Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (11 page)

GUIL
: All right—you go that way, I'll go this way.

ROS
: Right

They walk towards opposite wings
,
ROS
halts
.

No.

GUIL
halts
.

You
go this way—111 go that way.

GUIL
: All right.

They march towards each other, cross
,
ROS
halts
.

ROS
: Wait a minute.

GUIL
halts
.

I think we should stick together. He might be violent.

GUIL
: Good point. Ill come with you.

GUIL
marches across to
ROS.
They turn to leave
,
ROS
halts
.

ROS: NO
, 111 come with
you
.

GUIL
: Right.

They turn, march across to the opposite wing
,
ROS
halts
.

GUIL
halts
.

ROS
: I'll come with
you, my
way.

GUIL
: All right

They turn again and march across
,
ROS
halts
,
GUIL
halts
.

ROS
: I've just thought. If we both go, he could come
here
. That would be stupid, wouldn't it?

GUIL
: All right—I'll stay, you go.

ROS
: Right.

GUIL
marches to midstage
.

I say.

GUIL
wheels and carries on marching back towards
ROS
,
who starts marching downstage. They cross
,
ROS
halts
.

I've just thought.

GUIL
halts
.

We ought to stick together; he might be violent.

GUIL
: Good point.

GUIL
marches down to join
ROS.
They stand still for a moment in their original positions
.

Well, at last we're getting somewhere.

Pause
.

Of course, he might not come.

ROS
(airily)
: Oh, he'll come.

GUIL
: We'd have some explaining to do.

ROS
: He'll come.
(Airily wanders upstage.)
Don't worry—take my word for it—
(Looks out—is appalled.)
He's coming!

GUIL
: What's he doing?

ROS
: Walking.

GUIL
: Alone?

ROS: NO.

GUIL
: Not walking?

ROS: NO.

GUIL
: Who's with him?

ROS
: The old man.

GUIL:
Walking?

ROS
: No.

GUIL
: Ah. That's an opening if ever there was one.
(And is suddenly galvanized into action.)
Let him walk into the trap!

ROS
: What trap?

GUIL: YOU
stand there! Don't let him pass!

He positions
ROS
with his back to one wing, facing
HAMLET'S
entrance
.

GUIL
positions himself next to
ROS
,
a few feet away, so that they are covering one side of the stage, facing the opposite side
,
GUIL
unfastens his belt
,
ROS
does the same. They join the two belts, and hold them taut between them
,
ROS'J
trousers slide slowly down
.

HAMLET
enters opposite, slowly, dragging
POLONIUS'S
body. He enters upstage, makes a small arc and leaves by the same side, a few feet downstage
.

ROS
and
GUIL
,
holding the belts taut, stare at him in some bewilderment
.

HAMLET
leaves, dragging the body. They relax the strain on the belts
.

ROS
: That was close.

GUIL
: There's a limit to what two people can do.

They undo the belts:
ROS
pulls up his trousers
.

ROS
(worriedly—he walks a few paces towards
HAMLET'J
exit)
: He
was
dead.

GUIL
: Of course he's dead!

ROS
(turns to
GUIL
) : Properly.

GUIL
(angrily)
: Death's death, isn't it?

ROS
falls silent. Pause
.

Perhaps he'll come back this way.

ROS
starts to take off his belt
.

No, no, no!—if we can't learn by experience, what else have we got?

ROS
desists
.

Pause
.

ROS:
Give him a shout.

GUIL
: I thought we'd been into all that.

ROS
(shouts):
Hamlet!

GUIL
: Don't be absurd.

ROS
(shouts):
Lord Hamlet!

HAMLET
enters
,
ROS
is a little dismayed
.

What have you done, my lord, with the dead body?

HAMLET
: Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin.

ROS
: Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence and bear it to the chapel.

HAMLET: DO
not believe it.

ROS
: Believe what?

HAMLET
: That I can keep your counsel and not mine own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by the son of a king?

ROS
: Take you me for a sponge, my lord?

HAMLET
: Ay, sir, that soaks up the King's countenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the King best service in the end. He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed, to be last swallowed. When he
needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you and, sponge, you shall be dry again.

ROS
: I understand you not, my lord.

HAMLET
: I am glad of it: a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.

ROS
: My lord, you must tell us where the body is and go with us to the King.

HAMLET
: The body is with the King, but the King is not with the body. The King is a thing

GUIL:
A thing, my lord ?

