The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees

Author:Celia Rees [Rees, Celia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Richard Burbage, actor and theatre owner, was standing in shirtsleeves shouting directions up at the stage.

‘No, not there! To the right! That’s left!’

Someone dropped something, which fell from the height of the theatre and landed in the pit, puffing up dust and scattering nutshells. Three storeys up, the hammering and sawing stopped momentarily as the carpenters looked over to see if the fallen mallet had hit anybody or done any damage. Then it started up again. In the theatre, there was always something that needed doing: thatch replacing, holes patching, benches repairing, loose planks hammering back into place. Everyone shouted over the noise, adding to the din. The only time it was really quiet was in performance.

‘I’ve found a new clown.’

Will brought Feste forward for inspection. Richard Burbage owned a lion’s share of the theatre and felt losses keenly as pennies falling from his own pocket. If audiences were disappointed, they went elsewhere. Competition was sharp, with two theatres within throwing distance, not to mention the bear garden.

‘Good, that’s good, Will.’ He wrinkled his high forehead and pushed a hand through his thinning sandy hair. ‘Because until two minutes past, I thought you’d have to do it.’ He looked at his playmaker and laughed. ‘You may be many things, but a clown isn’t one of them.’ He turned his bright brown eyes to Feste. ‘Is he any good? Will I have seen him in anything? His face looks familiar, but I don’t recall from where. Who have you worked for, fellow? What company? Does he talk?’

‘He hasn’t worked here.’ Will spoke for Feste. ‘He’s a stranger. I found him performing in the street over by St Mary Overie.’

‘That’s where I’ve seen him. Juggling with chairs and such?’ Feste nodded. Burbage turned from him to Will. ‘Are you out of your wits? We’ll have the Revels Office down on us in a trice. Now, I’ve got a performance to stage.’ He was already walking away.

‘He’s good!’ Will followed after him. ‘He can do it. I swear it!’

‘How can he?’ Burbage turned back with an exaggerated sigh. ‘He can’t have had time to learn it properly. Anyway, he’s a foreigner! I’m not even sure it’s legal. And who’s this?’ His eyes fell on Violetta. ‘What’s she doing here? A playhouse before performance is no place for a woman. Get them out of here!’

‘Wait, Richard. He’s good, I promise! What’s the harm?’

Feste left the two men arguing and pulled himself up on the stage. He was small, thin as a starved hound, but very strong. He scampered about, reciting snatches of the play in different voices, peopling the stage with Rosalind and her cousin Celia; Touchstone himself, the banished Duke and his court, using Burbage’s jaded, world-weary tone for the melancholy Jaques. Actors emerged from the tiring house to watch, led by Tod with a long blonde wig in his hand, his face already whitened for Rosalind. They stood about the margins and watched the little man leaping from place to place on the stage.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.