All language subtitles for The.Dresser.1983.1080p.BluRay.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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GORDON HILL ON RADIO:
This is the BBC Home Service.

Here is the news,
and this is Gordon Hill
reading it.

The King and Queen,

accompanied by
the Prime Minister,
Mr. Winston Churchill,

today visited
the East End of London

to inspect
the recent bomb damage.

Yesterday evening,
enemy air raids over
several provincial cities

were reported to have caused
severe damage in places.

President Roosevelt has
again spoken of United States
cooperation with Britain.

He's to address both houses
of Congress tomorrow.

The meat ration
is to be reduced.

This morning...

(BLOWING)

(WATER RUNNING)

MAN ON RADIO:
Blow me about!

* We're going to
hang out our washing

* On the Siegfried Line

* Is there any dirty washing,
Mother dear?

* Hang out our washing
on the Siegfried Line

(SCATTING)

* We're going to
hang out our washing
on the Siegfried Line *

(SCATTING)

MAN ON RADIO:
Desdemona!

(EXCLAIMS)

MAN ON RADIO: Dead!

(MAN ON RADIO YELLING)

OTHELLO: I took by the throat
the circumcised dog,

And smote him

thus.

(MOUTHING WORDS)
LODOVICO: O bloody period!

GRATIANO:
All that's spoke is marr'd.

(GRUNTS SOFTLY)

I kiss'd thee
ere I kill'd thee

no way but this,

Killing myself
to die upon a kiss.

(MOUTHING)

(SIGHS)

This did I fear,
but thought
he had no weapon

O Spartan dog!

More fell than anguish,

hunger, or the sea.

For God's sake, Horace!

Quicker and louder!

(COUGHS) And...
And to the state

This heavy act
with heavy heart relate.

Stand by
for curtain.

(SNAPPING FINGERS)

(BELL TOLLS)

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

Curtain down.

Horace, when
Othello's dead,

the play is over!

Say what you have
to say with speed

and put the audience
out of their misery.

And, Oxenby,
if you don't keep
downstage of me,

I'll have you nailed
to the orchestra pit!

Iago is
a supporting part.

Watch it!

(GRUNTS)

(MUMBLING)

Curtain going up.

Mind you, he's
not a bad Iago.

But now I know how
Mr. Churchill will feel
when he faces Joseph Stalin.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Stand by for your
curtain call, Sir.

Mmm. Mr. Godstone,
less makeup, if you please!

You're playing
the Duke of Venice,

not the Queen of the May!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

MADGE: Your call, Sir.

Frank, be more careful
with your sword during
the Cyprus scene.

I have no wish
to be circumcised
at my age.

Sorry, old boy.

Let them know
you're coming.

Let them know
you're coming.

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

Excuse me.

Botched that
scene tonight.

(APPLAUSE STOPS)

My lords,
ladies and gentlemen,

thank you for
your generosity
of spirit.

Next week,
we shall be appearing...

At the Alhambra,
Bradford.

SIR: At the Alhambra
Theatre, Bradford.

On behalf of my company,

my lady wife and myself,

I humbly

thank you.

(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)

(HUMMING)

I had my dream
again last night,
Norman.

Never mind.
Tomorrow's Sunday.

Unseen hands

driving wooden stakes

into my feet.

I can't move.

It'll be better next week.
You'll see.

Just wait till you get
on that train tomorrow.

What time's the call?

9:00, Sir.

Oh, why so early?

Why 9:00?

Because this
little piggy says so.

(CHUCKLING)

(HUMMING)

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

(TRAIN BRAKES SQUEALING)

We've got three minutes.

(GUARD BLOWING WHISTLE)

Oh, Norman!
Fancy seeing you, eh?

I've never seen
York so crowded.

Sorry. Can't stop.

Well, I'm playing
Scarborough next week

and I'm not fixed
for Christmas.

So, if you
hear of anything...

(ANNOUNCER TALKING ON PA)

Guard! Don't blow
your whistle!
I beg you.

The actors are coming.
They won't be long.

One minute.

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS)

(MAN BLOWS WHISTLE)

Please wait, driver!

They're very
elderly actors.

They're playing Shakespeare
next week at the Alhambra
Theatre, Bradford.

So it's all in
a good cause.

You won't go
without us,
will you?

Sod off.

(BLOWING WHISTLE)

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

(STEAM HISSING)

(TRAIN RUMBLING)

Stop

that

(ECHOING)
train!

(TRAIN BRAKES SQUEALING)

(MAN BLOWING WHISTLE)

GUARD: Hey! You just
can't stop a train!
It's not allowed!

Don't you know
there's a war on?

It's against
regulations!

You just can't
stop a train!

(TRAIN CHUGGING)

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

(GRUNTING)

It's all right.
It's all right.

I'm sorry.
I didn't mean
to disturb you.

(MUMBLING)

You go back to sleep.

(SIGHS)

Thank you for
watching over me,

but don't
worry too much.

(EXCLAIMS) I have
the feeling I may do
something violent.

(SIGHS)

(EXHALING)

What's the play
tomorrow night?

King Lear.

(MIMICS WIND BLOWING)

Then I shall wake
with the storm clouds
in my head.

(MIMICS WIND BLOWING)

These boom lights
are for me, and me only.

MAN: All right.

They follow me
wherever I go.

MAN: Right.

Thank you.

No!

It's all right,
Sir. I'm here.
It's Norman.

MADGE: Kill the followspot.

(PEOPLE SHOUTING)

Stand back!

Keep back, there!

(BUILDING CRASHING)
You're right
in the way.

Get back!

Come along.
This is no place
for you. Come on.

(BELLS RINGING)

If I may intrude?

(PLANES FLYING OVERHEAD)

MAN: Keep an eye up!

For the theater.

I trust you will
find comfort there.

(SCATTING)

Excuse me,
but do you have any
Brown & Polson's cornflour?

I'm at the Alhambra
this week and they use it
instead of face powder.

I could arrange
two complimentaries
for any performance

if you'll just let me
have one tiny packet.

Face powder?
Hmm.

You'll be
lucky, miss.

(SIR GRUNTING)

God help the man

who tries to stop me!

How much further
do you want me to go?

(SIR YELLING)

NORMAN: Sir.

Shouldn't we be getting
to the theater?

(PEOPLE MURMURING)

Come on, love,
you'll catch
your death.

Put your clothes on
like a good boy.

Thank you, my dear,
but Norman usually
looks after me.

I'm Norman.
I'm his dresser.

Take good care
of him, love.

I were first took
to see you when
I were but a lass.

I'm sorry you're poorly.

You were lovely in
The Corsican Brothers.

(YELLING)
Hey! Hey!

(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)

(INDISTINCT)

HER LADYSHIP: What are
we going to do, Norman?

There'll be an audience
in the theater tonight

hoping to see him
as King Lear.

What are we
going to do?

NORMAN: Now, don't
upset yourself
for a start.

I've never had
to make this sort
of decision before.

Any sort of
decision before.

I'm glad
I telephoned Madge.

She'll know what to do.
Oh, yes.

Madge will know what
to do. Madge will be
ever so sensible.

Of course,
stage managers
have to be.

(VEHICLE APPROACHING)

I should have
made him rest.

The doctor said
he'd come to
the end of his rope

and he'd found it frayed.
Doctors!

Just imagine trying to
explain to a doctor
what Sir's been through.

