A Bit of Fry & Laurie

Is there anybody there?

Is there anybody there?

This is Radio 3. Is there anybody there?

- You dancing? - Who's asking?

- I'm asking. - You're asking?

- I'm asking, are you dancing? - Am I dancing?

- I'm dancing. - Right, I'll have your chair, then.

Hello, good evening and welcome to the third in our series

of Shakespeare Master Class: An Actor Prepares.

Last week, if you remember, we were concentrating largely on the body.

Well, tonight, it's the turn of the voice and we'll be doing some vocal work.

Well, here's our space, where's our actor?

Well, we're very lucky to have with us in the studio this evening Hugh.

- Hello, Hugh. - Hi.

Hi.

What have you prepared for us this evening, Hugh?

I have a speech from Troilus, 3, III.

It's the Ulysses speech.

The Ulysses speech, Tand C, 3, III.

That's on page 66 in your Cambridge editions if you'd like to follow at home.

So, Hugh, what I want you to do first of all

is to imagine that you're a racing car going round a track, all right?

- Right. - Now, there's a video camera attached to you

so as you go round the track,

- we're all going to get a good view of it, okay? - Okay.

Now, later on, Hugh, we'll be taking your engine apart,

piece by piece, oiling it, putting it back together again.

- Right. - All right? But first of all,

- let's have a view, shall we? - Okay.

- Thank you, Hugh. - Yeah.

- Hugh. - Yes?

Why are you squatting?

- Oh, sorry, I thought... - I don't think we're ready for that yet, are we?

No.

- Just the speech. - Okey-doke.

"Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back."

"Wherein he puts alms for oblivion."

"A great-sized monster of ingratitude."

Well, as you can see, Hugh, there's still a long way to go, isn't there?

Yeah.

All right, let's start right at the beginning, shall we?

Right, yeah.

What's the word... What's the word, I wonder,

that Shakespeare decides to begin his sentence with here?

"Time" is the first word.

- Time. - Yeah.

Time.

Yeah.

And how does Shakespeare decide to spell it, Hugh?

T-I-M-E.

- T-I... - M.

- M-E. - Yeah.

And what sort of spelling of the word "time" is that?

Well, it's the ordinary spelling.

It's the ordinary spelling, isn't it?

- It's the conventional spelling. - Oh, right.

So, why, out of all the spellings he could've chosen,

did Shakespeare choose that one, do you think?

Well, because it gives us time in an ordinary sense.

Exactly, well done, good boy. Because it gives us time in an ordinary,

- in a conventional sense. - Oh, right.

So, Shakespeare has given us time in a conventional sense.

- Yeah. - But he's given us something else, Hugh.

Have a look at the typography, what do you spy?

Oh, it's got a capital "T".

Shakespeare's "T" very much uppercase there, Hugh, isn't it?

Why?

Because it's the first word in the sentence.

Well, I think that's partly it,

but I think there's another reason, too.

Shakespeare has given us time

- in a conventional sense. - Uh-huh.

- And time in an abstract sense. - Right.

- All right? - Yeah.

- Think your voice can convey that, Hugh? - I hope so.

I hope so, too. All right, give it a go.

- Just the one word, then? - Just the one word for the moment.

Yeah, okay.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hugh, Hugh, Hugh, where do we gather from?

- Oh, the buttocks. - Always the buttocks.

- Sorry. - Hugh, we gather from the buttocks.

- Right. - Thank you.

"Time!"

What went wrong there, Hugh?

I don't know. I got a bit lost in the middle, actually.

What I want you to do now

- is to take the word "time"... - Yeah.

And to start adding some of your own feelings.

- All right? - Right.

Some of your feelings of ruin and hopelessness and tragedy and despair.

Feelings of loss and grief and bereavement.

But feelings, too, of hope and spirit and love and ambition, all right?

Feelings of jealousy, envy and covetousness.

Right.

Wantonness?

- No, leave wantonness out, Hugh. - Oh, right, okay.

All right?

- So, one more time, then, all right? - Right.

But I think what we'd better do first is do you feel ready for a little exercise

designed to build up your confidence and help your voice projection?

- Yes. - You do? Good.

With me then, I want you to adopt the mime stance, all right?

- Right. - Mime stance.

Good, now hand on shoulder. Good boy.

Now, what I want you to do, after three, with me, is to say the word "time" 10 times,

- very fast. - Right.

