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♫ Should old acquaintance be forgot ♫
♫ And never brought to mind? ♫
♫ Should old acquaintance be forgot ♫
♫ And days of auld lang syne? ♫
[ Sighs ]
Hi. Got a moment?
No. Working on the play.
I heard you playing with your stapler.
That's what I do when I'm procrastinating.
Look what I found in the storage room.
Oliver's notes.
Notes on what?
For the play. For "Macbeth."
He was obsessed with it, you know?
So I heard.
He planned it all out in great detail.
Lighting plots, costume designs. It's all in there.
It's like he's speaking to you from the grave.
Oooh!
[ Laughs ]
Oh, thank you, Anna. This is a wonderful help.
You're welcome.
There's eight in total. Where do you want them?
[ Piano plays intro to "Mackers" ]
♫ Call me superstitious or cowardly or weak ♫
♫ But I'll never play a character ♫
♫ Whose name one dare not speak ♫
♫ I'll play Hamlet in doublet and hose ♫
♫ Or either of the Dromios ♫
♫ But, sorry, I won't play Mackers ♫
♫ I'll play Richard III with a hump and a wig ♫
♫ Or Henry VIII, that selfish pig ♫
♫ But, sorry, I don't do Mackers ♫
♫ Every soul that plays this role ♫
♫ Risks injury or death ♫
♫ I'd rather sweep the bloody stage ♫
♫ Than ever do Mac-you-know-who ♫
♫ So give me King Lear, Cleopatra ♫
♫ Romeo, Juliet -- doesn't "mattra" ♫
♫ I'll play them all for free ♫
♫ But I'd be crackers to take on Mackers ♫
♫ You see, I'm skittish about the Scottish tragedy ♫
♫ Och, aye ♫
[ Cheers and applause ]
Subtitling made possible by RLJ Entertainment
WOMAN: He's an intensely private man.
He's a deep thinker, an avid reader.
He spends most of his time thinking or reading
or thinking about things he's read.
MAN: Many people find him arrogant
when they first meet him
because he's so, uh, standoffish
and he's not very good with names.
But he's not arrogant. He's profoundly...
Profoundly humble.
OLIVER: Yes, it's a very difficult job.
But every man has his burden.
Ha!
I suppose if I had to describe myself in one word,
I'd say that word would be...
Lonely.
[ Laughs ]
Anna! Anna?
Anna!
Please don't yell for me like that, Richard.
I'm not a cocker spaniel.
All right. I'm sorry. I just -- I can't leave my desk.
I've been on hold with the Ministry of Culture
for 15 minutes.
What's that?
Nothing.
There's something you don't want me to see.
No.
Anna, you're hiding it behind your back.
I'm not an idiot.
"New Burbage Festival In Financial Crisis."
Oh, Jesus.
"Sources inside Canada's most prestigious
theatrical institution
report that as a result of alleged mismanagement..."
Jesus Christ! Who sa--
"...the festival is facing
its worst financial crisis in years."
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
"Sponsors have been abandoning the New Burbage Festival
like rats from a sinking --"
All right! Thank you.
Oh, *** Basil.
[ Sighs ]
-What did you want? -Hmm?
Oh, um, could you get me a coffee?
All right, all right. Anna, come on.
I had to rush out this morning. I didn't have time.
Richard, I have so much on my plate.
Yeah, Anna, I know. And I'm on hold.
I'm held here, okay? I can't move.
And I understand your situation,
and I'm taking steps to relieve your workload.
What steps?
I'm reviving the intern program.
No! That's more work for me, Richard.
No, it's not!
They'll do the grunt work. Anything you don't want to do.
And it's free!
There's a reason they're free. They're teenagers.
Uh, yes. I'm holding for the minister of culture.
Get coffee. Please.
I hate to look at my own work.
I wear out the carpet pacing back and forth
at the back of the theater on opening nights.
I snap at anyone who tries to comfort me.
