“Because I appreciate art in all its forms, Charles. If you have nothing to compare, but one set of actors, how can you know you have the best?” Oliver said, putting on a cheaply tailored earth-brown jacket. It would keep out the cold while he mingled among the outdoor audience of commoners.
“You are a duke, not a commoner!” Charles pointed out the obvious with a raised voice, which caused him to cough into his grubby hands. “You don’t know what might happen out there. These crowds can get mighty rough if they don’t like what they see.”
“Then it is well that I can take care of myself, isn’t it, old friend?” Oliver said politely. “You should get something for that cough,” he added, patting Charles on the back to help clear his lungs. “I bid you farewell, and I’ll see you on the morrow.”
The small cough that rumbled in Charles’ chest was now a full-blown fit of heaving coughs. It meant that Charles could no longer complain over his employer's actions. As he attempted to clear out his airways, he stood up to follow Oliver, but to no avail. The coughing fit had rendered him incapable of following, while Oliver made good his escape.
Leaving through a back door of the Grafton Theatre house, Oliver knew that his common disguise was sufficient to keep him out of trouble. He had done this many times in the past and considered it worthwhile. All he wished to do was watch and learn, as his father had taught him this was the way to find good talent.
Oliver was glad to see that the rain had held off. It had been threatening to ruin the evening, all day, as well as make the roads slippery and unsafe. But he always preferred the evening shows, it meant he could hide better among the crowds. But even in the dark the narrow streets of London soon became congested. Horses rattled by with their carriages in tow, and drunken louts wavered around threateningly. All went about their business, and none cared about anyone who might happen to get in their path. At least most of the street vendors had taken their wares home, allowing more open spaces on the cobbled lanes.
Trundling through the foul-smelling passageways, Oliver dodged broken glass. As he looked down, he pondered on other indescribable, offensive offerings that were underfoot, and did his best to pass it all by.
Finally, he arrived at the inn he had been searching for. The Wooden Keg had a large courtyard where they allowed traveling entertainers to perform. Though it surprised him at the large size of the crowd that night. It seemed that all the commoners in the district had come to be entertained by the outdoor performance.
The wooden stage was set up in front of the crowd, and the play had already begun. Oliver didn't mind as he’d only missed the first scene, so it meant there were another four to go. Making his way to the front, all faces were staring at the stage, so no one gave him a second glance.
Instantly, he recognized the scene and smiled once he realized that the leading male role was played by a woman. Quite the opposite to what they often did in the larger theatres, whereby a man would often play a female role. But then he did not expect a traveling theatre to stick to any rules. They played to a different clientele, and that dictated a different set of guidelines.
Towards the end of scene two, the leading lady finally appeared on stage, and Oliver was struck by her beauty. She was young, so he doubted that her acting skills would match her standard of attractiveness, but how wrong he was.
From the first word that passed her lips, he knew she was perfect for the role of Dorimene.The play was about a noble woman forced into a marriage. Later, she was to catch her new husband embraced in another woman’s arms.Oliver watched in awe as the scene played out and the leading lady won over the audience. They were completely enthralled by her performance.All were entranced as she portrayed her suffering at finding such a scene in her own parlour, set upon the stage.
The commonersbooed, but not at the excellent performance of Dorimene, no,they caterwauled at her sufferance and called out in support of her. She had won them over in an instant, and the crowd loved her. As the second scene came to a close, Oliver witnessed how enraptured the audience had become in only two scenes. This was theatre at its very best, capturing the audience in such a way that his own leading lady was not doing of late.
Scene three opened, with the leading lady weeping under a tree prop. Who should happen to pass her by but her childhood sweetheart. A man she had been forced to spurn because of the arranged marriage. Throughout the scene, he comforted her, and the crowd cheered for him. As they kissed at the end of the scene, the crowd was delirious with enthusiasm, happy that Dorimene had found comfort in someone she trusted.
