Original subtitles

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, 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 spok en of U.S. Cooperation with Britain.

He is to address both houses of Congress tomorrow.

The meat ration is to be reduced.

I took by the throat the circumcised dog.

And smote him, thus.

O bloody period!

All that's spoken is marr'd.

I kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee.

No way but this.

Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.

This did I fear, but thought he had no weapon.

O Spartan dog.

More fell than anguish, hunger or the sea!

For Goïs sake, Horace!

- Quicker and louder! - And...

And to the state this heavy act with heavy heart relate.

Stand by for curtain.

- Curtain down! - Horace!

When Othello is dead, the play is over.

Say what you have to say with speed and put the audience out of its misery!

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

...l'll have you nailed to the orchestra pit!

Lago is a supporting part. Watch it!

Curtain going up!

Mind you, he's not a bad lago.

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

Stand by for your curtain call, Sir.

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

You're playing the Duke of Venice, not the Queen of the May!

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!

- Excuse me. - Watch that scene tonight.

My lords, ladies and gentlemen...

...thank you for your generosity of spirit.

Next week we shall be appearing...

At the Alhambra, Bradford.

...at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford.

On behalf of my company...

...my lady wife and myself...

...I humbly thank you.

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.

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.

We've got three minutes!

Norman! Fancy seeing you, eh? I've never seen York so cloudy.

I'm playing Scarborough next week...

...and I'm not fixed for Christmas, so if you hear of anything...

Guard! Don't blow your whistle. I beg you. The actors are coming.

One minute.

Please wait, driver, they're very elderly actors.

They're playing Shakespeare at the Alhambra Theatre.

So it's all in a good cause. You won't go without us, will you?

Sod off!

Stop...

...that...

...train!

Hey! You just can't stop a train! I'ts not allowed!

Don't you know there's a war on? It'ss against regulations!

You just can't stop a train!

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

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

Go back to sleep.

Thank you for watching over me, but don't worry too much.

I have this feeling I may do something violent.

- What's the play tomorrow night? - King Lear.

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

These boom lights are for me.

- And me only. - All right.

They follow me wherever I go.

Thank you.

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

Kill the followspot.

Look out, there!

Get back! Keep back there!

Keep away! Get out of the way! Get back!

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

If I may intrude?

For the theatre.

I trust you will find comfort there.

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

I'm at the Alhambra. 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?

You'll be lucky, miss.

God help the man who tries to stop me!

How much further do you want me to go?!

Shouldn't we be getting to the theatre?

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.

What are we going to do, Norman? There'll be an audience in tonight...

...hoping to see him as King Lear. What will we do?

Don't upset yourself, for a start.

I've never made this sort of decision before. Any sort of decision before.

I'm glad I telephoned Madge. She'll know what to do.

Madge will know what to do.

Madge will be ever so sensible. Of course, stage managers have to be.

I should have made him rest.

The doctor said he'd come to his rope's end and found it frayed.

Doctors! Just imagine trying to tell a doctor what Sir's been through:

"You see, doctor, he's been recruiting actors for his Shakespearean company.

But all the able- bodied ones are in uniform...

...and the theatres are bombed as soon as you book them.

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

Doctor'd have his hypodermic rampant before you could say As You Lik e It.

What's the latest with Mr. Davenport Scott?

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

And therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more!

Macbeth shall sleep no more!"

Any further developments?

We'd better see the manager. Come with me.

Please, Your Ladyship, let's not rush things.

There's no alternative. I'll be in my room.

- Your Ladyship... - Madge is right. He's in hospital.

We can't play King Lear with no king! We must make a decision.

Forgive me, it's not a decision we must make. It's the right decision.

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 never proved...

...understandably upset, made a decision.

"A little rest," she said, "among those similarly 'off-centre' in Colwyn Bay."

Never a good date, not in February...

...wrapped in a grey rug, gazing at a grey sea. Talk about bleak!

