Rescripting: Nips and Tucks

I did another quick run through my cut script, to clean up the spelling and adjust the punctuation. I try not to over-determine the punctuation, because I want the actors to experiment with different deliveries during the rehearsals. But sometimes the Folio's punctuation is just so bizarre that it actively hampers understanding--particularly if you're already unsure about the meaning of words.

During my revision, I nipped and tucked a few bits--just beats that seemed unnecessary, mostly. For example, when Lear arrives to Gloster's castle, he finds Kent in the stocks, and promptly storms inside to wake everybody up. Kent and the Fool have a bit of back-and-forth, and then Lear re-enters with Gloster, complaining that his daughter (Regan) and her husband (Cornwall) have refused to see him. He rails and screams, and sends Gloster back offstage to fetch them. A few lines later, they enter, and Kent is "set at liberty" (as the stage directions say).

By now, we have already had one scene full of Lear enraged. We've also had a scene in which one of Lear's daughters refuses to see him. Do we really need that extra beat where he sends Gloster back offstage? The answer is no. I have him storm offstage, and re-enter with Gloster, Regan and Cornwall in tow.

A larger emendation comes in Act Five, when Edgar prepares to face off against his villainous brother. In the original, he shows up disguised and gives Albany a letter (the contents of which remain obscure). He tells Albany that, if the Duke decides that Edmund is a traitor, he should sound the trumpet three times, and a "champion" will appear to fight for him. After the battle, this takes place; and on the third trumpet, Edgar enters, in disguise, and accuses Edmund of treachery.

There is something wonderfully fantastical about this sequence, and I expect it would play very well on stage. But at this late stage of the game, it's just too much. The fact is, Albany doesn't need a letter from Edgar in order to despise Edmund; he already hates the Bastard for trying to steal his wife, for his inhuman cruelty towards Gloster, and for his general disrespect for Albany's authority. Similarly, Edgar doesn't need a series of trumpets to herald his arrival. He can simply arrive, a mysterious masked man with a deadly score to settle.

I don't think these extra beats are flaws--far from it. They are clever devices used to ramp up the tension of the play. But the play is loaded with all kinds of tension--sexual tension, political tension, the tensions of insanity and suffering and death--and I really don't think anyone will notice if a few extra twists of the knife are absent. The bottom line, I think, has to be keepin' 'em involved. The longer you ask them to sustain their inner tension, the more likely their attentions will begin to wander--or their bums will start to fall asleep.

That's it for rescripting. My next task will be to craft a rehearsal schedule.