Act 1
Looking for Shakespeare
1.1
Ready for Battle
Actor One It all started one rainy day in south London.
Actor Two Two migrants sitting in a tent pondering life in the diaspora . . .
Sir Tom One
Tom Cowbury-Smith here. Or, if you like, āSir Tomā.
Thank you, beloved members of the press.
Itās gratifying to have you here, and now:
This day is one of great excitement for me.
As we announce something extraordinary.
We are to host a splendid fundraiser!
Of course the details are not ready yet,
But hereās the headline: itās designed to show
The power of art in motion, I dare say
You will dig deep into your pockets. And
Do rest assured it will prove true the adage
That Shakespeare is alive and kicking. Thank you!
Actor One TJ and Tonde react with astonishment to this news.
Actor Two THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
Actor One They pack up their āhomeā, a tent.
We see the two of them pack their bags, singing (āNants Ingonyamaā, The Lion King song), as we travel with them to Shakespeareās Globe, London.
1.2
Major Barbara
TJ OK, alright, I will go in, stay here.
Tonde Remember, keep calm, TJ.
TJ Oh my God, sheās there, sheās there . . . thereās a woman, I canāt, I canāt . . . you go, go in!
Tonde Hello! Is this the . . . er. . . Shakespeareās theatre? The Shakespeareās Globe?
Actor One We meet āMajor Barbaraā!
Actor Two Busty, nervous, northern . . .
Barbara Two Oh yes, love.
What can I do for you?
Tonde Is this the home of Shakespeare?
Barbara Two Oh yes, love!
Well, in a manner of speaking . . . never thought of it like that but yes . . . it is the home of Shakespeare.
Tonde We would like to see Shakespeare.
Barbara Two Well, we have a matinee today of Richard III, an evening performance of The Merchant of Venice, tonight at . . .
Tonde Yes but we wanted to see Shakespeare himself.
Actor One Barbara laughs uproariously.
Actor Two I think she likes them.
Tonde TJ, why is she laughing?
TJ I think sheās . . . I think she is nervous.
Tonde We want to speak to Shakespeare himself, we hear that he is alive and kicking. I donāt think you should be laughing at us, eh!
TJ Madam, weāve come from very far! Balaika! Do you know it?
Barbara One Er. . . I think I have heard of it . . . yes.ā
TJ We are here to see Shakespeare.
Barbara One But Shakespeare doesnāt exist!
TJ What did you say?
Barbara One Heās dead.
TJ What?
Barbara One Four hundred years ago . . . but you can see the tour, and you might also be able to see Richard III and The Merchant of Venice, and in the education department thereās workshops on āFemale Artistic Directors of the Futureā. Which one would you like to see?
TJ Shakespeare. Is. Dead?
Barbara One Yes.
TJ Dead?
Barbara One Yes, love.
TJ Nooo!
Begins to cry.
Do you know how far we have come? Weāve come all the way from down south, through the tropical central jungles, through deserts upon deserts, onto many boats, through perils on the high seas, into the dim and dark back of lorries, trains, buses and now a very confusing walk up the South Bank to tell him our stories and you tell us that he is ādeadā?
Uncontrollable crying.
Barbara One Sorry, love, please stop crying.
TJ He is dead, dead, dead!
Barbara One Oh dear, oh dear . . .
TJ Donāt tell people these things!
Barbara One Oh no! Sir Tom? Sir Tom . . .
Actor Two Barbara runs off to find Sir Tom.
Tonde That worked.
TJ She said he was dead. She didnāt have to say it like that, man.
Tonde Yes, but stop crying now ā sheās talking to Sir Tom . . .
Now she is crying, wringing her hands like a Bantu woman by the river . . .
Sir Tom is comforting her . . . they are pointing here . . .
He is coming here!
Oh my God: Sir. Tom. Cowbury. Smith. Is. Coming. Here.
To. Speak. To. Us!
TJ Shoosh!
1.3
Sir Tom and the Boys
Actor One Sir Tom Cowbury-Smith.
Sir Tom One Oh dear, whatās happening here? Are you alright, old chap?
TJ begins to cry uncontrollably.
TJ Iām sorry, she . . . .
She . . . .
Sir Tom One Pull yourself together, man! What is going on?
TJ We came here looking for Shakespeare but this woman has just told us that Shakespeare . . . is dead!
Sir Tom One Of course Shakespeare is not dead.
TJ Thank you! Thank you! Thatās what we said!
Sir Tom One SHAKESPEARE IS ALIVE AND KICKING.
TJ So why did she say that he was dead?
Sir Tom One Well, I suppose people have different ways of looking at it.
TJ Amen!
Sir Tom One But we here at his home can prove it!
TJ We like Shakespeare.
Sir Tom One We like him too.
TJ I mean we really like him.
Sir Tom One Us too.
TJ The things he writes about . . . heās like . . . a journalist!
Sir Tom One Yes, I suppose you could call him that.
TJ But . . .
Launching into his story, accompanied by drums (which is very similar to the story of the play Othello) in his native language (Yoruba). Actor One translates it to Sir Tom (an audience member as designated stand-...