Mother made a decision, but it was wrong. My friend never acted again.

We have to face the facts!

I've never done that, and I shouldn't start now.

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

- Things aren't lovely. - They aren't if you face facts.

It's facing the company I worry about. What about them and the customers?

It's no good talking about struggle and survival if you cancel the performance.

- It's a disease. - What is?

Hopefulness.

I think we should discuss this in private.

- Norman! Your Ladyship! - Your Ladyship!

I asked him, joking like, if he had been in a fight. He said not.

I thought he wanted his key but he just sat down there.

- 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, help her.

I shan't be a tick.

Well, I don't know exactly, Mr. Mulberry.

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

We're full tonight and Wednesday for Lear.

Richard III is looking healthy.

Merchant of Venice, cosy.

As You Lik e It is cool.

No, he hasn't got an understudy.

Mr. Bottomley! Hold hard, Mr. Bottomley!

King Richarïs himself again!

- Bonzo, why are you here? - My name is on the door.

- Did the doctor say you could leave? - I discharged myself.

- Cancel the performance. - I can't.

Mustn't. Won't!

- Then take the consequences! - When have I not?

How is he?

- Norman! I want you by me! - Yes, Sir.

- Don't leave my side, now. - Yes, Sir.

- I shall want help. - Yes, Sir.

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 able to go on tonight? - He wouldn't be here if he wasn't.

- How long have you been with me? - Longer than anyone else.

- How long? - Twenty years. Nearly 20 years.

- Have I ever missed a performance? - No, but then you've never been ill.

I 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?

- Shouldn't you be getting ready too? - I can't bear to see him like that.

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

Imagine waking to that night after night!

My dear, is he all right?

We heard dreadful rumours. Surely the performance is not cancelled.

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

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

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?

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.

Actors have to put on makeup and change their frocks...

...and then, of course, actors have to act!

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

"From a baboon that wandered wild in Eden," or words to that effect.

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

Tell you what, 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 under an hour to go. 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.

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 bikkie?

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

"Why don't you have one, Norman?" Thanks very much, I will.

If you don't mind my saying so...

...there seems little point in leaving the 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.

There, there. There, there. There, there, I know how it feels.

I had a friend, worse than you, he was.

All they 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...

...and you know you never do any business in Colwyn Bay.

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...

...went 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?

Shall we make a start?

What play is tonight?

- King Lear, Sir. - Impossible!

Thank you. That's nice, isn't it?

People paying good money to see you and you say impossible. Very nice!

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.

You saw her a moment ago. You were alone together.

Were we?

- What's the play tonight? - King Lear, Sir.

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 had 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, if you have any regard for me, don't listen to him!

Who?

More, more, more!

I can't give anymore!

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!

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 laughs when they shouldn't or don't when they should.

Just one person is certain to know and understand, and I act for him."

That's what my friend said.

I can't move that which cannot be moved.

- I want to see him. - I'd rather you didn't.

It's my responsibility to take the curtain up. There isn't time.

Things have reached a delicate stage. I don't want him disturbed.

- What's all that whispering? - Oh, nothing, nothing.

- Has he begun his makeup yet? - Not yet.

Do you know how late it is? They'll be calling the half soon.

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 theatre, 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.

They weren't to know.

I shouldn't have come out this spring but I had no choice.

- He made me. - Who?

- I shoulïve rested. - I had a friend ordered to rest.

He obeyed. That was the end of him. He was so ill.

Nearly became a Catholic. Not unlike Mr. Davenport Scott.

- What news of Davenport? - 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 stands by to play Fool.

- And who as Oswald? - Mr. Brown, I'm afraid.

That leaves me a knight short for "Reason not the need."

Well, 98 short if you take the text as gospel.

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

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 have been reduced to old men, cripples and nancy-boys!

Herr Hitler has made it difficult for Shakespearean companies.

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

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

We have 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.

Send him to me just after the half.

I'll have a word with him.

- I'd better talk to Thornton too. - You see?

