Kean

---

Hamlet:
This presence knows,

And you must needs have heard,

how I am punish'd

by a form of madness.

What I have done,

that might your nature... roughly awake,

was madness.

I here proclaim.

Hamlet

is of the faction that is wrong'd;

His madness is poor

Hamlet's enemy.

Give us the foils! One for me!

Set the stoops of wine!

The king shall drink

to Hamlet's better breath.

throwing in the cup

this precious pearl.

Touch!

- No!

A palpable hit.

Another hit, Laertes.

Take my napkin,

rub thy brows.

Good madam!

The queen carouses to thy fortune!

Do not drink, Gertrude!

- Pardon, my lord. I will drink.

Laertes, come!

Pass with your best violence!

Have at you now!

How does the queen?

- She swounds to see them bleed.

No! The drink, Hamlet!

I am poison'd.

No! - The treacherous

instrument is in thy hand!

Unbated and envenom'd,

- The point! envenom'd too!

So, poison, your work!

I am dead, Horatio!

You that look pale

and tremble at this chance,

That are but mutes or

audience to this act,

Had I but time,

I could tell you -

But let it be.

Horatio, thou livest.

Report me and my cause

aright to the unsatisfied.

What noise is this?

War!

Young Fortinbras,

prince of Norway,

gives this warlike volley

to the ambassadors of England.

I die, Horatio.

The potent poison

quite o'er-crows my spirit:

I cannot live to hear

the news from England;

But I do prophesy the election

lights on Fortinbras:

he has my dying voice.

So tell him, with the occurents,

more and less,

which have solicited.

The rest is silence.

Bravo!

You'll pay me for that,

you bastard!

Shut up and learn

how to fall!

His lucky lover!

She falls asleep crushed by Hamlet

and wakes up strangled

by the Moor of Venice.

His lover?

They say he's had 1002!

- Uh-hun.

Not one more, not one less?

Is he a lover or an accountant?

It's not a complicated calculation:

for 10 years he's been famous.

makes 1 woman every 3 days,

with two months of rest each year.

It's murmured a few great ladies

have had the weakness

to have him ascend to their level.

- Or better, the ease

to descend to his.

- No?!

Are you coming to Lord Mewill's too?

I think not, engagement parties

bore me. - What, dear?

We were speaking of the engagement

of Mewill with Anna Damby -

Irish,

cheesemaker's daughter.

She wanted to be an actress,

but preferred a penniless aristocrat.

Lord Mewill's made himself

a whole new outfitting,

polished his house, and

renovated furniture and carriage.

At the expense of his future

father-in-law, naturally!

Right. The cheesemaker!

My husband will certainly come.

Bravo!

Bravo!

Exhibitionist!

He prevents applause for the troupe!

See, the Crown gets the better

of Mr. Kean's caprices!

Well?

- Well what, Highness?

O the reception? I don't think I'll go.

I prefer you tell me about it.

I don't feel well.

Permit me? - Your health's

near to my heart.

I prefer to think that you

refusal has another motive.

See you, dear.

- If Your Highness permits...

You who fix

your eyes on absence

and speak to incorporeal air!

We didn't ask for an encore.

Your spirit burns savagely!

Everything! You made me cut everything!

Madam, the public's

still in the hall!

If you don't respect my art,

at least respect the poet!

I respect him so much

I avoid him being profaned!

Salomon! Where are you!

- Mr. Cochrane!

Listen well:

either I receive satisfaction,

or I never act here again

with this charlatan!

- You continue to make me promises

which you never keep, alas!

Salomon! Send away these people

and come help me in the dressingroom!

- We can't go in the dressingroom!

Why?

- The jeweller's there.

My mother acted with Garrick

and this charlatan

pretends to each me!

- Come here. Duck!

Hide me. Send him away!

I tried to,

but he doesn't want to go.

He says he has your note

for 400 pounds sterling

for the necklace given to Kitty.

Things that happen.

- Or don't, like the note.

You pick a moment when I love Eena

to have me pay for the necklace of a...

It'd be a betrayal!

The jeweller

lives on such betrayals!

Master!

You were marvelous!

Success without precedent!

An unforgettable evening!

I don't have time now.

Get rid of them!

You! Send her away

and the jeweller too!

Now go,

because he's really tired.

No! Not an eccentric genius,

a criminal!

I should be afraid? Afraid

of being strangled for real?

Yes, I'll get you

satisfaction, for sure!

The theater director!

For sure!

Pay attention...

Go away, Salomon! Go away!

Mr. Kean owes me 400 pounds!

- Come here!

Can I go in?

I'm the theater director!

You've put things in order?

- Yes.

Flowers in the dressingroom?

- No.

Why not?

- Florists don't give credit anymore.

No more credit.

- What?! If yesterday...

Yesterday! - A man's heart

can change in one night?

A man's heart, no,

a creditor's, yes.

I've had enough tricks

from this ham!

O well...

We'll see

how he recites in court!

Kean's debts

don't interest me.

They interest me!

Carnivores!

When will I be left

to work in peace?

Do they really think I can

play "Richard III" in a hovel?

Courage, you're murdering

the greatest actor of the century!

Look how melancholy

your evenings will become!

Hey, Salomon, what's going on?

- With whom?

If they don't give me credit anymore,

it means box office is bad.

No!

And if box office is falling,

it means I'm falling too.

- No way!

Tell me frankly:

Am I...am I declining?

- No!

Don't be afraid of hurting me!

I want to retire from the theater

before disgracing myself at least.

Salomon, my friend,

can you swear it?

I still please?

- Yes!

Do I still please?

- Yes!

Swear it!

Swear!

Please, where's

the dressingroom of Madam MacLeish?

O great, come here! Give it to me.

Really they're for

Madam MacLeish.

Here, put them in the dressingroom.

Take this to Madam MacLeish,

even it's too much for her.

Wait a second.

- Thanks.

Hey, you know who I am, right?

- Sure. - Bravo! Go with God.

Come!

Look what a beautiful black cat

you make me find in my dressingroom!

Take it out!

A black cat in my dressingroom!

Incredible!

But, look!

What legs I have, Salomon! - Eh!

They're better admired when you go in

the street with your bottom uncovered!

What did you say? Have you gone mad?

- No, no.

I'm not the one who's mad.

It's you who're too cynical!

So let's see:
according to you

why should I take interest in money?

What's it good for?

- To pay for what you've bought.

Ah, yes? So it's no use to me.

I buy everything without paying!

But what time is it? Has a half hour

gone by since the play ended?

Yes. But give them

time to go home,

find an excuse,

put the husband to bed... Eh!

She won't come anymore.

- She'd be the first!

Yes, but I didn't love the others.

The more punctual woman

is the one you don't care for at all.

Maybe she came and didn't

find the secret door?

By now your secret door has

no more secrets for London ladies!

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