Wappin' Wharf
Wappin' Wharf
_CHARACTERS_
THE DUKE
PATCH-EYE
THE CAPTAIN
RED JOE
DARLIN'
BETSY
OLD MEG
SAILOR CAPTAIN
THREE SAILORS
SETTING: For details of Stage Set turn to pages 35-6-7.
_A PROLOGUE TO BE SPOKEN BY BETSY_
_Our scene is the wind-swept coast of Devon. By day there is a wide
stretch of ocean far below, and the abutments of our stage arise from
a dizzy cliff._
_The time is remote, and ships of forgotten build stand out from
Bristol in full sail for the mines of India. But we must be loose and
free of precise date lest our plot be shamed by broken fact. A
thousand years are but as yesterday. We make but a general gesture to
the dim spaces of the past._
_The village of Clovelly climbs in a single street--a staircase,
really--and it is fagged and out of breath half way. But far above, on
a stormy crag, clinging by its toes, there stands a pirates' hut. To
this topmost ledge fishwives sometimes scramble by day; but when a
wind shall search the crannies of the night, then no villager would
dare to climb so high._
_You will seek today in vain the pirates' cabin. Since the adventure
of our play a thousands tempests have snarled across these rocks. You
must convince your reason that these pinnacles of yesteryear, toppled
down by storm, lie buried in the sea._
_We had hoped that our drama's scene might lie on a pirate ship at
sea. We had wished for a swaying mast, full-set with canvas--a typhoon
to smother our stage in wind. We had hoped to walk a victim off the
plank, with the sea roaring in the wings. But our plot deals
stubbornly with us. Alas, our pirates grow old and stiff. They have
retired, as we say, from active practice and live in easy luxury on
shore. Yet we shall see that their villany still thrives._
_How shall we select a name for our frightful play? There is a wharf
in London that is known as Wapping. In these days that we call the
present it has sunk to common use and its rotten timbers are piled
with honest unromantic merchandise. But once a gibbet stood on Wapping
Wharf, and pirates were hanged upon it. It was the first convenient
harborage for inbound ships to dispose of this dirty deep-sea cargo.
So it was the somber motif of a pirate's life--his moment of
reflection after he had slit his victim's throat._
_Tonight, although your beards grow long and Time has marked its net
of wrinkles--tonight, the years spin backwards. Only the young in
heart will catch the slender meaning of our play._
_We are too quick to think that childhood passes with the years--that
its fine fancy is blunted with the practice of the world. Too long
have we been taught that the clouds of glory fade in the common day.
If a man permits, a child keeps house within his heart._
1102709152
_CHARACTERS_
THE DUKE
PATCH-EYE
THE CAPTAIN
RED JOE
DARLIN'
BETSY
OLD MEG
SAILOR CAPTAIN
THREE SAILORS
SETTING: For details of Stage Set turn to pages 35-6-7.
_A PROLOGUE TO BE SPOKEN BY BETSY_
_Our scene is the wind-swept coast of Devon. By day there is a wide
stretch of ocean far below, and the abutments of our stage arise from
a dizzy cliff._
_The time is remote, and ships of forgotten build stand out from
Bristol in full sail for the mines of India. But we must be loose and
free of precise date lest our plot be shamed by broken fact. A
thousand years are but as yesterday. We make but a general gesture to
the dim spaces of the past._
_The village of Clovelly climbs in a single street--a staircase,
really--and it is fagged and out of breath half way. But far above, on
a stormy crag, clinging by its toes, there stands a pirates' hut. To
this topmost ledge fishwives sometimes scramble by day; but when a
wind shall search the crannies of the night, then no villager would
dare to climb so high._
_You will seek today in vain the pirates' cabin. Since the adventure
of our play a thousands tempests have snarled across these rocks. You
must convince your reason that these pinnacles of yesteryear, toppled
down by storm, lie buried in the sea._
_We had hoped that our drama's scene might lie on a pirate ship at
sea. We had wished for a swaying mast, full-set with canvas--a typhoon
to smother our stage in wind. We had hoped to walk a victim off the
plank, with the sea roaring in the wings. But our plot deals
stubbornly with us. Alas, our pirates grow old and stiff. They have
retired, as we say, from active practice and live in easy luxury on
shore. Yet we shall see that their villany still thrives._
_How shall we select a name for our frightful play? There is a wharf
in London that is known as Wapping. In these days that we call the
present it has sunk to common use and its rotten timbers are piled
with honest unromantic merchandise. But once a gibbet stood on Wapping
Wharf, and pirates were hanged upon it. It was the first convenient
harborage for inbound ships to dispose of this dirty deep-sea cargo.
So it was the somber motif of a pirate's life--his moment of
reflection after he had slit his victim's throat._
_Tonight, although your beards grow long and Time has marked its net
of wrinkles--tonight, the years spin backwards. Only the young in
heart will catch the slender meaning of our play._
_We are too quick to think that childhood passes with the years--that
its fine fancy is blunted with the practice of the world. Too long
have we been taught that the clouds of glory fade in the common day.