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

Start making up. I'll tell them to see you. I've cleaned the wig and beard.

I shan't be a minute.

What now, you Scotch-arsed Zulu?

It's cancelled. Please say it's cancelled.

He wants to see you in the makeup and costume of Fool 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.

I'm not exaggerating.

So I said to Davenport Scott, "You really must behave.

You have a position to uphold."

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

If he wants me any further downstage...

...I shall end up at the back of the stalls.

Mr. Brown, you're playing Oswald. 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?

Now, where was I? Oh, yes. So Davenport Scott said to me...

- Do you mind shutting up?! - Really!

- Norman. - 'Tis I.

- How is he? - Who?

Everyone saw and heard him.

My Uncle Percy raved like that. He's now in a home.

- I hope you visit him often. - Norman.

- Is he fit enough to play King Lear? - Just wait and see.

He's never been in such fine fettle. He'll make history tonight as Lear.

Uncle Percy.

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

Oh, no, Sir! No!

Not Othello!

The lines are fouled.

Instruct the puppeteer to renew the strings.

I'd give anything to see the play. You blacked- up, and Cordelia saying:

"You've begot me, bred me, loved me."

"Well, you see, ducky...

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

We used to play a game called Risqué.

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.

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?"

"With the clap, within a fortnight."

"Within a fortnight."

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.

- Who? - Irene. 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.

Polish it well. I like it gleaming.

Yes, Sir.

Here it is, my child.

Pretty young thing, aren't you?

Thank you, Sir.

Sir, it's time to age.

They're all the same colour.

Which stick do I use?

I can't see the colours.

You start with the eyebrows, Sir.

Eyebrows?

You soap the eyebrows.

Lovely. Now number five.

"Just the mask," you always say.

Yes, leave clean the upper lip and chin for the moustache and beard.

Not too high on the forehead.

There. Easy as falling off a tightrope.

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. - Thank you.

- I shall "trouser- loony" tonight. - Trouser- loony, 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- loony.

I shall look like this in my coffin.

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

"Gives strength," you say.

- Did you find any Brown & Polson? - No. I'm still looking.

We have enough for this tour.

Now we mix the white varnish...

...with a little surgical spirit. - I know how to stick on a beard!

I've been a depicter for over 40 years...

...and steered my own course for over 30!

You overstep the mark, my boy! Don't get above yourself!

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?

It's hot, unbearably hot. I'm going to faint.

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

Oh, Sir, we mustn't give up now. Let's highlight our lines, Sir.

Imagine bombing the Grand Theatre, Plymouth.

Barbarians.

I shall give them a good one tonight.

- What now? - How is he?

- Back to normal. - I wanna see him with my own eyes.

- He's not to be disturbed. - And what about the understudies?

- Everything's in hand. - Will he be ready on time?

- Will he be well enough? - Yes!

Norman!

All this clitter- clatter, chitter- chatter!

- How does the play begin? - Which?

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 labour! I have to carry the world tonight!

The whole bloody universe! I can't remember the first line!

- I'll take you through it. - No one takes you through it!

You are 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.

You always say, "Self-pity is the most unattractive quality on-stage or off.

Struggle and survival 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.

It is not easy. Not one little bit. Neither the struggle nor the survival!

The whole worlïs struggling for survival, so why shouldn't you?!

My dear Norman, I seem to have upset you.

I apologize.

I understand.

We can't always be strong. There's danger in covering the cracks.

Never mind about covering the cracks. What about covering the wig-join?

I'm sorry if I disturbed your concentration.

"We both understand servitude, Alphonso."

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.

Two hundred and twenty-seven Lears...

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

One, two, three, four.

- There was no time to alter the costume. - There never is.

- How are you feeling? - A little more myself, Pussy.

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

- Shall I tie the cloak on as usual? - Yes, as usual.

Mr. Thornton and Mr. Oxenby are waiting outside.