I know --
not the kind of behavior you'd expect
from a national treasure.
GEOFFREY: There!
Did you hear that?
"National treasure."
He actually uses those words.
Calls himself a national treasure.
50 times I've watched this.
Well, thank you. That was very enjoyable.
But I have a leaky urinal to attend to.
Shouldn't you be working on that play?
I am!
I am working on the play. I just thought that...
...well, you might enjoy sharing this with me.
MAN: Why is it that particular play that obsesses you?
Why the Scottish tragedy?
Well, it's a play of such power
that one quite literally dares not speak its name.
MAN: And what about casting?
Who do you have in mind for Macbeth?
OLIVER: Well, in a perfect world...
Henry Breedlove. Of course.
Who else?
This is unbelievable.
Anna brought all these boxes into the office today.
Uh-uh-uh!
Okay, no work talk, please. We had an agreement.
I forgot. Sorry.
-Can't be all about work. -I know, I know. I'm sorry.
You're as bad as Sloan.
With him it was always,
"Moto-thingy this, and moto-thingy that."
[ Clears throat ] I'm thinking about boxes.
Can I at least just finish what I was saying about boxes,
I mean, now that I've violated the rule?
It's an agreement, not a rule. This isn't boarding school.
Okay, eight boxes
full of Oliver's notes all about "Macbeth."
Eight boxes.
They're sitting there in a little pyramid mocking me.
And you haven't looked in them?
God, no. I don't want to poison my mind.
I thought you were doing Oliver's "Macbeth."
No, Ellen, I'm doing my "Macbeth."
Oh. Sorry.
So now that we've violated the agreement,
can I ask you a question about Lady Macbeth?
Yeah, of course.
Exactly how is she weak?
I know she has some weakness because she goes mad, but...
For the first half of the play, she is so overpowering.
"Bring forth men-children only,
for thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males."
Right?
So when does she crack? And why?
And is it evil that has given her her strength?
Is it an unnatural cruelty?
Or was she just a horrible ***?
Well, you know, I mean,
I'm still working, uh, through the...
You're stuck, aren't you?
Yeah.
Why don't you look in the boxes?
[ Groans ] Ellen.
Sorry.
I'm gonna pick up a tree tomorrow.
I haven't had a tree since I was a kid.
A big tree.
A Fraser fir. They're the best.
-Do you want to come with me? -Well...
I can't. I've got work to do. Obviously.
I'm not a misanthrope. But people seem to think I am.
-Ha! -I'm a lonely person.
-That proves it. -Ho ho!
Misanthropes don't get lonely.
I think most creative people devote themselves to their art
at the expense of their relationships.
I don't know any happily married artists.
That should tell you something.
-Geoffrey? -ANNA: Geoffrey?
Geoffrey?
Good morning.
Morning.
Look what I found.
It's the maquette. For the play.
What play?
"Macbeth." Oliver's "Macbeth."
I saw it sticking out from under a box of codpieces, and I said,
"That looks like a maquette," and it was.
And then I saw the label.
Isn't it exciting?
Wow. Thank you, Anna.
You're making my job so easy.
You have to go in that storeroom sometime.
It's like King Tut's tomb in there.
What the hell?!
I saw it sticking out from under a box of codpieces,
and I thought, "That looks like a maquette."
-And it was! -That's amazing.
Would you take a look at this?
It's the proposal for the minister.
Oh.
You're asking for $2.2 million?
-I have to. -That's a lot.
Well, we need a lot. Actually, it's not enough.
God, I hope she's a reasonable person.
I like her.
She criticized her own party when she was minister of health.
That takes guts.
You know, this reads like a demand.
Well, I do-- I don't want to appear weak.
It's like you kidnapped her child.
Thank you for your feedback.
It's just, asking for a lump-sum grant like that --
Anna, I don't know what else to do, okay?
I'm panicking. Look at me, Anna.
Okay, okay. You know what?
I read about a program about a year ago.