"You see, Doctor,
he's been trying
to recruit actors

"for his
Shakespearean company,

"but all the able-bodied
and best ones
are in uniform

"and the theaters are
bombed to bits
as soon as you book them.

"Not to mention
the trouble this week
with Mr. Davenport-Scott."

Doctors! He'd have
his hypodermic rampant

before you could say
"As You Like It."

What's the latest with
Mr. Davenport-Scott?

If you don't mind,
I'd rather not discuss

Mr. Davenport-Scott
with a lady.

I'll tell Madge
all about it
when she comes in.

Now, this won't hurt.

It's just to
make you sleep.

You want to sleep,
don't you?

Sleep? Sleep!

"Glamis hath murder'd sleep

"and therefore Cawdor
Shall sleep no more.

"Macbeth shall sleep
no more."

(SCREAMING)

Any further
developments?

We'd better see
the manager.

Perhaps you ought to
come with me.

No, please, Your Ladyship,
now, let's not rush things.

There's no alternative.

I'll be in my room.

No. Your Ladyship...
Madge is right.

He's in hospital.

We can't play King Lear
without the king!

We've got to
make a decision.

Forgive me, Your Ladyship,
it's not a decision
we have to make,

it's the right decision.

Look, please,
Your Ladyship,

I had a friend, before
one's face was lined,
as the saying goes,

in a very low state
he was.
Ever so fragile.

A pain to be with.

Someone close to him,
his mother, I believe,

though it was
never proved,

understandably upset,
made a decision.

"A little rest,"
she said,

"among those
similarly off-center

"in Colwyn Bay."

Never a good date,
not in February,

wrapped in gray rug,
gazing at a gray sea.

Talk about bleak.

Mother dear made
a decision, but it
was the wrong decision!

My friend never
acted again!

We have to
face the facts.

I've never done
that in me life,
Your Ladyship,

and I don't see
why I should
start now.

I just like
things to be lovely.
No pain, that's my motto.

Things aren't lovely,
Norman.

They aren't,
if you face facts.

Face the facts?
It's facing the company
I worry about.

Poor lambs!
What will happen to them
and the customers?

It's no good
Sir talking about
struggle and survival

if you go and cancel
the performance.

It's a disease.
What is?

Hopefulness.

I think we should
discuss this in private.

SIR: Norman!
Your Ladyship!

Your Ladyship!

I asked him, joking like,
if he had been in a fight.
He said nowt.

I thought
he wanted
his key,

but he just
sat down there.

(SIR GASPING)

Telephone
the hospital.

Do not telephone
the hospital!

Get me to my room!
To my room!

I must don my robes!

What are we to do?

Charles, you help
Her Ladyship.

(GROANING)
I shan't
be a tick.

MR. BOTTOMLEY:
Well, I don't know
exactly, Mr. Mowbray.

It'll mean giving back
an awful lot of money.

We're full tonight
and Wednesday for Lear.

Richard the Third
is looking healthy,

Merchant of Venice cozy,

As You Like It
is cool.

No, he hasn't
got an understudy.

Mr. Bottomley!
Hold hard,
Mr. Bottomley!

King Richard's
himself again!

Bonzo, why
are you here?

My name is
on the door.

Did the doctor
say you could
leave?

I discharged myself.

Oh, cancel
the performance.

I can't!

Mustn't! Won't.

Then take the
consequences.

(SCOFFS)
When have I not?

How is he?

Norman!
NORMAN: Sir?

I want you by me!
Yes, Sir.

Don't leave
my side, now!

Yes, Sir.

I shall want help.
Yes, Sir.

(KNOCKING)

Madge, dear.

You speak to him.

He doesn't hear
a word I say.

You look exhausted.

That's what
I call tact.

Are you sure
you're able
to go on tonight?

He wouldn't be here
if he wasn't,
would you, Sir?

How long have
you been with me,
Madge dear?

Longer than
anyone else.

SIR: How long?

Twenty years.
Nearly 20 years.

SIR: Have I ever
missed a performance?

No, but then
you've never been ill.

(SIGHING)

I only want
what's best for you.

What's best for Sir
is that he's allowed
to get ready.

Ready. Yes. Yes,
I must get ready.

Ready for what?

Excuse me, Your Ladyship.
Shouldn't you be getting
ready, too?

I can't bear to
see him like that.

Then best to leave us.
I've had experience
with these things.

(MUMBLING)
I know what
has to be done.

Imagine waking
to that night
after night.

My dear,
is he all right?

We heard
dreadful rumors.

Surely the performance
is not to be canceled?

No, no, no.
He's just a little
tired, that's all.

Aren't we
all, dear?
Aren't we all?

(LAUGHING SOFTLY)

Right.

Shall we begin
at the beginning?

Good evening, Sir.

Are we going to
sulk all evening,

or are we going
to speak to our servants?

(CRYING)

(CLICKS TONGUE)

I do wish you'd
stop crying, Sir.

Shall we play
"I Spy"?

Now, I spy
with my little eye

something beginning
with "A."

Now, I know
you won't guess,
so I'll tell you.

"A" is for actor,

and actors have to work,
and actors have to
put on their makeup

and change their frocks,

and then, of course,
actors have to act.

"Zounds, madam,
where dost thou
get this knowledge?"

"From a baboon, Sir,
that wandered wild
in Eden,"

or words to that effect.

I have never known
a kettle take
so long to boil.

(STUTTERS)

I'll tell you what, Sir.
Have a little brandy.

Break the rules.
Have a nip.

"A little brandy
won't harm,"

as the surgeon said
to the undertaker's widow.

There's less than
an hour to go, Sir.

You usually want longer.

Shall we make a start?

Yes, it's me. Norman.

The one with
the soulful eyes.

I've saved my
rations for you.

I don't mind
going without.

* I like a nice cup
of tea in the morning

* Just to start
the day, you see

* And at half-past eleven

* Well, my idea of Heaven

* Is a nice
cup of tea

* I like a nice cup of tea
with my dinner

* And a nice cup of tea
with my tea

* And before
I go to bed

* There's a lot
to be said

* For a nice cup of

* I just want a cup of

* Nice cup of tea

Now, come along, Sir.
Drink up.
It's tea, not rat poison.

There. Now that's
better, isn't it?

Isn't it?

Would you like a bicky?

(HUMMING)

I've saved one from
the mayor's reception
in Bridlington.

(RATTLING)

No? Huh.
"Why don't you
have one, Norman?"

Thanks very much,
I will. Hmm.

Mmm.

If you don't mind
my saying so, Sir,

there seems little
point in discharging
yourself from hospital

and then coming to
sit here like Niobe

prior to being
turned into stone.

So, shall we make
an effort?

Oh, come here.
Let me.

That's what
I'm here for.

(CRYING)

(HUSHING)

There, there.
There, there.

There, there.
I know how it feels.

I had a friend,
worse than you he was,

and all they ever
wanted to do with him
was put him away.

And no one wants
to go through that,
or so my friend said.

They'll send you
to Colwyn Bay.

You know you never
do any business
in Colwyn Bay.

(CRYING)

Guess.

Guess what got
my friend well.

Now, sounds silly, this.

An offer of work.

A telegram.
Yes, fancy,
a telegram.

"Can you understudy Scrubby?
Outward Bound. Start Monday."

He discharged himself,

just like you,
my friend did,

took the train up to London,
found digs in Brixton
and never looked back.

What do you make of that?
An offer of work.