- Shall I tell them to come in? - No, Oxenby frightens me.

Mind you, he's the best lago 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.

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.

Thank you, Your Ladyship.

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?

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? Don't keep me waiting for them.

Pace, pace, pace, pace, pace. And keep out of my focus.

The boom lights in the downstage wings are for 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."

He that has...

He that has...

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

And in the storm scene, if you're gonna put your hands around my legs...

...as Davenport Scott did, then around my calves, not my thighs.

- He nearly ruptured me twice. - Lf 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 and at all costs, remain still when I speak.

And no crying in the part. 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 endeavours.

Thank you, Sir.

- God bless, Geoffrey. - I'd rather face the Nazi hoards.

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

Mr. Oxenby's waiting to see you now.

Oxenby? Why, I can't. What does Oxenby want?

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?

Did I? Norman?

Sir was wondering whether he could ask of you a favour.

He can ask.

You haven't been with us long, but you know...

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

We all muck in as required.

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 them, you hear nothing else.

It upsets the pansy fraternity...

...when one of their number is caught.

We have no one to operate the wind machine.

We wondered if you would turn the handle?

In short, no.

Anything else?

Has he read my play yet?

Oh, fancy not wanting to muck in.

He hates me.

I feel his hatred.

All I stand for, he despises.

I wouldn't read his play if he were commissar of culture.

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.

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

A quarter of an hour, please. A few minutes late, I'm sorry.

I can't. Tell them to go home. Give them their money back.

- You want the performance cancelled? - No, he does not.

- For your own good, please. - Get out! He'll be ready!

- We're out of time. - Leave me!

I can't remember the lines! Norman!

Norman, how does it begin?

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

The king is coming.

Attend the lords of France and Burgundy...

Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, 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 lived long enough! - Now look what you've gone and done!

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

What? Macb... Christ, did I?

Outside.

Turn around three times.

One.

Two.

Three.

Knock.

Come in.

Swear.

Piss-pots!

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.

- 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.

I'm working here.

The night I played my first Lear there was a real storm. Now bombs.

How much more will I have to endure?

We are to speak Shakespeare, and they'll go to any lengths to prevent me.

- I shouldn't take it so personally. - 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.

Oh, 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!

- Who will make the announcement? - Davenport Scott, of course.

Mr. Davenport Scott isn't here tonight. Everyone else is in costume.

You then, Norman.

- No, Sir, I can't appear. - You, Norman.

I'll forget 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?

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...

Will those who wish to leave...

...do so as quietly as possible?

Thank you.

Stand by. Stand by on tabs.

Houselights to a half.

Stand by, timpani.

Houselights out.

Houselights out.

Cueing grands.

Cue drum roll.

Stand by.

Clerics.

Curtain going up!

I thought the king had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.

It did always seem so to us, but in the division of the kingdom...

...it appears not which of the dukes he values most.

- Geoffrey, was I all right? - What?

- The announcement. Was I effective? - Oh, yes, old man, damn good.

Thank you. Good luck, Geoffrey.

I've so often blushed to acknowledge him that now I am brazed to it.

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?

"Will those who wish to live." Oh, I coulïve kicked meself.

- You were fine. - Thank you.

- Did he say anything? - No.

Stand by, please, Your Ladyship.

Stand by, please, Sir.

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

The king is coming.

Stand by, Sir. Cue in the king's fanfare.

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?

Oh, please, Sir. I implore you.

The king is coming.

- Methought I saw the king. - Methought so too.

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

Methought I saw him.

His profession formed.

Sir, it's your entrance. Mr. Oxenby's having to extemporize.

Sombre they look...

...their muted colours of a tone...

...with the bleak heathland that is...

...our kingdom.

The king, my father, was, methought, behind me.

Sir, the natives are getting restless. Sound the fanfare again.

Methinks I see the king.

No, I was mistook.

I will, with thy consent...

...to his majestic side...

...there to discover his royal progress.

- Is he coming or isn't he? - Yes!