-I'm freaking out! -Okay! Let me look it up.
-I'll be right back. -Yeah, you do that.
[ "O Christmas Tree" plays ]
-Put it in the truck and take -- -No.
Can't do that. Sorry.
What? Why can't you do that for me?
Merry Christmas.
Oh! Ta-- Taxi! Taxi!
Oh!
Oh!
[ Glass breaking ]
"The Cultural Initiatives Fund is an $8 million program
that aims to increase cultural tourism
by providing arts organizations with up-front working capital
directed towards the applicant's marketing
and promotional costs."
-What is this? -It's a loan. A one-time loan.
-For rebranding. -Rebranding?
Reinventing, remarketing, you know?
Look here.
"Priority is placed on projects
demonstrating maximum repayment potential."
Meaning what?
Meaning the bigger the organization,
the more likely they are to repay the loan.
Yeah --
That's perfect. That's perfect for us.
Uh, thing is, you were supposed to have applied three weeks ago.
***! Anna!
Still, it's better than walking into her office at Christmas
demanding millions of dollars.
Yeah, you're right. Okay. I'm gonna write this up.
***. We only have a few hours.
[ Typing ]
Was there something else?
Well, I won't see you before January, so, uh...
Oh. [ Chuckles ]
Should I open it now?
You don't have to. It's really stupid.
I'll open it now.
It's just a stupid thing.
It's an executive stress ball. It's really stupid.
Oh!
Oh.
[ Laughs ]
It's like "The Gift of the Magi."
Yeah.
Anna, I've really got to write this up.
-Sure. -Thanks.
-[ Laughter ] -[ Chanting ] Chug! Chug! Chug!
Richard Smith-Jones.
Minister, thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice.
-I know that at Christmastime -- -Cut the chitchat.
I've got five minutes before we do secret Santas.
-What do you want? -Uh, okay.
Well, we-- we've had sort of --
We at the New Burbage Festival had -- had sort of
an unusual situation which, unfortunately,
has resulted in a little bit of a revenue shortfall.
You screwed a board member. I heard.
Mistakes were made, yes.
But we're working to correct them and learn from the past.
Well, that's just peachy,
but the cookie jar is empty, Richard.
Minister, with respect, the New Burbage Festival
has, over the last decade,
provided significant return to its stakeholders
both in terms of tax revenue and social capital,
and I think it might be in the interest of the government
to protect that -- that interest.
Oh, just *** off.
I'm sorry?
I'll tell that to the next cancer patient I see.
You people in the arts make me sick.
I was minister of health. I used to do something useful.
I met with people who were dying, people with families.
Do you have a family?
No. No children.
The healthcare system in this country
is desperately underfunded.
But do you know what came across my desk yesterday?
A $20,000 grant application
for a Polish woman who pisses in a bucket onstage.
Jesus.
How much do you want?
$2 million. Plus .2.
$2.2 million.
*** unbelievable.
Have you ever seen a case of Grimes' disease?
No. What is, uh, Grimes' disease?
It is a terminal but preventable disease is what it is.
It just came to mind because the $2.2 million you're requesting
just happens to be exactly what a new MRI machine costs.
Do you know what it's like to have to say no to someone
who has Grimes' disease?
That must be very hard.
*** you. No more hand-outs.
Minister, with respect, please.
We are not asking for a hand-out.
We are asking for a loan which we will repay in full.
The money already exists.
It's in the Cultural Initiatives Fund.
-Deadline's passed. -Yes, I am aware of that.
And I am hoping that
in this case you will make an exception.
Why should I?
Because we have a plan. We're going to rebrand!
We're gonna, uh, reinvent the entire festival.
We're gonna change our profile, reach out to a younger audience.
And -- And once we have that audience,
the festival can walk on its own.
You'll never see me again.
But -- But we need working capital, and we need it now.
[ Groans ]
All right, I'll give you the money.
Because God knows
I don't want your festival going down on my watch.