It meant somebody
thought of him,

and that's ever
such a comfort.

So here's something
to cheer you up.

Going to be
a full house
tonight.

All those people
thinking of you

and wanting
you to act.

Really?

A full house?

(SOFTLY)
Shall we make a start?

(GRUNTS)

What play
is it tonight?

King Lear, Sir.

Impossible.
No. Thank you very much.
That's nice, isn't it?

People paying good
money to see you,

and you say
"impossible."
Very nice, indeed.

I do not think.

I...
I don't want
to be seen.

That's difficult when
you're playing King Lear.

I don't want to
see Her Ladyship.

That's even more difficult
since she's playing Cordelia.

What, you saw her
a moment ago.
You were alone together.

Were we?

What's the play tonight?

King Lear, Sir.

I... I started my
autobiography today,

but I can't find
a good, catchy title.

I think "My Life"
a little plain, don't you?

I thought
I'd written today.

Evidently not.

I can't be Lear again.

Shall we begin
our makeup?

Where's my hat?

I'm getting
out of here!

I'm not staying
in this place
a moment longer!

I'm surrounded
by vipers!

Betrayal on every side!

I'm being crushed!

The lifeblood is
draining from me!

The load is too great!

Norman. Norman,
if you have
any regard for me,

don't listen to him.

Who?
More.

More, more!

(SCREAMING)

I can't
give any more!

I have nothing
more to give!

I want
a tranquil senility!

I'm a grown man!

I don't want to
go on painting my face
night after night,

wearing clothes
that are not my own!

This is my work!

My life's work.
I'm an actor!

But who cares
if I go out
there tonight

or any other night
and shorten my life?

I had a friend
once said,

"Norman, I don't care
if there are only
three people out front,

"or if the audience laugh
when they shouldn't or
don't when they should.

"One person, just
one person, is certain
to know and understand,

"and I act for him."

That's what
my friend said.

You can't move that
which cannot be moved.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

(KNOCKING CONTINUES)

Yes.
I'd like to see him.

I'd rather
you didn't.

It's my responsibility
to take the curtain
up tonight.

There isn't much time.

Things have reached
a delicate stage. I do
not want him disturbed.

SIR: What's all
that whispering?

Oh, nothing!
Nothing!

Has he begun his makeup yet?
Not yet.

Do you realize
how late it is?

They'll be calling
the half in a moment.

I know how
late it is!

Then on your head be it.

Who was that?

Oh, just
a minion minioning.

Oh, look!

A dressing gown!

Now, shall we put it on
and keep ourselves warm?

There. Now, doesn't
that feel better?

You're back here
in the theater,

safe and sound,
where you belong.

And a full house!
Lovely!

Really?
A full house?

They'll be standing
in the gods.

Do you know

they've bombed
the Grand Theatre,
Plymouth?

And much else of
the city besides.

I made my debut at
the Grand Theatre, Plymouth.

They weren't to know.

I shouldn't have
come out this spring,

but I had no choice.
He made me.

Who?

I should've rested.

I had a friend who
was ordered to rest.

He obeyed.
That was
the end of him.

He was ever so ill,
nearly became a Catholic.

Not unlike
Mr. Davenport-Scott.

What news of
Davenport-Scott?

They're keeping him
in the cells.

Advise his captors
he is to be released
immediately.

The police
have opposed bail.

How then do we
dispose our forces?

Mr. Thornton
is standing by
to play Fool.

And who as Oswald?

Mr. Brown,
I'm afraid.

(SIGHING)

Yeah, but that leaves me
a knight short for
"Reason not the Need."

Well, 98 short,
actually,

if you take the
text as gospel,

so one more or less
shouldn't be
too upsetting.

(SIR SIGHING)

Thornton, toothless
as Fool.

Brown...

Lisping as Oswald.

Oxenby limping as Edmund.

What have I come to?

I've never had
a company like this one.

I've been reduced
to old men, cripples,
and nancy boys.

Herr Hitler has
made it very difficult
for Shakespearean companies!

It'll be a chapter
in the book, Sir.

(SIGHING)

I hate to mention this,
but we're going to be
short for the storm.

We have no one,
but no one, to operate
the wind machine.

Not if Mr. Thornton
is to play Fool.

I must have
the storm at full strength.

What about Oxenby?

Not the most
amenable of gentlemen.

(SCOFFS)

Send him to me
just after the half.

I'll have
a word with him.

Yes, I'd better talk
to Thornton, too.

You see?
That's more like it!

You're where you belong,
doing what you know best,
and you're yourself again.

Now, you start
making up.

I'll go and tell them
to come and see you.

I've cleaned
the wig and beard.

I shan't be a minute.

(HUMMING)

(KNOCKING)

What now, you
Scotch-arsed Zulu?

It's canceled.
Please say
it's canceled.

Geoffrey, he wants to see
you in the makeup and costume
of Fool just after the half.

Oh, my God. Are you sure
he's well enough to go on?

He seemed quite deranged.

Sir? Deranged? Never.

See you at the
half, Geoffrey.

(EXCLAIMING)

I'm not
exaggerating.

So I said to
Davenport-Scott,

"You really
must behave.

"You have
a position
to uphold."

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Oh, uh, Mr. Oxenby,
Sir would like to
see you just after the half.

If he wants me
any further downstage,

I'll end up at
the back of the stalls.

Mr. Brown,
you're playing
Oswald tonight.

Do you know the lines?

Yes, I do, so long as
he doesn't hiss at me.

I get very quivery
when he hisses.

And we don't want
that, do we?

(DOOR CLOSING)

Now, where was I?

Oh, yes.
So Davenport-Scott
said to me...

Do you mind
shutting up!

Oh, really.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

(HUMMING)

Norman.
'Tis I.

How is he?
Who?

Oh, don't be an ass.
Everyone saw
and heard him.

My uncle Percy
raved and ranted
like that,

and he's now
in a home.

And I hope
you visit him often,
Miss Gibson.

Norman.

Is he fit enough
to play King Lear?

You just
wait and see,
Miss Manning.

I've never known him
in such fine fettle.

He'll make history
tonight as King Lear.

(SCOFFS)
Uncle Percy.

All's well.
I've spoken
to the actors.

(HUMMING)

(STOPS HUMMING)

Oh, no. Sir, no!

Not Othello!

The lines are fouled!

Instruct the puppeteer
to renew the strings.

I'd have given anything
to see the play tonight

with you all blacked up
and Cordelia saying,

"You have begot me,
bred me, lov'd me"

(IMITATING KING LEAR)
"Well, you see, ducky,

"this King Lear,
he been about a bit."

(BOTH LAUGHING)

We used to play
a game called "Risque."

You had to turn
the line to get
a double entendre.

The best I ever heard
was from a character
man called Berriton.

You know the line? "What,
fifty of my followers at
a clap! Within a fortnight!"

Yes, I know the line
and the story.

Well, one day,
on a train call
from Aberdeen to Liverpool,

a journey I recommend
as punishment
for deserters,

Berriton came out with,

"What? Fifty of my
followers with the clap
within a fortnight?"

(BOTH LAUGHING)

"With the clap
within a fortnight."

(BOTH LAUGHING)

(LAUGHING) Oh, Sir.

(MUMBLING)

(SIGHING)

Another blank page.

It's only for
the storm scene, Arthur.

When Sir leans forward,
you lean back.

When he leans back,
you lean forward.

That way
he's always balanced.

