Because the city's exterior scenes need to be built on the stage, the preparation work for "Roman Holiday" is far more than that of "Yes!" Prime Minister", so it will take longer.
As the saying goes, "before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and grass go first."
Before the play was even released, various posters were plastered all over the outer walls of the Royal Opera House.
There is a line of big words on all the posters——
From Yes! Lu, the author of "Prime Minister" personally wrote it.
Although it was just a public announcement, the effect of this sentence was extremely significant. The theater-loving citizens of London were eagerly looking forward to it.
And because it is a love theme, more female viewers are attracted,
For a time, "Roman Holiday" became the focus of discussion on the streets.
In comparison, the publication of "Guns, Germs and Steel" was not that sensational. Even the Royal Publishing House failed to increase sales.
This kind of large popular science academic work has indeed a very small audience.
Lu Shi also started writing "The Mystery of Roger",
He had promised Cooper before about Wilde that he would continue to serialize new works in The Scotsman, and of course he had to honor it.
Time moves forward so steadily,
Finally, in mid-January, "Roman Holiday" will hit the stage.
…
royal opera house,
First class box.
Margarita carefully poured tea for the Queen and looked distractedly at the stage.
The curtain is drawn tightly,
The show won't start for a while yet.
After that, Her Royal Highness leaned forward slightly and glanced at the next door from above the guardrail, but due to the angle, she could not see Lu Shi.
The queen coughed lightly,
"Rita."
Margarita then realized her gaffe and quickly sat back down.
She exuded a trace of resentful aura.
Because the publicity of "Roman Holiday" was so good, and the venue of the performance was the Royal Opera House, the royal family members currently in London were very curious and organized a group to accompany the Queen to watch it.
With so many people crowded into the box, Lu Shi and Bernard Shaw naturally could not attend.
The two of them were in the next box.
The Queen chuckled and patted Margarita on the shoulder.
"What? What you're watching today is a romantic comedy, not a political satire like "Yes! Prime Minister". Do you still need the script writer to give you live commentary here?"
Being exposed, Margarita couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
She waved her hands repeatedly,
"I don't."
It would be strange if not!
The Queen was just about to joke a few more words, but suddenly found that the discussion on the first floor was much quieter.
Margarita whispered: "It's begun."
On the stage, the curtain slowly opened,
A beautiful girl slowly walked onto the stage surrounded by many attendants.
Because she was exposed by the drama, Margarita knew that the character appearing now must be Princess Anne, so she subconsciously looked at the actress.
She whispered: "So young."
The queen smiled and said: "Isn't this great? The heroine is a princess, so the actor needs to have princess-level beauty, reserve and chastity. Beauty is easy to say, but reserve and chastity need to be revealed naturally."
After saying that, the queen added:
"Just like you, Rita."
Margarita was very happy because of this praise, but she couldn't help but said: "But she is younger than me."
The queen couldn't help but laugh out loud,
"Okay~ okay~ let's enjoy the show."
Margarita returned her attention to the stage.
Princess Anne, played by Phyllis, visits Rome and has endless business and boring banquets every day.
She hated it so much.
There is a small detail in the script. Princess Anne felt tired from standing in high heels for a long time, so she quietly took off her high heels.
As a result, when she could sit down, she left her shoes in place because she couldn't bend down to put them on.
Phyllis portrayed the awkwardness and panic very well.
There were bursts of good-natured laughter from the audience.
Margarita nodded and said: "Amazing! In just a few minutes, Professor Lu showed Princess Anne's dilemma, but it took Wilde an entire scene to do the same thing in "The Fan of Windermere". Play The strength is evident.”
The Queen is curious,
"Have you ever seen The Fan of Windermere?"
"Ah this..."
Margarita hesitated.
In fact, she took the initiative to get in touch with Wilde's works because Lu Shi admired him.
But this reason must not be known to grandma.
Fortunately, the pace of the drama was relatively fast, and the queen did not continue to delve deeper.
They returned their attention to the stage.
Princess Anne returns to her bedroom,
When the waiter asked her to rest, she resisted and lost her temper.
But the waiter was unmoved, and still "persuaded" her to rest sternly, and even gave her milk mixed with sleeping pills.
In the original movie, the waiter actually used sedatives;
However, sedatives only began to be used in certain medical situations in the 1940s. It is naturally impossible for Lu Shi to develop high technology that is ahead of his time, otherwise the romantic comedy will become a science fiction drama.
However, this substitution did not affect the plot.
Even though Princess Anne knew that she had taken sleeping pills, she still couldn't restrain her yearning for freedom. She put on ordinary clothes and ran away from "home" in the dead of night.
Slowly, the sleeping pills began to take effect;
Anne didn't go far before she was forced to rest on the side of the road.
At this moment, the male protagonist, reporter Joe, appeared.
He found the beautiful girl alone here, so he went up to chat with her.
As a result, without saying a few words, Anne fell asleep without knowing anyone else.
Joe wanted to take her home, but unfortunately he couldn't wake her up;
She wanted to hand her over to the carriage driver, but the driver, who was afraid of his wife, refused to do so.
Joe had no choice but to take the girl home, and then discovered that the headline figure in the newspaper, Princess Anne, was actually the girl he had picked up.
At this point, the first act ends.
The Queen put down the small metal telescope and showed a satisfied smile.
"very good."
Margarita asked in surprise: "Grandma, do you think this "Roman Holiday" is better than "Yes! Prime Minister"? Even I think the beginning of this drama is a bit...um..."
Margarita paused, as if searching for the right words.
The Queen asked: "Do you think this opening is too ordinary?"
Margarita nodded,
"I definitely feel that way."
She was puzzled.
The queen chuckled,
"The reason is "Yes! Prime Minister". Because of its sudden appearance, your requirements for drama have increased. It's like drinking Indian black tea after you are used to drinking high-quality Chinese tea. It will be difficult to swallow .”
The principle seems to be the same.
Margarita thought for a while and then asked: "Then why does grandma think the first scene of "Roman Holiday" is very good?"
The Queen said: "Although the script of "Roman Holiday" is very simple, it is also perfect. It is like a text that would appear in a textbook. It may not be eye-catching, but it is solid enough."
Margarita did not expect that her grandmother was considering literary creation.
Indeed, the first act of "Roman Holiday" clearly explains the origin of the story, and the content, plot, characters, and emotions of the characters are also clear and complete.
According to this rhythm, it will inevitably go up all the way.
The Queen said: "If I were asked to choose a teaching material for drama students, I would definitely choose 'Roman Holiday' instead of 'Yes! Prime Minister'. Professor Lu showed textbook-like creative skills in this drama."