$2.2 million one-time loan
payable 60 days after the end of the season.
Don't *** up, Richard.
Thank you, Minister, and Merry --
-Get out of my office. -...Christmas.
[ Gasps ]
ELLEN: I hate Christmas!
What happened?
I had to drag the tree all the way home, and it got ruined.
And I didn't have a stand.
The tree fell over
and smashed all the beautiful Christmas ornaments,
so there's glass in the rug, and Christmas is ruined.
I hate it!
I just wanted a normal *** Christmas,
and now you can't walk on the floor
without your feet getting lacerated.
Okay. Easy.
Let's go see if we can't save Christmas.
ELLEN: [ Laughing ]
There.
-Aha. -Oh, it's so beautiful.
GEOFFREY: [ Laughs ]
Thank God you have an earring fetish.
-Some of them are my mother's. -Hmm?
Those two.
[ Both laugh ]
Hey, I got you those, didn't I?
Yes. The sapphire.
-Merry Christmas, Ellen. -Merry Christmas, Geoffrey.
Did you look in the boxes yet?
Oliver is in a great part responsible
for me being an actor at all.
Oh, that's ridiculous.
Because after a particularly harsh review I received --
-"Othello." -Yes, you see, you remember.
It was an ill-conceived "Othello."
It was like a minstrel show.
Yes, I was very upset, and I wanted to chuck it all,
but you -- you kept me on.
It was your first year.
My first year as artistic director.
You kept me on.
I wonder how many careers you've made
or at least sustained during your reign.
I have had to let a few go.
I'm sure I've made a few mistakes.
[ Vehicle approaches ]
Geoffrey! No!
Geoffrey! No!
-[ Thud ] -Ah!
***!
***!
***! ***!
"The key to the tension of the piece
is to erase the comfort barrier created by the proscenium arch.
The addition of a thrust will create the illusion
that they are complicit in the intrigue...
...and will move the action...
...into the audience."
-[ Bangs ] -Busy?
Yeah. I'm getting ready for a meeting.
I've been investigating marketing companies
to handle the rebranding.
I finally got an appointment with Frog Hammer.
-Frog who? -Frog Hammer.
Oh, they're the hot, young company.
Very exclusive.
Well, that's fantastic. Richard, I want a thrust.
A what?
I want a thrust in the Rose.
I don't know what you're saying.
I want to extend the stage into the audience.
I want to get in their faces.
-How much does a thrust cost? -I don't know.
-$100,000, $200,000. -What?!
And you'd probably have to lose some seats.
Somewhere around 50.
What? Are you insane? No! No!
I say no to the thrust! No!
Richard, you were the one
who wanted me to do Oliver's "Macbeth."
Well, it can't be done without the thrust.
And you said you would support me, remember?
You were drunk, but you were sincere.
$200,000 and we lose 50 seats?
More like 70. But you're gonna love it.
Oh, Anna. Thanks.
-What for? -The boxes.
Oh! Good stuff in the boxes, eh?
Yeah, good stuff in the boxes.
And I was stuck, actually.
But, you know, I was reluctant to, well,
plunge my hands into Oliver's brain, you know.
Anyway, thanks.
You need help?
No, and if you touch anything, I'm gonna cry.
Okay. Well, if you need anything, just let me know.
Oh! Uh, there is one thing.
Um, it's a dumb P.R. thing.
Every year, the local elementary school
puts on a short version of the play
we're doing at the festival.
-You know, to teach the kids. -Right.
Oliver would go every year as a gesture.
It's this Thursday at 1:00.
Yeah. Sure.
Oh, really? Oh, thanks.
That's so great. The teacher's so nice.
[ Chuckles ] Right.
Oh, what are they doing? "Romeo and Juliet"?
No! "Macbeth."
It'll be like research.
Great. Sounds like fun.
-MAN: Side chair. -WOMAN: Side chair.
MAN: Is he the money?