I am assured, my lord...

...the king is coming.

Struggle and survival, sir!

- Cue the 100 knights! Cue the knights! - Get on, get on!

Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.

Attend the lords of France and Burgundy...

...Gloucester. - I shall, my liege.

Meantime...

...we shall express our darker purpose.

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 unburthen'd crawl toward death.

Yes.

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

You think I'll weep.

No, I'll not weep.

I have full cause of weeping...

...but this heart shall break into 100,000 flaws...

...or ere I'll weep.

O Fool...

...I shall go mad!

Stand by for the storm.

- All clear. - Swines.

Just when you want them, they run away!

O, sir, to willful 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 abused, wisdom bids fear.

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

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

Go, storm.

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks.

Rage, blow!

You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout...

...till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks.

You sulph'rous and thought-executing fires...

...vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts...

Louder! Louder!

Louder! He wants it louder!

He wants it louder!

I am a man...

...more sinn'd against...

...than sinning!

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!

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 am driven deaf by whispers!

Norman, Norman, you have thwarted me!

Good evening, Sir. I didn't have the chance to...

- Guard the door! ...welcome you here.

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!

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've the interval in 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."

And wasn't Geoffrey agile as Fool? For a man 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?

To be driven thus!

- I hate the swines! - Who?

Now, who is it you hate?

- The critics? - The critics?

I 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. You must stop questioning me. Let me rest.

Don't leave me until I'm asleep. Don't leave me alone.

I'm a spent force.

My days are numbered.

Numbered.

- Thank you for helping with the storm. - I don't know why I did.

We're a band of brothers, that's why. You're one of us in spite of yourself.

- Get stuffed. - That's not nice.

You're Norman, aren't you?

Remember me? This afternoon, in the square.

Hello, ducky! You in tonight?

I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Never known him 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.

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

Hello, Norman, how are you?

Will you have one, pet?

Oh, no, I never drink on duty.

Fetch Madge!

Don't be late for the second act.

Excuse me.

There, there, Evelyn, it's only a play.

Only a play, dear.

- It's going well. - Except for your first entrance.

- Your hands are like ice! - Cold with fear.

- Frightened? - Of what's to come.

I thought I caught a sight of him tonight.

Or myself as he sees me.

Speaking, "O reason not the need," I became detached from myself.

My thoughts flew. I was observing from a height.

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

"You've more to give, don't hold back. More!"

And I was watching Lear.

Each word he spoke was fresh invented.

I had 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... - 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 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.

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.

Life would not yield to age.

O, my good lord, I have been your tenant...

...and your father's tenant, these fourscore years.

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.

"Very agile," he said.

Fool's, by far, the most important part...

...l've ever played in Shakespeare.

Trouble is, it gives one a taste for more.

- Yes? - It's Irene.

- I'm returning the triple crown, Sir. - Yes.

Put it down.

Sir, will it disturb you if I say something?

- It depends on what it is. - I just wanted to thank you.

- For what? - The performance this evening.

- It isn't over yet. - I felt honoured to be on the stage.

In the drawer of the makeup table you will find a photograph of me.

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...?

- 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?

Higher.

There's not much to you.

Such small bones.

- Are you getting enough to eat? - Oh, yes.

So young.

So young.

That's more like it!

Too late. It's too late.

- Well, now, my dainty duck. - He seems much better.

What was all that about?

Let go of me!

- But are my brother's pow'rs set forth? - Ay, madam.

Himself in...

Think I don't know the game? Think I've dressed him for 16 years...

...nursed him, spoiled him, washed his sweat-sodden doublets and hose...

...and his underpants night after night without knowing every twist and turn...

...of what's known as his mind? He did 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.

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 the young Cordelia, ducky.

He wants a light Cordelia.

Light, ducky, light.

- Look at yourself, at Her Ladyship. - You don't understand.

- He needs youth. - You're lighter than she is.

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

How do you think Her Ladyship got the job?

