:06:00
Such eyes, such hair,
such lips and voice to thrill.
:06:03
Surely you were the most beautiful
woman in the house.
:06:06
- See, Pepys likes it.
- I'm talking about my death scene.
:06:09
Something eludes me.
A gesture, a tone.
:06:11
You know what, Tommy?
I'm dying too soon.
:06:13
There's an actor for you.
My death scene doesn't go on long enough.
:06:17
Grasp the fact, Mr Kynaston.
:06:19
The performance is a grand success.
:06:21
What I don't grasp is this.
The King comes to the show last week...
:06:25
- This is Othello?
- This is Othello.
:06:27
And he says, the King says,
:06:28
"Bravo, Betterton.
:06:30
Wonderful show.
Lots of thrills and chills.
:06:33
We're coming again, Saturday next.
One question, though.
:06:36
Could you make it cheerier?"
:06:38
"Cheerier?" says I. "Yes," he said.
"Just make it a little bit more jolly."
:06:43
So I say,
:06:44
"Your Majesty, Shakespeare ends his play
with Desdemona strangled,
:06:48
Emilia stabbed,
and Othello disembowelling himself.
:06:51
Do you suggest we do away with all that?"
:06:53
"Oh, no," he says, "kill 'em all.
Just make it jollier."
:06:56
What none of you glean
:06:58
is that the King is expressing
a particularly salient view of the stage.
:07:02
Ah, Your Grace, what salient view
of the stage would that be?
:07:05
He wants surprises.
:07:07
The King's been away.
The theatre's been closed for 18 years.
:07:10
Now he's back, the theatres are open,
what does he find?
:07:13
The same old things.
:07:15
Poetry, he approves.
:07:17
- Ideas, he approves.
- Two ladies to see Mr Kynaston.
:07:19
- Death, tragedy, yes. But surprise him.
Are they of quality?
:07:23
What about sex, vis-à-vis the stage?
:07:26
The King approves of love, the idea.
What about sex, the expression?
:07:29
Poetry can express sex.
:07:31
So can sex.
Mr Kynaston,
:07:33
if you insist on something more graphic,
show a tit.
:07:36
- The King won't complain.
- How would you suggest I do that?
:07:38
Surprise me.
:07:39
Excuse me, two gentleladies
want to come backstage.
:07:42
Two of them? Excellent.
:07:44
They wish to be received
by Mr Kynaston.
:07:46
Five minutes. Then bring them back.
:07:49
Why five minutes?
Got to put my visage back on.
:07:52
They want the illusion,
not some green room hermaphrodite.
:07:55
- This, Tommy, is why I deserve a share.
- Oh, no.
:07:58
What are you two talking about?