WOMAN: Um, his title is -- Let's see...
Who are you?
Richard Smith-Jones. Executive director.
There's an artistic director, too, but --
He's the money.
But he's not comfortable with that.
Side chair.
MAN #1: Side chair. Called it.
WOMAN: We all called it.
He's eyeing the magazines. I say he's gonna go for Testos.
WOMAN: I say Testos or Flare.
MAN #2: He'll go for Testos or Flare,
but he'll settle for Canadian Geographic
or The Economist.
MAN #1: Why would he do that?
Because he doesn't want to be caught reading Testos
when someone comes in.
What did I say?
WOMAN: That was eerie.
-Very nice call. -It wasn't difficult.
Look at the tie -- the colors, the pattern.
That is the tie of an insecure man,
a man desperate to please.
An unhappy man.
Always look at the tie.
I don't see her. She said she'd be here.
I've never even met her,
and I've known you for, what, like a decade?
Well, I'm not close to my sister.
She's from a different world.
Ellen. Hi.
There you are!
I can't believe you came.
Well, we came to see Annie perform.
This is Geoffrey.
Yes, I remember. How are you?
Better.
And this is Ed.
-Hi. -Hi.
[ Feedback rings ]
Well, I guess they're gonna start.
Oh, we better take a seat.
We'll talk later.
I can't believe you came.
Well, it's not that weird, is it?
Yes, it is.
That was cheeky.
Welcome, everyone,
to New Burbage Elementary's production
of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth."
I love this.
Sitting in the audience. There's no pressure.
We should do this more often.
...two very special people --
the artist director of the New Burbage Festival
and a lead actress who I understand
will be playing Lady Macbeth this year.
So look out, Tiffany.
[ Laughs ]
Geoffrey Tennant and Ellen Fanshaw.
Thank you so much for coming.
And now without any further ado, please enjoy "Macbeth."
[ Applause ]
When is Oliver coming?
MAN: I like you.
I like the way you'll look at me with your sleepy eyes.
I like your honest, nervous way.
I watch your lips move and smile in my direction.
I like you.
You're different from me.
Your *** is always hard. Your *** tastes like sugar.
The feel of your *** makes me melt.
Your tongue in my mouth is ecstasy.
I want to *** you --
*** -- *** -- *** -- *** you,
suck you, rim you, sw--
Richard! Welcome.
Sanjay Rainier.
Oh, hi. Uh...
Uh...
It's hard to get an appointment with you guys.
I had to call you four times.
Ah, Frog Hammer is the most democratic of companies.
Everybody takes a turn at the front desk, including me.
It might not be the best idea. I'm always losing calls.
Truthfully, our best clients
always manage to find us somehow.
I'm sorry, would you like your hand back now?
Give the man his hand back now, Sanjay.
That's my father's voice. Please, sit.
Can I offer you something better than water?
Oh. No, that's -- that's fine.
What about a nice chai?
Black tea from Bangalore, cinnamon,
and whipped hot milk sound good?
Sure.
Chai, please. Boardroom two. Two people.
You look tired.
Would you like your car washed while we meet?
My -- No, no. That's fine.
That's all. Thank you.
Ah, Testos.
Quite a magazine. You read it?
I've seen it.
Mm-hmm. That...is my girlfriend.
RICHARD: Really?
Wow. She --
-Really? -Three things.
Yes, it's true, yes, I'm bragging,
and can you blame me?
So you've been to see the competition, yes?
Um, yeah, I had a look around.
Good for you.
And our colleagues said
very cruel things about us, didn't they?
Well...
Please, Richard, I don't mean to put you on the spot.
I know what they said.
They said terrible things, and yet you still come here.
Have you no sense? You were warned off.
I just want to see who's out there.
I have a confession to make.
We didn't return your calls because we wanted you to see
everyone else before you came here.
Devious, I know.
But only if you've been in the deepest valley
can you ever know how magnificent it is
to be on the highest mountain.