Got it.

Now do it.

When he's forward,
I'm back.

When he's back,
I'm forward.

Good.

Now, Beryl,
you're not to forget
the triple crown.

Don't worry.
I'll do it tonight.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Who?

Irene here. I've come
for the triple crown.

Enter.

Good evening, my child.

Good evening, Sir.

All well?

Thank you, Sir.

You've come for
the triple crown?

Yes, Sir.
Polish it well.

I like it gleaming.

Yes, Sir.

Here it is, my child.

A pretty young
thing, aren't you?

Thank you, Sir.

Sir, it's time to age.

SIR: They're all
the same color.

Which stick do I use?

I can't see the colors.

You start with
the eyebrows, Sir.

Eyebrows?

You soap
the eyebrows.

Lovely.

Now number five.

"Just the mask,"
you always say.

Leave clean
the upper lip and chin

for the moustache
and beard.

Good.
Beautiful.

Just not too high
on the forehead.

There.

Easy as falling
off a tightrope.

Hmm.

Lake for the lines.

There was a time
when I painted in
all the lines.

Now I merely deepen
what is already there.

Half an hour
please, Sir.

NORMAN: Thank you.

(GRUNTING)

I shall trouser-looney
tonight.

Will somebody please
help me? I'm late.

Trouser-looney,
Mr. Carrington?

In the pub, dear boy,
before the audience
are off their arses!

Shakespeare is not
renowned
for his brevity.

The only hope of
a drink after the show
is to trouser-looney.

I shall look like
this in my coffin.

And a broad straight
line of number 20
down the nose.

"Gives strength,"
you say.

(HUMMING)

Did you find any
Brown & Polson?

No, but I'm still
looking. We've enough
left for this tour.

And now we mix
the white hard
varnish

with a little
surgical spirit.

(SHOUTING) I know
how to stick on a beard!

I've been a depictor
for over 40 years

and steered my own course
for over 30!

You overstep
the mark, my boy!

Don't get above yourself!

(BREATHING DEEPLY)

I shall want a rest
after the storm scene.

There's no need
to tell me. I know.

Towel!

Towel, towel, towel!

Something's missing.
What's missing?

I don't want to
get above myself, Sir,
but what about the wig?

(SHUDDERING)

It's hot, unbearably hot.

I'm going to faint.

Have a little nip,
Sir. It won't harm.

(MOANING)
Oh, Sir, we mustn't
give up now.

(STUTTERING) Not now.
Let's highlight
our lines, Sir.

Imagine bombing
the Grand Theatre,
Plymouth.

Barbarians.

(HUMMING)

I shall give them
a good one tonight.

(DOING VOICE EXERCISES)

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

What now?
How is he?

Back to normal,
only more so.

I want to see him
with my own eyes.

He's not to
be disturbed.

And what about
the understudies?

He knows all about it.
Everything's in hand!

Will he be
ready on time?

Will he be well enough?
Yes!

(MUMBLING)
SIR: Norman!

All this clitter-clatter,
chitter-chatter!

How does the play begin?
Which play, Sir?

Tonight's, tonight's!
I can't remember
the first line.

"Attend the lords
of France..."

You take from my head!

You must keep silent
when I'm dressing!

I have work to do.
Work!

Hard bloody labor!
I have to carry
the world tonight.

The whole
bloody universe!

Sir?
I can't remember
the first line!

I'll take you
through it.

No one takes
you through it!

You're put through it
night after night,

and I haven't
the strength!

Well, you're a fine
one, I must say.

You of all people.
You disappoint me,

if you don't mind
my saying so, Sir.

You who always say,

"Self-pity is the most
unattractive quality
onstage or off."

"Struggle and survival,"
you say, "is all
that matters," you say.

"Struggle and survival!"

We all bloody struggle,
don't we?

I struggle!
Do you think
it's easy for me?

I'll tell you
something for nothing.

It is not easy,
not one little bit,

neither the struggle
nor the bloody survival!

The whole world's
struggling for survival,
so why shouldn't you?

My dear Norman,
I seem to have upset you.

I apologize.

I understand.

We cannot always
be strong.

There are dangers
in covering the cracks.

Never mind about
covering the cracks.

What about covering
the wig join?

(BREATHING DEEPLY)

I'm sorry
if I disturbed
your concentration.

"We both understand
servitude, Alfonso."

(EXCLAIMING)

We won't forget to
finish our eyebrows,
will we, Sir?

What performance
is this?

Tonight will be
your 227th performance
of the part, Sir.

227 Lears...

...and I can't remember
the first line.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

(BLOWS WHISTLE)

One, two, three, four.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

There was no time
to alter the costume.

There never is.

Bonzo? How are
you feeling?

Ah, a little more
myself, Pussy.

You see? Once he's
assumed the disguise,
he's a different man.

Shall I fetch the cloak
and tie it on as usual?

Yes, as usual.

Mr. Thornton
and Mr. Oxenby
are waiting outside.

I don't want to see...
Shall I tell them
to come in?

Oxenby, no.
I don't want to see him.
He frightens me.

Mind you, he's the best Iago
I've ever had or seen.

And I include
that 4'6" ponce,
Sir Arthur Palgrove.

That's more like
the Sir we know
and love.

Sir Arthur Palgrove!

He went on playing
Hamlet until he was 68.

There were more
lines on his face

than steps
to the gallery.

(SCOFFS)
I saw his Lear.

I was pleasantly
disappointed.

Sir Arthur Palgrove!

Who advises
His Majesty?
Answer me that.

You're a miracle-worker,
Norman.

Thank you,
Your Ladyship.

I've got a piece
of chocolate for you.

(WHISPERING) Ah!
Thank you,
Your Ladyship.

SIR: Don't suppose
I didn't see that,
because I did.

There are thousands
of children

all over this
beloved land of ours

scavenging the larders
for something sweet.

If only they came to me,

I could tell them
of the one person
in England

who has an inexhaustible
supply of chocolate.

It is I who have
to carry her on,
dead, as Cordelia.

It is I who have to
lift her up and
carry her in my arms.

"Thank Christ,"
I thought, "for rationing."

But no! She'd find
sugar in a sand dune!

Shall I show
the actors in, Sir?

(SOFTLY) Geoffrey.

Mr. Thornton
to see you, Sir!

Well, Geoffrey,

does the
costume fit?

Mr. Davenport-Scott
is such a small man.

Davenport-Scott is a worm!

You look...

Do you know
the lines?

Yes.
Don't keep me
waiting for them.

Pace, pace, pace,
pace, pace, pace.

Yes, yes.
And keep out of my focus.

Yes, of course.

The boom lights
placed in the downstage wing
are for me and me only.

Yes, old man, I know.

You must find
what light you can.

Right.

Let me hear you sing.

What?

"He that has
and a little tiny wit..."

(STUTTERS)

"He that has and a..."

"He that has..."

* He that has and
a little tiny wit

* He that has and
a little tiny wit

* With a heigh-ho,
the wind and the rain

* Must make content
with his fortunes fit

* For the rain
it raineth

* Every day

All right.
Speak it,
don't sing it.

And in the storm scene,

if you're going to put
your hands around my legs
as Davenport-Scott did,

then around my calves,
not my thighs.

He nearly
ruptured me twice.

If you'd rather
I didn't, old man...

Oh, feel it,
my boy, feel it.

Whatever takes you,
that's the only way.

But do not let
too much take you.

