The Great Cyprus Think Tank by Larry Lockridge

Author:Larry Lockridge [Last, First name]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-77180-338-0
Publisher: Iguana Books
Published: 2021-09-23T00:00:00+00:00

— Chapter Twelve —

THE PLAY’S THE THING

Jasmine took charge of opening the larder and setting out goblets brimming with zivanía. This proved ill-advised.

“Act two, scene two is a drunken brawl, eh, Will?” I asked.

“Forsooth, I do not recall,” he replied, thumbing awkwardly through his quarto. “Soft, let me inquiry make.”

“Iago gets Cassio drunk,” I explained, “and has set up Roderigo to insult him. A duel follows. Cassio takes the rap and is cast out of Othello’s favor. Does this ring a bell, Will?”

“What meanest thou, ‘ring a bell’? But no matter, let us forthwith invade the larder.”

The party of ten wasted no time in feasting on victuals and beverages provided by the Soros foundation, which, as you’ve gathered, is the Unmoved Mover throughout this narrative. Armide focused on Turkish delicacies—karniyarik, karagöz, and salyangoz, with katmer for dessert, lifting her niqab to shovel them in. You already know these dishes from the Turkish Kitchen on the East Side. I imagined the lucky edibles making their way down her gullet. But frankly I had no intention of seducing her, old enough to be her great grandfather. In earlier days, I relied on sweet talk and seductive body language, with mixed results. If I relied on body language today, I’d have no results. At five foot seven, I’m now two inches shorter than in my MIT days, have lost much of my thick auburn hair, and have a double chin unless I prop my head up, yellowed teeth, and minimal musculature from a lifelong aversion to working out. Still, I’m said to have an amiable mug, and there’s that calming Canadian disposition for which everybody north of the border is irritatingly praised.

As I stood by, Lawrence Durrell, who also spoke perfect Turkish, played his hand. “Armide, you may be the mere understudy to my wife, Desdemona, but you are still my wife, just once removed. Would you care to share some of that katmer?”

“Sure, Mister Durrell. I’m a devotee of The Alexandria Quartet, translated into Turkish. Do I, like, remind you of Justine?”

With Durrell’s reputation as an improbably successful satyr in mind, I tried my best to stir up a dram within of the yellow bile. Nothing on my part was required because, sensing Durrell was making a move, Shakespeare himself intervened.

“This is off script and goatish, Othello. Eftsoons, lay off the virtuous Armide.”

“Nobody follows your scripts anymore, Will,” replied Lawrence Durrell. “The celebrated BBC production starring Ian McKellen edits out many of your better lines. In response to Desdemona’s adultery with Cassio, Othello is supposed to say, ‘It is the very error of the moon . . . She comes more nearer earth than she was wont . . . And makes men mad.’ If these lines can be cut, surely we can add our own. You’ve discharged your commission, Will. Now step aside!”

Switching back to Turkish, Durrell continued his courtship of Armide, whose hips swayed enticingly. Shakespeare sighed at the futility of his intervention, then again thumbed his quarto.

Rimbaud replied, “Will, I am fully in accord with Monsieur Durrell and shall be adding my own excrementitious lines.

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.