-Richard Nixon said that. -[ Door opens ]
Hmm.
Ah, the tea's here.
Thank you so much.
Once upon a time in Scotland
there was a brave warrior named Macbeth.
One day after a battle
he went home through the woods with his friend Banquo.
On the way, they came upon three witches.
Ha ha ha ha!
-[ Laughter ] -All hail thane of Cawdor.
Ha ha ha ha!
Hey, I am not thane of Cawdor.
All hail king of Scotland soon to be!
What do you mean by that, witches?
Everyone knows Duncan is the king of Scotland.
They're telling your future, Macbeth.
What about me?
You will not be king, but you will be the father of kings.
Ha ha ha!
NARRATOR: And then the witches disappeared into the filthy air.
All of a sudden, two noblemen appeared.
Congratulations, Macbeth.
The king is so happy with your victory over the king of Norway,
he has made you thane of Cawdor!
Congratulations!
The witches were right!
NARRATOR: So Macbeth hurries home and tells his wife,
Lady Macbeth, all about what happened.
She gets very excited.
We will have to kill King Duncan in his sleep.
Then you will be king, just like the witches said.
Uh, I don't think we should do that.
Come on! Be a man!
[ Laughter ]
Suddenly, a bloody dagger appeared before Macbeth
and -- and led him to the sleeping king,
and there he killed him.
[ Groaning ]
Now I am king, just like the witches said.
But they also said that Banquo will be the father of kings.
You three murderers --
Go. Kill Banquo and his son, Fleance.
Aah!
Oh!
-Aha! -Aha!
[ Laughter ]
NARRATOR: That night Macbeth throws a big banquet.
But all of a sudden, the ghost of Banquo appears at the table.
What?! You can't be here!
You're dead!
LADY MACBETH: I'm sorry, everybody.
My husband is upset and tired.
Please go home.
What? No dessert?
What is wrong with you?!
[ Laughter ]
Are you okay?
I'm fine.
The problem is our audience is literally dying.
The average age is 55 years old.
If we don't reach the youth market, we're finished.
What are your plans? Tell me.
Well, let me read you our mission statement.
It's just a first draft.
"It is the purpose of the New Burbage Theater Festival
to stage the classics of theater
with special emphasis on the works of William Shakespeare
with high production values and an unrivaled level of artistry
and, in a culturally and socially inclusive manner,
to communicate Canada's cultural voice
both domestically and abroad.
[ Both laugh ]
Oh, yeah.
I used "cultural" twice.
That's not good. Maybe you can help me with that.
What about this --
"Theater that *** with your head"?
Well, that would certainly solve the cultural problem.
I'm only half kidding, Richard.
Rebranding is an exercise
in changing the perception of something.
Very hard to do in this day and age
unless you're ready for a risk.
Okay. How would you advertise --
Richard, I don't use that word.
"Advertise"?
Yes. That is not what we do here.
You don't do advertising?
Richard, people are tired of ads in all their forms.
They don't believe anything we say, and it doesn't work.
We at Frog Hammer ask ourselves very simple things.
Is it wondrous? Does it move you?
Is it culturally authentic?
We believe that people are sick of being lied to.
If you use truth, you can sell people anything.
If you want them to react, to feel, to buy,
tell them the truth!
The truth is the new lie!
*** it. You're hired.
Every man is born of a woman.
That's good. But will I always be king?
WITCHES: You will be king until the forest comes to the castle.
Ha ha ha!
MACBETH: Well, a forest can't walk.
I have nothing to worry about.
NARRATOR: But in England,
Macduff was planning with Malcolm
to use his army to defeat Macbeth.
And when Macbeth heard about that, he got very mad
and had Macduff's wife and children killed.
[ Screaming ]
-Aha! -Aha!
Out! Out, spot!
I can't wash the blood off my hands!
Oh, no.
My wife has gone crazy because of guilt.
Aah!
MACBETH: Now they tell me my wife is dead.
