The Shakespeare Code

Being the True Account of the Life of William Shakespeare, performed by Mr. William Beeston, Gent., and his Troop of Alchemical Spirits, at Posbrook Farm, Titchfield, Hampshire, in the Year of Our Lord, 1623.

TO READ EPISODE ONE , PLEASE CLICK:  HERE

TO READ EPISODE TWO, PLEASE CLICK: HERE

TO READ EPISODE THREE, PLEASE CLICK: HERE.

TO READ EPISODE FOUR, PLEASE CLICK: HERE.

TO READ MORE ABOUT SHAKESPEARE THE PLAY PLEASE CLICK: HERE.

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BEESTON

Emilia became pregnant and was married off ‘for colour’. Will returned to Titchfield and Harry….

(Music continues. HARRY enters.  SHAKESPEARE enters and kneels in front of him, but HARRY raises SHAKESPEARE to his feet and embraces him. NASHE enters and sees this. SHAKESPEARE and HARRY walk off)

There was a problem in all this for Will and Harry….(COUNTESS MARY  enters)

Mother Mary! (MARY sits and does needlework) Will wasn’t exactly fulfilling his job description…

(NASHE crosses over to MARY, bows, kneels to her) Nashe felt obliged to tell Mary what he had seen. (NASHE whispers in MARY’s ear. MARY looks horrified. NASHE whispers again) And one or two things that he hadn’t. (MARY looks even more horrified. NASHE exits) Mary summoned Will….

(SHAKESPEARE enters and kneels in front of MARY. BEESTON opens First Folio)

MARY

 Do you love my son?

SHAKESPEARE

Your pardon noble mistress?

 MARY

Love you my son?

SHAKESPEARE

Do you not love him, madam?

MARY

Go not about. My love hath in’t a bond,

Whereof the world takes note. Come, come, disclose

The state of your affection, for your passions

Have to the full appeach’d.

SHAKESPEARE

Then I confess

Here on my knees, before high heaven and you,

That before you, and next unto high heaven,

I love your son. My dearest madam,

Let not your hate encounter with my love,

For loving where you do….

BEESTON

Will then reminded Mary that, when she was younger, she herself had been in love with someone she shouldn’t have been….

SHAKESPEARE

…..but if yourself

Whose aged honour cites a virtuous youth,

Did ever in so true a flame of liking,

Wish chastely and love dearly, that your Diane

Was both herself and love – o then give pity

To him whose state is such that cannot choose….

(A pause. MARY reddens, then raises SHAKESPEARE to his feet and kisses him on the cheek. She is accepting him into the family)

MARY

Cousin Will….

(Exit together)

BEESTON

To celebrate Mother Mary’s acceptance of their love, Harry and Will travelled to Europe, with Tom, as ever, in tow…They were meant to be spying for Harry’s great friend, the Earl of Essex. But three more hopeless spies it would be hard to imagine. (Enter SHAKESPEARE, HARRY and NASHE) They travelled to Spain….

(Entering) ATTENDANT 1

His Majesty will see you now, sir….

(HARRY and SHAKESPEARE follow ATTENDANT 1 off)

NASHE

(White-faced) No-one must ever know we visited Philip of Spain…

(NASHE follows the others)

BEESTON

And they travelled to Italy….

 (Entering) ATTENDANT 2

His Holiness will see you now, sir…

(HARRY and SHAKESPEARE follow ATTENDANT 2 off)

NASHE

(Even more white-faced) No-one must ever know we visited (mouths) the Pope….

(NASHE follows the others)

BEESTON

This visit to Europe transformed Will….(Music) At the Court of Philip II  he saw two paintings by Titian….(BEESTON pulls the easel to a central position – and places a painting on it) One was the randy ‘Venus and Adonis’.

(SHAKESPEARE enters and stares at the painting in wonder)

SHAKESPEARE

‘Even as the sun with purple-coloured face

Had ta’en his last leave of the weeping morn,

Rose cheek’d Adonis hied him to the chase;

Hunting he lov’d, but love he laugh’d to scorn.

Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,

And like a bold-fac’d suitor ’gins to woo him….’

(BEESTON whisks away ‘Venus and Adonis’)

BEESTON

And the other was the terrifying ‘Rape of Lucrece’…

(BEESTON places ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ on the easel)

SHAKESPEARE

(Altering his tone and his manner completely)

‘He shakes aloft his Roman blade

Which like a falcon towering in the skies,

Coucheth the fowl below with his wings’ shade,

Whose crooked beak threats, if he mounts, he dies:

So under his insulting falchion lies

Harmless Lucretia, marking what he tells

With trembling fear, as fowl hear falcon’s bells…’

(BEESTON places an illustration of the obelisk at Rome over ‘The Rape of Lucrece’. It has an immediate effect on SHAKESPEARE who crosses himself and kneels in prayer. HARRY enters, sees the obelisk, also crosses himself and kneels in prayer)

BEESTON (adopting a pious tone)

At Rome, Harry and Will venerated the obelisk that the Pope had set up in front of St. Peter’s.

It was the last thing St. Peter saw before he was crucified….

(BEESTON whisks away the easel, breaking the mood of piety)  Allegedly!

(The SPIRITS playing HARRY and SHAKESPEARE are furious at BEESTON’S blasphemy. More and more they are BECOMING the parts they are playing. It looks as though they are about to rebel – but BEESTON quells them with a snap of his fingers)

BEESTON

 Then the men travelled through the rest of Italy via network of canals…..

 (BEESTON returns to First Folio)

HARRY

(Getting a sudden idea) I have it full….

We have not yet been seen in any house,

Nor can we be distinguished by our faces

For man or master. Then it follows thus:

Thou shalt be master in my stead,

I will some other be, some Florentine,

Some Neapolitan, or meaner man of Pisa.

‘Tis hatch’d, and shall be so. Will, at once

Uncase thee, take my coloured hat and cloak….

(They do so)

SHAKESPEARE

Sith it your pleasure is,

And I am tied to be obedient –

For so your mother charged me at our parting

‘Be serviceable to my son’ quoth she,

Although I think ’twas in another sense –

I am content to be Southampton

Because so well I love Southampton….

And besides, this might prove a good device for a play….

(SHAKESPEARE and HARRY exit)

 TO READ EPISODE SIX, PLEASE CLICK: HERE.