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 Lancelot Gobbo clap.

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

...but a moderate eater.

Off you go, ducky.

She'll have to find another canoe to paddle.

Ours, I'm afraid, hath holes.

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

You should hear what they think. Michelangelo, William Blake.

God knows who else you reminded them of.

Michelangelo?

Do they?

And Blake.

I know what they mean.

Moral grandeur.

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 pectoral, I name you friend.

The debt is all mine.

I shall find a way to repay you.

- I must settle all my debts. - Stop it. You're making me tearful.

God, your breath smells of stale tights!

- How much have you had? - Not enough.

- Lago, lago! - 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! - And you, dear.

- What? - And you, Lear.

Be brief in it, to the castle...

...for my writ is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia.

Nay, send in time.

- Run, O, run! - To who, my lord?

Who has the office? Send thy token of reprieve.

Well thought on.

Take my sword, give it the captain.

Haste thee, for thy life.

He hath commission from thy wife and me...

...to hang Cordelia in the prison, and to lay blame upon her own despair...

...that she fordid herself.

I do wish you wouldn't do that. You remind me of a labourer.

O, you are men of stones.

Had I your tongues and eyes...

...l'd use them so...

...that heaven's vault should crack!

She's gone forever.

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.

Do you see this?

Look on her.

Look, her lips.

Look there.

Look there.

He faints.

My lord, my lord!

Break, heart, I prithee, break.

O, and cease.

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.

Curtain down!

On stage, everybody, please. Stand by for your curtain calls.

- Curtain going up. - We've done it, Will Shakespeare!

We've done it!

Stand by for your curtain call, please, Sir.

Let them know you're coming.

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 III. ...King Richard III.

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 essay 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.

Right, all. Strike King Lear, set for Richard III.

Keep that backcloth in, George, it does for Bosworth Field.

Good night, Violet, love.

Frank, will you give me a hand, please?

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.

- What's the play tomorrow? - Richard III.

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 chrissake!

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.

I 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.

Bonzo?

Oh, you've not started to change yet?

I'm a little slow tonight, Pussy.

I won't wait. I'll go to the digs and see if I can get a fire lit.

Shan't be long.

Good night, Norman.

I'm not sure if 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 would be in charge? - I would.

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

Your nose is browner than usual tonight, Norman.

Good night, sir.

- Good night, Norman. - Lf you hurry, you'll catch Mr. Oxenby.

I'm tired, so tired.

The room's spinning. Must lie down. Must...

...lie down.

See if you can get me a taxi...

...in this godforsaken place. - All in good time.

- Oh, don't cry. Don't cry. - There's nothing left.

Now, stop that at once.

Wish the storm would blow itself out.

It has.

You should hear the wind.

Like a man in pain.

It's quieter now...

...except for the distant thunder.

- I've 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 for their faith and endurance which never fails them.

To those who do the work of the theatre yet have but small share in its glory...

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

To the audiences who have laughed with us, 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 labour."

My Life...

...will have to do.

Carpenters, electricians, property men.

Sir.

Sir?

We're not dead, are we?

Madge!

Madge!

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 will 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.

Carpenters! Electricians! Property men!

You cruel bastard! You might have remembered!

Her Ladyship's coming at once.

She took it very calmly.

She wants him 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!

- How could he be so bloody careless? - Come away.

And then where will I go? Where?

I'm nowhere out of my element.

I don't want to end up running a boarding house in Westcliffe- 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 in a court of law! Ungrateful bastard!

- Get out! I don't want you in here! - What, holy, is it? Are we in a shrine?

- No pissing on the altar! - Stop it!

He never once took me out for a meal, not once! Always the back seat for 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?

Yes, well, "Reason not the need." Rotten bugger!

Oh, beg your pardon. Turn around three times and come back.

Come back.

Speak well of him? Oh, 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...

...l'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, especially 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?

What about me?

This isn't a place for death.

I had a friend.

Sir?