I don't understand life.
It just keeps going on and on with no purpose.
I'm so sad.
Isn't that poignant?
This little boy captured the essence of Macbeth's despair
with those few lines.
"I don't understand life.
Just goes on and on with no purpose."
Of course, this little one knows nothing about death, does he?
Talk about going on and on with no purpose --
That's my burden.
Well, I'm back now. You've given me something to do.
I understand we're going to be working together.
Get out!
What's wrong?
I'm sorry. I-I got to go.
Then something very strange happens.
Macbeth looks out the window of his castle and sees trees...
-Aha! -Aha!
What did you see?
Him.
Oliver?
-Aha! -Aha!
Anna. I'm off to the airport to pick up Henry Breedlove.
How do I look?
-Good. Sharp. -Good.
-Table reading's at 10:00? -Yes.
-Hi. -Hi.
You do look good.
-Hi. -Hi.
Who are you?
I'm Emily Lu. I'm interning here.
Oh, ***. You're early.
-Yes. -You're really early.
Yes. It's good to be early.
No. It's not good to be early. I have nothing for you to do.
Oh, I'll do whatever you want. I'm here to help.
Well, give me a sense of your work experience.
Well, last summer, I was a polar bear at the zoo.
I handed out flyers for the new exhibit.
And the summer before that, I was tree planting,
but then I got appendicitis.
Just stand over there against the wall.
Oliver.
I didn't want to come back until you invited me.
I'm so glad you did.
-I didn't invite you. -Yes, you did.
When you "plunged your hands into my brain,"
as you put it, I took that as a sign.
Well, it wasn't a sign.
I took it to mean you were calling me back
from the great beyond to help you.
Oh, it's good to be back.
It's good to see a friendly face.
No, no. This is not a friendly face.
This is a pissed-off face, Oliver.
-You humiliated me again. -When?
When you chose to rise from the dead
in the middle of a children's play?
You're right. I'm sorry.
I should be more discreet. But let's forget about that.
Let's talk about our collaboration.
Oh, no. I am not collaborating with a corpse.
Excuse me? Who pored over whose notes?
Who taped together whose maquette?
Who built whose thrust?
Listen to me very carefully, Oliver.
I am not collaborating with the spirit world
on a production of "Macbeth."
Where are you going?
To the table reading of your *** play.
-Well, I'd better come along. -No! Why?
-I give you credibility. -Oh, God!
Excuse me. Hello?
Guys!
Thank you.
My name is Anna Conroy,
and I am the associate administrative director,
and I would like to welcome you all.
Today you will be going with Maria, our head stage manager,
who will be assigning you some chores in the scenery shop,
except for...
Jennifer Howell, Diane Caplan,
Sarina Janali, and Margaret Simpson.
Any questions?
Oh, um, yeah.
Mrs. Conrod?
It's Conroy. Ms. Conroy.
Okay. Uh, can Margaret and I work together?
We're kind of a couple.
No. The costume fittings are for the actresses.
Deal with it, Scott.
*** you, Momily.
All right, everybody. Let's go.
Bring all your belongings. Do not leave anything here.
Scenery shop people, come with me.
Costume shop is down the hall to your left.
Those of you who can read, just follow the signs.
Uh, you need an assistant stage manager, right?
I need somebody good.
They've got to be able to take legible notes and stay late.
I don't want a wilting flower or a wannabe actor.
I want the best one you got.
Well, she came early.
Great. I'll take Momily.
And after the intermission, Redgrave comes back with a fish,
and he throws it at the woman in the third row.
He says, "Now, then, madam,
perhaps that will stop your barking!"
[ Laughter ]
Geoffrey.
GEOFFREY: Henry.
-Welcome to New Burbage. -Well, thank you, Geoffrey.
Thank you. It's good to be home.
Okay, if everyone could please find the card
with their character name on it and take a seat.
HENRY: Ah, well, what do we have?
Ah, the porter.