If a man permits, a child keeps house within his heart._
Wappin' Wharf
Wappin' Wharf
_CHARACTERS_
THE DUKE
PATCH-EYE
THE CAPTAIN
RED JOE
DARLIN'
BETSY
OLD MEG
SAILOR CAPTAIN
THREE SAILORS
SETTING: For details of Stage Set turn to pages 35-6-7.
_A PROLOGUE TO BE SPOKEN BY BETSY_
_Our scene is the wind-swept coast of Devon. By day there is a wide
stretch of ocean far below, and the abutments of our stage arise from
a dizzy cliff._
_The time is remote, and ships of forgotten build stand out from
Bristol in full sail for the mines of India. But we must be loose and
free of precise date lest our plot be shamed by broken fact. A
thousand years are but as yesterday. We make but a general gesture to
the dim spaces of the past._
_The village of Clovelly climbs in a single street--a staircase,
really--and it is fagged and out of breath half way. But far above, on
a stormy crag, clinging by its toes, there stands a pirates' hut. To
this topmost ledge fishwives sometimes scramble by day; but when a
wind shall search the crannies of the night, then no villager would
dare to climb so high._
_You will seek today in vain the pirates' cabin. Since the adventure
of our play a thousands tempests have snarled across these rocks. You
must convince your reason that these pinnacles of yesteryear, toppled
down by storm, lie buried in the sea._
_We had hoped that our drama's scene might lie on a pirate ship at
sea. We had wished for a swaying mast, full-set with canvas--a typhoon
to smother our stage in wind. We had hoped to walk a victim off the
plank, with the sea roaring in the wings. But our plot deals
stubbornly with us. Alas, our pirates grow old and stiff. They have
retired, as we say, from active practice and live in easy luxury on
shore. Yet we shall see that their villany still thrives._
_How shall we select a name for our frightful play? There is a wharf
in London that is known as Wapping. In these days that we call the
present it has sunk to common use and its rotten timbers are piled
with honest unromantic merchandise. But once a gibbet stood on Wapping
Wharf, and pirates were hanged upon it. It was the first convenient
harborage for inbound ships to dispose of this dirty deep-sea cargo.
So it was the somber motif of a pirate's life--his moment of
reflection after he had slit his victim's throat._
_Tonight, although your beards grow long and Time has marked its net
of wrinkles--tonight, the years spin backwards. Only the young in
heart will catch the slender meaning of our play._
_We are too quick to think that childhood passes with the years--that
its fine fancy is blunted with the practice of the world. Too long
have we been taught that the clouds of glory fade in the common day.
If a man permits, a child keeps house within his heart._
_CHARACTERS_
THE DUKE
PATCH-EYE
THE CAPTAIN
RED JOE
DARLIN'
BETSY
OLD MEG
SAILOR CAPTAIN
THREE SAILORS
SETTING: For details of Stage Set turn to pages 35-6-7.
_A PROLOGUE TO BE SPOKEN BY BETSY_
_Our scene is the wind-swept coast of Devon. By day there is a wide
stretch of ocean far below, and the abutments of our stage arise from
a dizzy cliff._
_The time is remote, and ships of forgotten build stand out from
Bristol in full sail for the mines of India. But we must be loose and
free of precise date lest our plot be shamed by broken fact. A
thousand years are but as yesterday. We make but a general gesture to
the dim spaces of the past._
_The village of Clovelly climbs in a single street--a staircase,
really--and it is fagged and out of breath half way. But far above, on
a stormy crag, clinging by its toes, there stands a pirates' hut. To
this topmost ledge fishwives sometimes scramble by day; but when a
wind shall search the crannies of the night, then no villager would
dare to climb so high._
_You will seek today in vain the pirates' cabin. Since the adventure
of our play a thousands tempests have snarled across these rocks. You
must convince your reason that these pinnacles of yesteryear, toppled
down by storm, lie buried in the sea._
_We had hoped that our drama's scene might lie on a pirate ship at
sea. We had wished for a swaying mast, full-set with canvas--a typhoon
to smother our stage in wind. We had hoped to walk a victim off the
plank, with the sea roaring in the wings. But our plot deals
stubbornly with us. Alas, our pirates grow old and stiff. They have
retired, as we say, from active practice and live in easy luxury on
shore. Yet we shall see that their villany still thrives._
_How shall we select a name for our frightful play? There is a wharf
in London that is known as Wapping. In these days that we call the
present it has sunk to common use and its rotten timbers are piled
with honest unromantic merchandise. But once a gibbet stood on Wapping
Wharf, and pirates were hanged upon it. It was the first convenient
harborage for inbound ships to dispose of this dirty deep-sea cargo.
So it was the somber motif of a pirate's life--his moment of
reflection after he had slit his victim's throat._
_Tonight, although your beards grow long and Time has marked its net
of wrinkles--tonight, the years spin backwards. Only the young in
heart will catch the slender meaning of our play._
_We are too quick to think that childhood passes with the years--that
its fine fancy is blunted with the practice of the world. Too long
have we been taught that the clouds of glory fade in the common day.
If a man permits, a child keeps house within his heart._
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940016070162 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | SAP |
| Publication date: | 12/16/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 71 KB |
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