Remain within the bounds.

At all costs,
remain still
when I speak.

Yes, of course.

And no crying in the part.
Oh, no.

I have the tears
in this play.

Yes, I know.

Serve the playwright
and keep your teeth in.

It's only
when I'm nervous.

You will be nervous,
I guarantee it.

There will be no extra payment
for tonight's performance.

Your contract is,
I believe, "play as cast"?

Yes.

Good fortune
attend your endeavors.

Thank you, Sir.

NORMAN: God
bless, Geoffrey.

I'd rather face
the Nazi hordes
anytime.

I hope Mr. Churchill
has better men
in his cabinet.

Mr. Oxenby's
waiting to
see you now, Sir.

(STUTTERING) Oxenby?
Why, I can't, I can't.

What does Oxenby want?

It's not what he wants,
it's what we want,

someone to operate
the wind machine.

I don't want to see Oxenby.
I can't bear the man.

Oh, it's stifling in here.

Sir, you will have
no storm without him.

Mr. Oxenby
to see you, Sir.

You wanted
to see me?

What? Oh, oh...

Did I, Norman?

Oh, Sir was wondering
whether he could
ask of you a favor?

He can ask.

(GRUNTING)

(MUMBLING)

Yeah.

Well, you haven't been
with us very long,

but I'm sure
you've seen enough

to know that we're not
so much a company
as one big happy family.

We all muck in
as required.

(SIR GARGLING)

(SIR SPITS)

As you will
no doubt have heard,

Mr. Davenport-Scott
will not be
rejoining the company.

Yes, I've heard.

You share a dressing room
with one or two of them,
you hear nothing else.

It upsets the
pansy fraternity

when one of
their number is caught.

(SIR GARGLING)

We have no one
to operate
the wind machine.

We wondered
if you would
turn the handle.

In short, no.

(SIR GARGLING)

Anything else?

(GARGLING)

(SPITS)

Has he read
my play yet?

(SIR GARGLING)

(DOOR CLOSING)

Oh, fancy not
wanting to muck in.

(CHUCKLING)

He hates me.

I feel his hatred.

All I stand for,
he despises.

(SCOFFS)

I wouldn't read his play
if he were
Commissar of Culture.

NORMAN: I've read it.

Is there a part for me?

Yes, but you wouldn't
credit the language.

He was ungenerous
about Davenport-Scott.

I hold no brief
for buggers,

but where's
the man's humanity?

A fellow artist
brought low

and in the cells

cannot be cause for

rejoicing.

(EXCLAIMING)

Oughtn't we to be quiet
for a minute, Sir?

Quarter of an hour, please.
A few minutes late.
I'm sorry, that girl Irene...

The quarter?
I can't! I can't.

Tell them to go home,
give them their money back.

What are you saying?
You want the
performance canceled?

No, he does not.

For your own good.
How does it begin?

Get out, will you?
He'll be good and ready
when the curtain goes up.

We've run out of time.

Leave me in peace!
I can't
remember the lines!

Norman, Norman.
How does it begin?

"He hath been out nine years,
and away he shall again.

(IMITATES FANFARE PLAYING)

"The King is coming.

(WHISPERING)
"Attend the lords of
France and Burgundy..."

Attend the lords
of France and Burgundy,
uh, Gloucester!

I shall, my liege.

"Meantime we
shall express..."

Meantime
we shall express
our darker purpose.

"Give me the map..."

Don't tell me!
Don't tell me!
I know it!

I have played
the part before,
you know.

Give me the map there.

Don't tell me!
Don't tell me!

What! Do I fear myself?

Wrong!
"Know that we
have divided..."

There's none else by.

True, I talk of dreams,

Which are the children
of an idle brain...

Wrong play, wrong play.

I will move storms,

I will condole
in some measure.

That's another
wrong play!

Can this cockpit hold

The vasty fields of France?

Men should be
what they seem

My name's Macbeth.

I have liv'd long enough.

Now, look
what you've
gone and done!

What?

Outside! Outside!
You've quoted from
the Scottish tragedy!

What? Macbeth...
Christ, did I? Oh!

(MOANING)
Outside!

NORMAN: Turn round
three times.

One... Two... Three.

(BELL RINGING)

Knock.

(KNOCKING)

Come in.

Swear.

Pisspots.

(GASPS)

And my poor fool
is hang'd!

No, no, no life!

Why should a dog,
a horse, a rat,
have life,

And thou no breath at all?

Thou'lt come no more,

Never, never,
never, never, never!

Welcome back, Sir.
You'll be all right.

Struggle, Bonzo.

Survival, Pussy.

IRENE: Five minutes,
please, Sir.

Thank you.

Let us descend
and survey
the scene of battle.

Five minutes.

Good luck, Geoffrey."

Five minutes,
please.
Five minutes.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

(AIR RAID SIRENS SOUNDING)

The night I played
my first Lear, there
was a real thunderstorm.

Now, they send bombs.

How much more
will I have to endure?

Tonight, we are to speak
Will Shakespeare.

And they will go
to any length
to prevent me!

I shouldn't take it
so personally, Sir.

Bomb, bomb, bomb us
into oblivion, if you dare.

But each word I speak
will be a shield
against your savagery,

each line I utter,
protection
from your terror.

I don't think they
can hear you, Sir.

Barbarians!

(GROANING)

Sir, just as
we were winning!

Perhaps it's timely.
Look at him.

He can't go on.

Get the curtain up
this instant!

No squadron of
fascist Bolsheviks
will stop me now!

Do as I say!

(ORCHESTRA PLAYING)

Who will make
the announcement?

Davenport-Scott,
of course.

Oh, dear.
Mr. Davenport-Scott
isn't here tonight.

Everyone else
is in costume.

SIR: You then, Norman.

Me? No, Sir.
I can't appear, Sir.

You, Norman.

NORMAN: No, Sir.
I shall never remember
what to say.

My memory's
like a policeman,

it's never there
when you want it.

I have given my orders.
Do as I say.

Sir, I am not equipped!

Do it!

Why can't I stop shaking?

(ORCHESTRA PLAYING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

(MUSIC STOPS)

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

(SOFTLY) Ladies and gentlemen.

Ladies and gentlemen.

The air raid warning
has just gone.

An air raid
is in progress.

We shall proceed
with the performance.

Will those who wish to live...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Will those who wish to leave

do so
as quietly as possible.

(BOMB WHISTLING)

(EXPLOSION)

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

MADGE: Stand by.

Stand by on tabs.

(EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)

House lights to half.

Stand by timpani.

House lights out.

MAN: House lights out.

(EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)

Cueing grams.

(FANFARE PLAYING)

Cue drum roll.

(DRUMS ROLLING)

MADGE: Stand by.

Go next.

Curtain going...

Up!

KENT: I thought the King
had more affected the Duke
of Albany than Cornwall.

GLOUCESTER: It did
always seem so to us,

but in the division
of the kingdom,

it appears not
which of the Dukes
he values most,

for qualities
are so weigh'd...

Geoffrey, was I all right?

What?

The announcement.
Was I effective?

Oh, yes, old man.
Damn good.

Thank you. Good luck,
Geoffrey. Thank you.

GLOUCESTER: I have so often
blush'd to acknowledge him,

that now
I am braz'd to 't.

Your Ladyship,
was I all right?

Better than
Mr. Davenport-Scott.

Do you really think so?
I was ever so nervous.

Do you think anyone
noticed the fluff?

