. Unknown to her, I had for quite a while enjoyed browsing internet sites that catered to people with similar tastes.
On our arrival home, Amanda prepared a light supper, and we watched some TV before making our way up to bed. Amanda was in the bathroom as I undressed and slipped into bed. To my surprise and delight, she emerged totally naked. Most nights she wore a nightdress, but when she was feeling especially horny, she came to bed naked.
We had been together for over twelve years, but I never got tired of looking at her naked body. It still excited me: her breasts still firm, D cups, with rich brown areoles and perky nipples that rose erect quickly when stimulated; her tummy now showing a slight curve that led the eyes down to her delightfully raised mons pubis where a slight vee of neatly trimmed hair led your eyes down further to the shaded cleft of her pussy lips, those pussy lips that had for years given me so many pleasures.
Amanda stood at the bottom of the bed, a slight smile on her face. "Do you think I will draw in the extra punters when I appear on stage like this?"