Charles’s words of referring to this audience as savages returned to his mind. Oliver knew they were not refined, but they invested such rich emotions into their entertainment. These people were far more passionate about a play than any of the nobility. His wealthy clientele, dressed in all their colourful regalia, were far more concerned about how they looked to their peers. Few showed a true interest in the show. Their purpose for visiting the theatre was merely to show off their rich silks and other refinery. Who had the grandest carriage and finest horses? Who had the largest feather hat, or the most colourful gown? That was their only ambition when they entered his theatre house.
But the honesty invested by the commoners as they watched the show play out, was unbeatable. That was why he loved the traveling theatre so much. Traveling actors played their characters as if their lives depended on it, and that resulted in a true and raw performance.
Of course, he knew how the story ended in this play, but he found himself filled with great anticipation whenever Dorimene took to the stage. He knew every word she would speak, so when she strayed off the lines, he applauded her courage to improvise with even better prose. She not only looked the part, but she gave her own take on how it should be played out. The young actor was marvellous, and he didn’t want the play to ever come to an end.
As expected, it finally comes to its inevitable tragic end with the husband murdering his bride.Oliver thought, almost wishing it was the other way around, for she deserved to live on and find happiness.
He roared with the crowd as they shed their tears. The murder scene sent a wave of anger through the audience, mixed with other raw emotions that they were not afraid to show.Never have I seen the crowd so enraptured by a scene in a play.
The commoners might wear dull greys and browns that were shabby in appearance, but they were true to their cause. Compared to the well-dressed nobility in his classy theatre building, he would choose the commoners any day. None were out to impress the other, all they wanted was good, honest entertainment.The character of Dorimene has given them all that they hoped for when they paid their coin to watch this play.
The crowd roared; but this time for an encore. They were demanding more, and Oliver shouted along with them, though there were no more scenes to be played out. Their shouts for Dorimene echoed around the inn's courtyard.They adore her.
Right on cue, the entire cast came to take their final bow. Dorimene was forced to stand forward as they continued to yell her name at the tops of their voices.
Some are shouting themselves hoarse, for they want so much to see Dorimene alive and well one last time. It shocked Oliver as he found himself joining in, so emotional was the moment. His hands ached with all the excessive clapping he had been doing, along with everyone else. He even whistled as he put fingers to his mouth to ensure the shrill noise rose above everyone else’s.
This is a night to remember. I have to come back for more, for I am hooked.
“And now, for one night only,” the leading lady called out. “Here is the ending that should have been.”
The crowd hushed at the sound of her voice, all wanting to hear her words. Oliver was as mesmerised as everyone else in the crowd. The actors took to the stage and an unknown scene was enacted.In the scene before them, Dorimene’s lover came upon the stage to murder her husband. The scene ended where he saved her from the inevitable death scene. As he embraced her in his arms, he told her that she was safe from the monster.
The entire crowd had pushed forward in their eagerness for the unexpected scene. Oliver found himself squeezed against the wooden frame of the stage from his standpoint at the front. Loose splinters from the wood threatened to pierce his hands but he had no care, like everyone else, he wanted to see the play. It seemed that the audience had grown, as more had joined at the back. Oliver turned to look at the growing audience, he knew that word must have spread like wildfire about the extra scene.A scene never before played out, and a scene that everyone wants to witness, including me.
He knew that this was an experienced traveling show.How they came up with such a brilliant idea as this is beyond my understanding. Was it the new leading lady’s idea? Maybe she did not like the fact that she dies, and so she’s giving her audience a better ending. She is indeed a force to be reckoned with.I have to meet with her. I must know if this was her invention, her doing, for if it was, then she is gifted indeed.
At the end of a play, Oliver would usually leave early so that he could return in time for his own theatre ending. But not on this night. This night he would stay behind and watch every second of the leading lady’s performance. He would join in with the crowd and feel their emotions as they all enjoyed a night of stupendous entertainment.
Chapter 3