Well, "those who
wish to live."

Oh, could have
kicked meself.

You were fine.

(STUTTERS)
Did he say anything?

No.

Stand by, please,
Your Ladyship.

Stand by, please, Sir.

GLOUCESTER: He hath been out
nine years, and away
he shall again.

(FANFARE PLAYING)

The King is coming!

(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)

Stand by, Sir.
Cueing the king's fanfare.

(FANFARE PLAYING)

Sir, it's your cue. Sir.

Her Ladyship's entered.
Quite a nice round, too.

Now it's your turn.
Come along, Sir.

You see?
What did I say?

(CRYING)
Oh, please, Sir.
I implore you!

GLOUCESTER:
The King is coming!

Methought
I saw the king.

Methought so, too.

You're on, Sir.
You're on!

KENT: Methought I saw him.

His profession formed...

Sir, it's your entrance.

Mr. Oxenby
is having
to extemporize.

Ah, somber they looked.

Their muted colors
of a tone...

(AUDIENCE MURMURING)

With the bleak
heath land that is...

Our... Our kingdom.

CORDELIA: The King, my father,
was methought behind me...

Sir, the natives
are getting restless.

Sound the
fanfare again.

(FANFARE PLAYING)

Aha! Methinks
I see the king.

No, I...

I was mistook.

I will, with thy consent

to his majestic side,

there to discover
his royal progress.

(AUDIENCE MURMURING)

Is he coming
or isn't he?

Yes!

Sir...

I am assured, my lord,

the King is coming.

(EXPLOSIONS)

Struggle and
survival, Sir.

Cue the hundred knights!
Cue the hundred knights!

Get on, get on!

"Attend the lords of France
and Burgundy, Gloucester."

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

Attend the lords of France
and Burgundy, Gloucester.

I shall, my liege.

Meantime

we shall express
our darker purpose.

(MOUTHING)

Give me the map there.

Know that we have divided
In three our kingdom,

and 'tis our fast intent

To shake all cares
and business from our age,

Conferring them
on younger strengths,

while we unburden'd
crawl toward death.

Yes.

Well, if he stays out again,
you must take him to the vet.

LEAR: You think
I'll weep.

No, I'll not weep.

I have full cause of weeping,

but this heart
Shall break into
a hundred thousand flaws,

Or ere I'll weep.

O, Fool!

I shall go mad!

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

MADGE: Stand by
for the storm.

(GARGLING)

(AIR RAID SIREN SOUNDS)

All clear?

Swines. Just when
you want them,
they run away.

REGAN: O, sir, to wilful men,

The injuries that
they themselves procure

Must be their schoolmasters.

Shut up your doors.

He is attended
with a desperate train.

And what they may
incense him to,

being apt
To have his ear abus'd,
wisdom bids fear.

CORNWALL: Shut up
your doors, my lord,
'tis a wild night.

My Regan counsels well.
Come out o' the storm.

Go storm.

(WIND HOWLING)

LEAR: Blow, winds,

and crack your cheeks!

Rage!

Blow!

You cataracts
and hurricanoes, spout

Till you have
drench'd our steeples,

drown'd the cocks!

(LIGHTNING CRACKLING)

LEAR: You sulfurous and
thought-executing fires,

Vaunt-couriers of
oak-cleaving thunderbolts...

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

Louder! Louder!

(DRUMS BEATING)

(SPEECH INAUDIBLE)

Louder!
He wants it louder!

He wants it louder!

(SCREAMING) I am a man,

More sinn'd against
than sinning.

(PLAYING SOUNDS LOUDLY)

(WHOOPING)

(ALL PANTING)

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

(SCREAMING)
Where was the storm?

I ask for cataracts
and hurricanes,

and you give me
trickles and whistles!

I demand oak-cleaving
thunderbolts,

and you answer
with farting flies!

(GRUNTS)

I am the storm!

I am the wind
and the spit,

the fire and the pother,

and I am fed nothing

but muffled
funeral drums.

Christ Almighty!

God, forgive them,
for they know not
what they do.

I'm driven deaf by whispers.

Norman, Norman,
you have thwarted me.

Good evening, Sir.

I didn't have the chance
to welcome you here.

Guard the door!

You should
be happy, Sir.

It's a very good
house tonight.

I was there!

Within sight!

The glory was mine
for the plucking!

And then, naught...

Zero, silence,

a breeze, a shower.

A collision
of cotton wool.

A flapping
of butterfly wings!

I want a tempest,
not a drizzle!

Something will
have to be done.

I demand to know

what happened tonight
to the storm!

(PANTING)

I'm pleased
you're pleased.

I've never known you
not to complain

when you've
been at it.

And tonight,
one could say without
fear of contradiction,

you were at it.

Rest now.

You have the interval and all
of Gloucester's blinding

before "No, they cannot
touch me for coining."

Try to sleep.

"You need quiet,"
as the deaf mute
said to the piano tuner.

Mighty, Her Ladyship
thought you were tonight.

That was the word
she used, "mighty."

Wasn't Geoffrey
agile as Fool
for a man of his age?

He kept well downstage.
Never once
got in your light.

Much less obtrusive
than Mr. Davenport-Scott
in every way.

And what about
Mr. Oxenby?

Are we asleep, Sir?

Oh, to be driven thus.

I hate the swines!

Who? Now, who is it you hate?

The critics?

The critics?

(SCOFFS) Hate the critics?

I have nothing but
compassion for them.

How can I hate
the crippled,

the mentally deficient
and the dead?

Who, then?

Who, then, what?

Who, then,
what is it you hate?

Let me rest, Norman.

Must stop questioning me.
Let me rest.

Don't leave me
until I'm asleep.

Don't leave me alone.

(SIGHS) I am a spent force.

My days are numbered.

Numbered.

(SIGHS)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(ORCHESTRA PLAYING)

Thank you
for helping with
the storm, Mr. Oxenby.

I don't know
why I did.

Because we're
a band of brothers,
that's why.

And you're one of us,
in spite of yourself.

Get stuffed.

That's not nice.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

You're Norman,
aren't you?

Remember me?
This afternoon
in the square?

Hello, ducky.
You in tonight?

Oh, I wouldn't have
missed it for the world.

I've never known him
so full of the real thing.

Oh, thank you.
We do our best.

Mind you.

Seeing him this afternoon,
I never thought
he'd get on stage tonight.

Well, you know what they say,
love, Dr. Grease Paint,
nothing like it.

Hello, Norman.
How are you, darling?

Will you have one, pet?

No, ta, love.
I never drink on duty.

Fetch Madge!

NORMAN: Don't be late
for the second act. Excuse me.

(MAN LAUGHING)

There, there, Evelyn.

It's only a play.
It's only a play, dear.

It's going well,
I think.

Except your first entrance.
Come here.

Your hands,
they're like ice.

Cold with fear.
What are you frightened of?

Of what's to come.
You know...

I thought I caught
a sight of him tonight.

Or myself as he sees me.

Speaking
"Reason not the need,"

I became
detached from myself.

My thoughts flow
and I was observing
from a great height.

"Go on, you bastard,"
I seemed to be saying
or hearing.

"Go on, you've more to give.
Don't hold back.
More, more, more!"

And I was watching Lear,

each word he spoke
was fresh invented.

I have no knowledge
of what came next,
what fate awaited him.

The agony was in
the moment of acting created.

I saw an old man,
and the old man was me.