HAMLET
: Of nothing. Bring me to him.

HAMLET
moves resolutely towards one wing. They move with him, shepherding. Just before they reach the exit
,
HAMLET
,
apparently seeing
CLAUDIUS
approaching from off stage, bends low in a sweeping bow
.
ROS
and
GUIL
,
cued by Hamlet, also bow deeply—a sweeping ceremonial bow with their cloaks swept round them
,
HAMLET
,
however, continues the movement into an about-turn and walks off in the opposite direction
.
ROS
and
GUIL
,
with their heads low, do not notice
.

No one comes on
.
ROS
and
GUIL
squint upwards and find that they are bowing to nothing
.

CLAUDIUS
enters behind them. At first words they leap up and do a double-take
.

CLAUDIUS
: How now? What hath befallen?

ROS
: Where the body is bestowed, my lord, we cannot get from him.

CLAUDIUS
: But where is he?

ROS
(fractional hesitation):
Without, my lord; guarded to know your pleasure.

CLAUDIUS
(moves)
: Bring him before us.

This hits
ROS
between the eyes but only his eyes show it. Again his hesitation is fractional. And then with great deliberation he turns to
GUIL.

ROS
: Ho! Bring in the lord.

Again there is a fractional moment in which
ROS
is smug
,
GUIL
is trapped and betrayed
,
GUIL
opens his mouth and closes it
.

The situation is saved:
HAMLET
,
escorted, is marched in just as
CLAUDIUS
leaves
,
HAMLET
and his
ESCORT
cross the stage and go out, following
CLAUDIUS.

Lighting changes to Exterior
.

ROS
(moves to go)
: All right, then?

GUIL
(does not move; thoughtfully):
And yet it doesn't seem enough; to have breathed such significance. Can that be all? And why us?—anybody would have done. And we have contributed nothing.

ROS
: It was a trying episode while it lasted, but they've done with us now.

GUIL
: Done what?

ROS
: I don't pretend to have understood. Frankly, I'm not very interested. If they won't tell us, that's their affair.
(He wanders upstage towards the exit.)
For my part, I'm only glad that that's the last we've seen of him—
(And he glances off stage and turns front, his face betraying the fact that
HAMLET
is there.)

GUIL
: I knew it wasn't the end. . . .

ROS
(high):
What else?!

GUIL
: We're taking him to England. What's he doing?

ROS
goes upstage and returns
.

ROS
: Talking.

GUIL:
To himself?

Ros
makes to go
,
GUIL
cuts him off
.

Is he alone?

ROS
: No, he's with a soldier.

GUIL
: Then he's not talking to himself, is he?

ROS
: Not
by
himself . . . Should we go?

GUIL
: Where?

ROS:
Anywhere.

GUIL
: Why?

ROS
puts up his head listening
.

ROS
: There it is again.
(In anguish.)
All I ask is a change of ground!

GUIL
(coda):
Give us this day our daily round. . . .

HAMLET
enters behind them, talking with a soldier in arms
.
ROS
and
GUIL
don't look round
.

ROS
: They'll have us hanging about till we're dead. At least. And the weather will change.
(Looks up.)
The spring can't last for ever.

HAMLET
: Good sir, whose powers are these?

SOLDIER
: They are of Norway, sir.

HAMLET: HOW
purposed, sir, I pray you?

SOLDIER
: Against some part of Poland.

HAMLET
: Who commands them, sir?

SOLDIER
: The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.

ROS
: We'll be cold. The summer won't last.

GUIL
: It's autumnal.

ROS
(examining the ground)
: No leaves.

GUIL
: Autumnal—nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day. . . . Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it. . . . Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses . . . deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth—reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere, by repute. Yesterday was blue, like smoke.

ROS
(head up, listening)
: I got it again then.

They listen—faintest sound of
TRAGEDIANS'
band
.

HAMLET
: I humbly thank you, sir.

SOLDIER
: God by you, sir.
(Exit.)

ROS
gets up quickly and goes to
HAMLET.

ROS
: Will it please you go, my lord?

HAMLET
: I'll be with you straight. Go you a little before.

HAMLET
turns to face upstage
,
ROS
returns down
,
GUIL
faces front, doesn't turn
.

GUIL: IS
he there?

ROS
: Yes.

GUIL
: What's he doing?

ROS
looks over his shoulder
.

ROS
: Talking.

GUIL
: To himself?

ROS
: Yes.

Pause
,
ROS
makes to leave
.