Bara to Hakucho - story and thoughts - Act Two
Act two
It is three years later, and Marlowe is not in his grand blue costume anymore. Instead, he is now in simple clothes, boots that look like they have not been washed for years, and now has a beard.
The first scene of Act two shows Kit drinking in a bar while writing his script.
Two random guys enter the bar and while drinking, they talk about the recent theatre, about how Shakespeare has become a rising star, how Christopher Marlowe's era is already over.
Kit stands up and asks them to shut up because they are interfering with his work. The two customers insist this is a bar and they are drinking. Kit asks them to drink quietly LOL. They end up fighting and Frazier suddenly appears with a knife, so the two guys run away and leave the bar.
Frazier drags Kit up from the floor and Kit asks if he came to save him or kill him? Frazier says it's the former and Kit says for Frazier to save him he must have become a really ruined man. Frazier says he has another job for him but Kit says he doesn't want to work for him anymore. Frazier tells him about how he suspects Will has a secret.
Next scene, back in the Rose theatre where Kit meets Henslowe. Apparently, Kit's life had become a bigger wreck in those three years where he got overtaken by Shakespeare and no one had seen him for a long time.
Henslowe is surprised to see Kit and although Kit asks Henslowe to read his newest script which he wrote halfway, Henslowe rejects.
(Again, theatre talk).
(Anyway the play which Kit talks about is actually "Edward II", which is a tragic Elizabethan play written by Christopher Marlowe)
Kit says that in the past, he was forced to write stuff but this time it is something which he really wants to write. But Henslowe rejects and at this point, Will enters the theatre but he does not recognize/see Kit. Kit goes to stand in a corner of the room while Will talks to Henslowe.
The rest of the theatre staff enter the room when they hear that Will had arrived.
They are surprised at how Will had changed into a fine young man with his current popularity. Ned also enters the room and greets Will. He then calls his wife in, and his wife is now Joan.
Kit had been standing in a corner listening to the conversation with no expression, but once he heard Joan's voice, the expression was so painful (T___T). In the end, it was Joan who noticed Kit standing in the corner. Everyone was shocked and commented how Kit looks different, but Kit just picked up his script and asked Ned to read it, and give him an answer after reading.
Ned rejects and the atmosphere becomes really bad so someone suggested that everyone should go for a drink to celebrate Will's return. Kit rejected (and everyone heaved a sigh of relief LOL). So everyone left but Joan lingered on looking at Kit. Ned calls Joan and Kit asks Joan to leave as her husband is calling her.
It is just Will and Kit left in the room and Will asks if he can talk to him for awhile. He asks Kit to sit but Kit refuses. Will asks why he became like that and Kit just brushes off with simple comments, and also said something like you have your own secrets too.
Will asks why he wrote Edward II.. (theatre talk again).
(If I do not remember wrongly, Will asked Kit why he would write about Edward II as he was a horrible king, even worse than Henry IV? I did some research again and apparently Edward II was an incompetent king. And Henry IV was written by William Shakespeare which is about a good king. But again, please google yourself. I dont know history)
They also talked about life and apparently Will had stopped writing scripts but started acting in them instead? (Not sure about this please google, i was more upset with Kit's look when he saw Joan)
But Will said he stopped writing because Kit had left and there was nothing else to steal. Kit said if that happens you should rely on yourself. Again he asks Will if he was hiding something.
Will said no, and Kit said if that is so, that's fine.
Joan enters again as Ned was asking Will to hurry. Kit proceeds to leave.
Joan stops him and asks, "Where are you staying now?"
Kit: "Nowhere in particular"
Joan: "Then where will you stay tonight?"
Kit: "I have not decided yet"
Kit leaves.
Next scene. Kit is in the house where he and Joan used to stay in, reciting lines from his new script.
Joan seems like she expected he would be there and she suddenly appears, and said she was happy that he actually returned to the house.
Kit: "I did not return. I only dropped by"
Joan said she came to pass Ned's message regarding the answer to Kit's script. Ned's answer was no, and when Kit wanted to know the reason, Joan gave alot of excuses like how Ned didn't want to act a role that would die in the end, or a role that had not many scenes in the beginning, but Kit realized they were all excuses, and asked Joan to leave. Joan said why should she leave, this is her house.
Kit: "It is no longer your house, just an empty shell. Just like a theatre without an audience. There are no breathing souls, just two actors who are casted with lines to recite. Once they finish their lines, the curtain will fall and everything will end."
(I LIKE THIS LINE ALOT I MADE SURE I MEMORIZED IT T__T)
The door knocked and two guys came in. They were the two same guys who were after Kit for the 20 pounds in Act One.
It turns out that Joan engaged them to check out Will's secret and they came to report their findings to Joan. Joan said she wanted Kit to listen too so she asked him to stay.
(PS. these two guys are the comedy factor.) They tried to make their story into a joke and Kit asked them to just say it out simply, but they insisted that they had to tell the story their own way. So Kit was like "FINE JUST TELL IT THE WAY YOU LIKE"
They talked about how they followed Will, who went to meet the Catholics.
(In the background, Will is running around with the Catholics again and shows him holding a cross with a very confused and lost face) . They found out that the Catholics (and Will) were actually planning an assassination on Robert Cecil and family, and he intended to place a bomb in the Rose theatre during one of the plays.