Outside myself.

Do you understand?

Outside myself.

Please, I have
a show to run.

Twenty years.

Did you say 20 years?

Yes.

Have you been happy?

Has it been worth it?

No, I've not
been happy.

Yes, it's been
worth it.

Madge, dear,
in my will, I've left you
my press-cutting books.

I don't want to hear
what you've left me...

And I have
something else
for you.

If possessions
can be dear,

then this ring is
the dearest thing I own.

This ring was worn
by Edmund Kean

in a play whose title
is an apt inscription
for how I feel.

A New Way
to Pay Old Debts.

When you talk of it,

say Edmund Kean
and I wore it.

I once had it in mind

to give it to you
years ago.

But you were
younger then.

I thought you
would misunderstand.

Yes.

A ring from
a man to a woman

is easily misunderstood.

I know I'm thought
insensitive,

but I'm not blind.

No.

No, I've always known
that you were aware of

what the spinster
in the corner felt.

You were right
not to give me a ring
years ago.

I lived in hope then.

But at least
I've seen you every day,

made myself
useful to you.

I settled for
what I could get.

I've always been aware
of my limitations.

Speak well of me.

You are the only one

who really,
truly loves me.

EDGAR: Life would
not yield to age.

OLD MAN:
O, my good lord,

I have been your tenant,
and your father's tenant,
these fourscore years.

GLOUCESTER: Away,
get thee away!
My friend, be gone.

Thy comforts
can do me
no good at all.

He said you were far better
than Mr. Davenport-Scott
in every way.

Did he?
Did he really?

He said you were
very fine in
the storm scene, Geoffrey.

"Very agile," he said.

You know, Fool's by far
the most important part

I've ever played
in Shakespeare.

Trouble is,
it gives one
a taste for more.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Yes?

It's Irene.
I'm returning
the triple crown, Sir.

Yes.

Put it down.

Sir, would it disturb you
if I say something?

That depends on
what it is.

I just wanted
to thank you.

For what?

The performance
this evening.

It isn't over yet.

I felt honored
to be on the stage.

In the drawer of
the make-up table,

you'll find
a photograph of me.

(MUTTERING)

(WHISPERING)
I love coming
into your room.

I can feel the power.

And the mystery.

In days gone by,

this would have
been the place where
the high priests robed.

I feel frightened.

As though
I'm trespassing.

A kindred spirit?

Lock the door.

Come nearer, uh...

Irene.

Irene.

And you want to act?

Yes.

Passionately?

Yes.

To the exclusion
of all else?

Yes.

You must be prepared
to sacrifice what
most people call life?

I am.

Have you good legs?

(TREMBLING) Higher.

There's not much to you.

Such small bones.

Are you getting
enough to eat?

Oh, yes.

So young.

So young.

(EXCLAIMS)

That's more like it!

(LAUGHS)

(GROANING)

Too late!

It's too late!

Well now,
my dainty duck!

He seems much better.

What was
all that about?

Let go of me!

REGAN: But are
my brother's powers
set forth?

OSWALD: Ay, madam.

REGAN: Himself
in person there?

You think I don't
know the game!

You think I've dressed
the rotten bugger
for 16 bloody years,

nursed him,
spoiled him,

washed his sweat-sodden
doublet and hose

and foul underpants
night after night,

without knowing
every twist and turn

of what is laughingly
known as his mind?

He did something,
something unseen
and furtive,

something that
gave him pleasure.

"That's more like it!"

More like what, Irene?

I have to know all he does!

He lifted me up.

He lifted you up?

"So young," he said,
and lifted me up.

(EXCLAIMS)

Why do you laugh?

He was trembling,
and so was I.

It's youth and
newness he needs.

With my eyes closed,

I imagined what
it would be like
to be carried on by him.

Cordelia,
dead in his arms.

Young.

Never mind
a young Cordelia, ducky.

He wants
a light Cordelia.

Light, ducky, light!

Look at yourself,
look at Her Ladyship.

You don't understand,
he needs youth.

You're lighter
than she is.

You're not the first one
to be placed on the scales.

How do you think
Her Ladyship got the job?

Her Ladyship,
when a slip of a girl,

went from map carrier
to youngest daughter
overnight.

I remember it well.

That was the tour
the Doge of Venice
gave Launcelot Gobbo clap.

It's not youth or talent
or star quality
he's after, ducky,

but a moderate eater.

Off you go, ducky.

You'll have to find
another canoe to paddle.

Ours, I'm afraid,
has holes.

Did I tell you, Sir?
I mingled
during the interval.

You should hear
what they think
out there.

Michelangelo,
William Blake,

God knows who else
you reminded them of.

Michelangelo?

Do they?

And Blake.

I know what they mean.

Moral grandeur.

(CHUCKLES)

I talked to the girl.

She's not as
light as she looks.

We are, none of us,
strong enough
for a change of cast.

You can never
be properly paid!

In pectore,
I name you friend.

The debt is all mine.

And I shall find
a way to repay you.

I must, must
settle all my debts.

Oh, stop it.
You're making
me tearful.

God, your breath smells
of stale tates.

How much
have you had?

Not enough.

Iago! Iago!

Wrong play.

I have to wake up
in bliss,

I have to carry on
Her Ladyship.

I need you sober.

I am sober!
Diction perfect,
deportment steady,

temper serene.

It's no laughing matter.
The final push!

I hope you're up to it.

Yes, and you dear?
What?

And you, Lear?

EDMUND: Be brief in it,
to the castle, for my writ

Is on the life of Lear
and on Cordelia.

Nay, send in time.

ALBANY: Run, run, O, run!

EDGAR: To who, my lord?
Who has the office?

Send Thy
token of reprieve.

EDMUND: Well thought on.

Take my sword,
Give it the captain.

EDGAR: Haste thee,
for thy life.

EDMUND: He hath the commission
from thy wife and me

to hang Cordelia
in the prison,

And to lay the blame
upon her own despair...

I do wish you
wouldn't do that.

You remind me
of a laborer.

(SCREAMING)

(CRYING)

(WAILING)

O, you are men of stones!

Had I your tongues
and eyes,

I'd use them so

That heaven's vault
should crack.

She's gone for ever!

(EXCLAIMS)

LEAR: And my poor fool
is hang'd!

No, no,

no life!

Why should a dog,
a horse, a rat,
have life,

And thou no breath at all?

Thou'lt come no more,

Never,

never,

never,

never,

never.

Pray you,
undo this button.

Thank you, sir.

(CHUCKLES)

Do you see this?

Look on her,

look, her lips,

Look there,

look there!

EDGAR: He faints!
My lord, my lord!

KENT: Break, heart.

I prithee, break!

Fall and cease.

EDGAR: The weight of this
sad time we must obey.

Speak what we feel,

not what
we ought to say.

The oldest
hath borne most,

we that are young

Shall never see so much,
nor live so long.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Curtain down!

On stage,
everybody. Please.

Stand by
for curtain calls.

Curtain going up.

We've done it,
Will Shakespeare!

We've done it!

(PANTING)

MADGE: Stand by for
your curtain call, Sir.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Let them know
you're coming.

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE STOPS)

My lords, ladies
and gentlemen,

thank you for the manner
in which you have received

the greatest tragedy
in our language.

We live in dangerous times.

Our civilization
is under threat
from the forces of darkness.

And we humble actors
do all in our power

to fight as soldiers
on the side of right
in the great battle.