- All right? - Yeah.

- Without the script? - Off book, yes.

So, three.

Time, time, time, time, time, time, time, time, time, time.

- You see? - Oh, right.

- You get that sense, that sense of... - Uh, drivel.

That sense of what I like to call time collapsing into nonsense, Hugh.

- A sense of nonsense. - Nonsense.

Shakespeare knew it was there. We can't shirk it now.

Put it in with the others, all right?

Gathering from the buttocks.

Thank you.

"Time!"

- Much, much better, Hugh. - Thanks.

Well done, we make tremendous strides. This is very exciting work.

I'm very excited. I hope you're excited, too.

All right? So, Hugh, what I want you to do now

is to see how great the strides we've made have been

by reading the rest of the speech as well

- using what we've learnt. - Okay.

- All right. - Right.

"Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back Wherein he puts alms for oblivion."

"A great-sized monster of ingratitude."

Well, as you can see, still a very long way to go there.

Well, we'll be returning to Hugh with that speech, later on, perhaps, in our 1988 series.

But meanwhile, until the same time next week,

from Shakespeare Master Class: An Actor Prepares It, good night and God bless.

SHEARER (WITH RUSSIAN ACCENT): Ah, this is well in control.

I play queen d8 followed by knight h5 to f4,

exploiting his doubled f-pawns and weak king side.

Yes, is strong move, queen d8.

Well, what's he done that for?

It was all nice before that, it went black, white, black, white, all the way down

in a kind of zigzag.

I've got to balance it up, haven't I? I've got to balance it up.

I'll move this tall thrusting one.

Of course, now he attacks my queen and gains a tempo.

What a good move. What to do? What to do?

I have the resource. I must generate play on the black squares.

I'll play queen c7 with the idea of rook c8 doubling on the c file,

exercising pressure on his isolated queen's bishop's pawn.

Yes, this is fine. Queen c7.

Well, he's a bleeding anarchist, this one.

I mean, what's the point of having even squares like that

if you're then gonna go and anarchist it?

I'll have to move this horsey one here.

Oh, this is in the way.

Well, he won't notice.

The man takes on f6 check, of course.

This is genius.

Now he threatens bishop f6, followed by bishop h 7, check king h 7,

queen e4, check, my king side is destroyed.

And he gets mate in... 14 moves.

What a player.

Oh, I have nothing. I must resign.

Oi, you knocked your king over.

"The day the letter arrived, I was due in court on the intricate case of Melchett vs The Vatican,

"which was coming to a delicate and potentially explosive stage."

"The letter then came as a welcome diversion"

"and I tipped the delivery boy out of the window with more than ordinary generosity."

"Even then, I fancy I gave a momentary shudder as I unfolded the letter."

"But it was a cold morning, and in accordance with Mr Tulkinghorn's instructions"

"with regard to Melchett vs The Vatican, I was naked."

"The letter read as follows.

"'If Mr John Lawson Particle will travel immediately to Transylvania

"'as the honoured guest of Count Dracula

"'to personally advise His Excellency on a matter of great legal delicacy,

"'Mr Lawson Particle will be handsomely remunerated.

"'He is to bring on his journey no garlic,

"'no crucifixes, no wooden stakes.

"'Neither is he to look up in a dictionary the word "vampire".'

"It seemed innocent enough."

"Excited at the prospect of escaping a dreary London August,

"I rushed into Mr Tulkinghorn's office."

"He read the letter through and eyed me carefully."

"Then he looked at my face."

"'You don't find anything strange in this letter, Mr Lawson Particle?'

"'Ah, you noticed it, too, sir.

"'The split infinitive in the first sentence, yes.'

"'No, I was thinking... Never mind.

"'You plan to go on this suic... on this fascinating journey?'"

"'With your permission, sir, I will go straight home, dress,"

"'and take the first train to Southampton.'"

"Four days later

"saw me standing at the gates of Castle Dracula,"

"weary and travel-stained."

"Prudence had demanded that I leave her behind, so I was alone."

"Night was just falling as I knocked on the mighty oaken door,

"and heard the answering echoes ring through the castle.

"After what seemed a cliché,

"iron bolts were drawn back, the portal swung open,

"and Count Dracula's manservant stood before me."

"Of all the hideously disfigured spectacles I have ever beheld,"