(Robert Cecil- History again so I might be wrong, please google).
Kit was shocked and said that there are 2000 people in the audience, not only Robert Cecil, how can 2000 people just die together with him?
The two guys asked if they should report it to the authorities but Kit asked them not to as if anything went wrong, Will would get caught and be sentenced to death. He would solve it in his own way and asked them to leave it to him.
Kit went to seek Frazier's help and said this is no longer a job, it is a deal between both of them. He told Frazier an assassination was being planned and he would provide details on the condition that he let Will escape. After some negotiation, Frazier hinted that in the end Kit would get himself killed.
The next scene seems like a dream. Kit is reciting out lines from his play (most probably Edward II) and suddenly Frazier appears and recites the lines with him. It's all theatre talk but in the lines, there are hints about how Kit has gotten depressed with his life and wonders if he is still alive. Frazier's lines are something like "King Edward, if you are so tired, why not you rest a little? I will help you to take away this sadness". The "dream" ends with Frazier killing him, but this whole scene was like part of a theatre act in Edward II.
The final scene. Kit has gotten rid of his beard and is now in his red costume.
Again he brings his Edward II script to Ned (who is getting ready for his performance in the Rose theatre) and asks Ned to bring his script to life, whether acting it himself, or selling it to another theatre company, as long as the script turns into a play.
Kit: "And in gratitude for that, I will protect your life"
He then leaves Ned's room. Joan comes in soon after and because she knows about the planned assassination, she is very worried about Ned. Ned comforts her and says it won't be his last performance because he won't retire so early.
Next scene. Will is alone by himself with a gun in his pocket. (Apparently it is supposed to be a place where you can look down at the audience in the theatre). Kit approaches him and says he knew he would be here as this place was where he always came when the Rose theatre was first established. Kit also exposes his secret. Will takes out his gun and points it at Kit and says he didn't want to do this but he was forced. Kit asks him to look at the audience and ask himself if he really wants to do this. (More theatre and catholic talk).
Kit asks Will whether he remembers why he first came to London.
"You came to London to earn money and with that chance, you entered the theatre world. Look at the audience, the seats are filled with people, look at them being so happy with excitement over watching a play. Everyone is waiting to watch Ned act the role in Henry VI, which was written by you."
Kit tries to talk Will out of working with the Catholics for the assassination, by telling him Joan is among the audience and near the explosion source. Alot of catholic talk here, but what was important is how Kit kept reminding how Will joined theatre for the love of writing. Will collapses on the floor and cries.
Kit: "I will stop this plan. And you will not be involved. But I have two conditions, firstly, don't tell anyone that you are a catholic and cut off all ties with them. Don't even leave any evidence behind."
"The next condition. As long as you are alive, continue writing scripts. Don't run away. Write as much as you can"
Will: "But I am not you, I don't have your talent"
Kit: "I won't say this again so listen. You have much more talent than me and can surpass me easily. I can see that in you, so write, continue writing and writing. Everything that you write will be evidence of your life."
With that, Kit leaves a crying Will behind after the last sentence
"I will solve this my way. Goodbye"
Final scene. As the show is about to start, money starts falling down from the sky and everyone runs out to catch the money. As a result, the theatre is left empty. Apparently, someone had released news that at this time money will drop from the sky.
The theatre is rocked with a huge explosion, and the Rose theatre is on fire.
Everyone wonders what had happened and finally pieced together that Kit used his money making machine (Yes the one he bought for 20 pounds lol) to make fake money to let the audience all run out, leaving no one in the audience when the explosion occurred.
Will realized that Kit had tried to save him (and everyone) and runs in asking Joan where is Kit. Joan reassures him by saying that Kit will be escaping at night and if nothing goes wrong, he will be in Switzerland by tomorrow. And he will return when everything settles down. Will refuses to believe her and starts praying to his God. But Joan told him to stop and he must never let anyone find out that he is a Catholic.
Last scene. Kit runs out in the dark with a smile.
He sees Frazier and says "I had wanted to run all the way to Switzerland, I guess it's not possible after all?"
Frazier takes out his knife and stabs Kit and the last scene froze with Frazier's knife pointed at Kit's heart.
The whole show ends with one expression from Hikaru, and that expression had confusion, pain, and lost in it.
He also actually predicted his death from his dream in the earlier scene when he woke up from a drunk night.
In my opinion, this Marlowe role will never exceed my love for Hikaru's role in Sappukei 4 years ago, but the story does. In the second last scene, Joan also had a pained expression on her face as well. I guess everyone had anticipated Kit's death, even himself. He entrusted his last script (Edward II) to Ned and left all his last words before attempting his escape. He probably also gave up on his own life and anticipating his assassination, he would rather have Will continue the scriptwriting life for him.
Also, as I said, Joan is my second favourite character after Marlowe and I really wanted to see more of them. Throughout all shows, I always wondered whether Joan would actually not marry Ned, if she had a choice.
My story might make it seem that Marlowe is the main character in this story but honestly, that was what I felt and thought. Once again, own views and opinions, perhaps a fan of another actor would tell the story in another way.
Thank you for reading!