We are animated
by no other desire

than to take the works of
the greatest poet-dramatist
who has ever lived

to every corner
of our beloved island.

Tomorrow night,
we shall give...

Richard the Third
King Richard the Third.

And I myself will play
the hunchback king.

On Wednesday afternoon,
my lady wife will play...

Portia.
Portia.

And I, myself,
the badly-wronged Jew

in The Merchant of Venice,
a play you might think

of greater topicality
than ever.

On Wednesday night...

Lear.

On Wednesday night,

we shall

once more assay
the tragedy you have
this evening witnessed.

And I, myself,
shall again undergo

the severest test
known to an actor.

On behalf
of my lady wife,

my company and myself,

I remain your humble
and obedient servant

and can no other
answer make,

but thanks,

and thanks,

and ever thanks.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

(EXHALES)

(GASPS)

(PIANO PLAYING)

* God save our gracious King

* Long live our noble King

* God save the King!

* Send him victorious

* Happy and glorious

Right-o, lads.
Strike King Lear,
set for Richard the Third.

Keep that backcloth in,
George.
It does for Bosworth field.

Good night,
Violet, love.

Frank, will you
give me a hand please?

Here.

FRANK: Fine performance
tonight, old boy.

You gave them
a bit of the old.

Until tomorrow,
parting
is such sweet...

I'm getting weaker.

Weaker, weakened,
weakening.

I'm at an end.

Until tomorrow.

I worry about you, my boy.
What will you do?

As best I can.

(GROANS)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

What's the play tomorrow?

Richard the Third.

Oh, not the hunchback again.

Who planned this tour?

You did.

Slavery.

Bloody slavery.

Oughtn't we to
remove our makeup, Sir?

I shall leave nothing.
Nothing.

I hope Will's
pleased tonight.

I had a friend...

Oh, for Christ's sake,
I'm sick of your friends!

A motley crew, they are!

Pathetic, lonely,
despairing!

That's nice, isn't it?

I beg your pardon.
Uncalled for.

Count myself
as your friend.

Never despairing.

Have apologized.

Never, never despairing.

Well, perhaps, sometimes,
at night or at Christmas,

when you can't get
a job in a pantomime.

But not once inside
the building. Never!

Pathetic, maybe,
but not ungrateful.

"Too mindful of one's luck,"
as the saying goes.

No duke is more privileged.

Here's beauty.
Here's spring and summer.

Here pain is bearable.

And never lonely.
Not here.

For he today that
sheds his blood with me.

Soft, no doubt.
Sensitive, that's my nature.

Easily hurt,
that's a virtue.

I'm not here for reasons
of my own, either.

No one could accuse me
of base motives.
I've got what I want.

I don't need anyone
to know it.

Inadequate, yes.
But never, never despairing!

HER LADYSHIP: Bonzo.

Oh, you haven't
started to change yet?

A little slow
tonight, Pussy.

All right.
I won't wait.

I'll go back to the digs and
see if I can get a fire lit.

SIR: Shan't be long.

Night, Norman.

I'm not certain whether
I should thank you or not.

Not. I can't bear
being thanked.

A good woman.

Good night, old man.

Good night.
Good night.

Death to all tyrants.

I heard that, Mr. Oxenby!

Tell him from me
that I look forward
to a new order.

I want a company...

Excuse me.

I want a company
without tyrants.

Who'd be in charge?

I would.

You'll be lovely
with a little success,
Mr. Oxenby.

Your nose is browner
than usual tonight, Norman.

Good night, Sir.

Good night, Norman.

If you hurry,
you'll catch Mr. Oxenby.

(SIR GROANING)

(WHEEZING)

I'm tired. So tired.

The room's spinning.
Must lie down.

Must...lie...down...

(GASPING)

See if you can
get me a taxi
in this godforsaken place.

All in good time.

(CRYING)

Oh, don't cry.
Don't cry.

Nothing left.

Oh, stop that
at once.

Wish the storm
would blow itself out.

It has.

You should
hear the wind.

Like a man in pain.

(IMITATES WIND WHOOSHING)

It's quieter now.

Except for
the distant thunder.

Have begun my life.

What?

Fetch it.
On the desk. The book.

I made a start.

Find the place.

You didn't
get very far.

What did I write?

"My Life. Dedication.

"This book is dedicated
to my beloved Pussy,

"who has been
my splendid spur,

"to the spirit
of all actors

"because of
their faith and endurance
which never fails them.

"To those
who do the work
of the theater,

"yet have
but small share
in its glory,

"carpenters, electricians,
scene-shifters,
property men.

"To the audiences,
who have laughed with us,

"have wept with us,
and whose hearts
have united with ours

"in sympathy
and understanding.

"And finally..."

Oh, Sir...

"To the memory of
William Shakespeare,

"in whose glorious service
we all labor."

"My Life" will have to do.

(LAUGHS)

NORMAN: Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

"Carpenters, electricians,
property men."

Sir...

Sir...

Sir...

We're not dead,
are we?

Madge!

(CRYING) Madge!

(BOTTLE SHATTERING)

Anybody!

Wasn't much
of a death scene.
Ever so short, for him.

Where's Her Ladyship?

She left without him.
Couldn't wait.

I'll telephone her.

And I'll get a doctor.

Too late for
a doctor, ducky.

What'll happen to me?

Wait outside.

I don't want to
wait outside.
I never wait outside!

I want to be here
with him.
I know my place.

Try and sober up.

NORMAN: Carpenters!
Electricians!

Property men!
You cruel bastard!

You might have remembered!

Her Ladyship's
coming at once.

She took it
very calmly.

She asked for him to be
covered in his Lear cloak.
Where is it?

His Lear cloak? Fetch
the photographer, ducky.

Covered in
his Lear cloak.

This isn't
The Death of Nelson,
you know.

There's no mention of stage
managers, either.

You're nothing now, ducky.
He took away your stripes.

And mine!

(CRYING) How could he
be so bloody careless?

Come away.

And now
where will I go?
Where?

I'm nowhere
out of my element.

I don't want to end up
running a boarding house

in Westcliff-on-Sea
or Colwyn Bay.

What am I
going to do?

You can speak
well of him.

Speak well
of that old sod?

I wouldn't
give him a good character,
not in a court of law!

Ungrateful bastard!

Get out!
I don't want
you in here.

Holy, holy, holy, is it?
Are we in a shrine?

No pissing
on the altar?

Stop it!

He never once
took me out for a meal.
Never once.

Always a back seat, me.

I can't even remember him
buying me a drink.

And he just walks out.
Leaves me.

No thought for
anyone but himself!

What have I been doing
all these years?

Why? Here's well,
reason not the need!

Rotten bugger.
Oh, beg your pardon.

Turn round three times
and come back.

What? Come back.

Speak well of him?

I know what
you'd say, ducky.
I know all about you.

I've got eyes
in me head.

We all have
our little sorrows.

I know what you'd say,
"Stiff upper,
faithful, loyal."

Well, I've only one thing
to say about him.

I wouldn't say it
in front of you.

I wouldn't give you
the pleasure. Or him.

Specially not him.

No one will ever know.

We all have our
little sorrows, ducky.
You're not the only one.

And the littler you are,
the larger the sorrow.

You think you loved him?

(SOBBING)
What about me?

This isn't a place
for death.

I had a friend.

Sir?

* He that has

* And a little tiny wit

* With a heigh-ho

* The wind and the rain