Hecate. Mm.
And, of course, Macbeth.
It's like a wedding in hell.
[ Laughter ]
All right. Hi, everybody. Welcome.
Um, well -- ha ha -- "Macbeth."
Um, you know, I really don't want to spend a lot of time
talking about my concept.
I think this is a play that we will discover in rehearsal.
Nice cover.
There are a couple of things, though.
This is, in many ways, a very simple play.
It is a play about evil
and the intrigue that results from evil, uh, behavior.
It's also a play about witches, isn't it?
And what are they, exactly?
They are of this world, and yet they are otherworldly.
They are people, um, and they are not.
-They are evil. -Rambling.
Oh, and on this theme,
I think we should just take a minute
to talk about the so-called curse.
I think we should not forget that these are words on a page,
and we should not let our imaginations get the best of us.
Hear, hear!
I'm not sure I entirely agree with you, Geoffrey.
This play has a terrible history.
There was that New York production
at the turn of the last century
which ended in a riot in which 20 people were killed.
And Harold Norman was stabbed to death
by his own Macduff onstage at -- Where was it?
The Oldham Coliseum.
-FRANK: Yeah, that's right. -HENRY: The curse is real.
I've played Mackers three times,
and every time I played the damn thing
something terrible happened
to someone who was involved in the production.
Frankly, this play scares the crap out of me.
Although, I guess that's part of the fun, really, isn't it?
Well, uh --
Isn't that what Oliver said? What did he say?
He said -- He said it was like a 90-minute bus tour of hell.
-[ Laughter ] -It is.
It's filled with black magic.
And I think that's why Oliver loved this play.
He had such fantastic ideas with staging, with design.
It was his vision that brought me back to New Burbage.
We will be basing this production on his notes,
won't we, Geoffrey?
Yes. [ Coughs ]
Naturally.
Of course. Well, let's get started.
Let's, uh -- Let's read it.
No acting required. Just a clear reading.
HENRY: Geoffrey, if you don't mind,
if I may have the floor for a moment, please.
Now, as I say, I have played this part three times.
And, uh -- and I like to begin each rehearsal
by reciting the dagger speech.
Uh, I-I-I know.
-It's agggggh! -[ Laughter ]
It's a complete ***. I realize that.
But it began as a bit of a joke with Nigel at the RSC.
So now it's become a little personal talisman
against the curse.
So, I mean, if you would all indulge me.
Would you mind?
No.
Is this a dagger I see before me...
...the handle toward my hand?
Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as sight?
Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation,
proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
Oh, I see thee yet,
in form as palpable as this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going.
And such an instrument I was to use.
Oh, mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
or else worth all the rest.
I see thee still,
and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
which was not so before.
There is no such thing!
It is the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes.
Now, shall we get on with our own bloody business?
He's gotten better with age.
Oh, *** you.
Subtitling made possible by RLJ Entertainment
[ Piano plays intro to "Call the Understudy" ]
♫ Call the understudy, I can't go on tonight ♫
♫ I'm drinking with my buddy, I'm getting good and tight ♫
♫ Before they raise the curtain, I'll be higher than a kite ♫
♫ So, call the understudy, I can't go on tonight ♫
♫ Tell the cast and crew to break a leg ♫
♫ Break a leg ♫
♫ Roll me out another bloody keg ♫
♫ Bloody keg ♫
♫ I need to ease the pain that life can bring ♫
♫ Life can bring ♫
♫ And liquor is what will hit the spot ♫
♫ The play is not the thing ♫
♫ So, call the understudy, I think it's only right ♫
♫ My diction will be muddy, I'll never find my light ♫
♫ Before the intermission, I'll be *** on a sprite ♫
♫ So, call the understudy ♫
-♫ I can't go on ♫ -♫ He can't go on ♫
-♫ I won't go on ♫ -♫ He shan't go on ♫
♫ I can't go on tonight ♫
♫ Damn right ♫