ACT II.
Scene II.
The first performance of Romeo and Juliet: the end of the fourth act. The curtain rises on a small bare dusty office, littered with stage properties and dresses. When the door at the back of the stage is open there is a glimpse of passage and curtains, and moving figures, with now and then a flare of torchlight. There is a continuous far-away murmur of voices and, once in a while, applause. As the curtain goes up Mary Fitton is opening the door to go out. Shakespeare holds her back.
Mary. Let go! Let me go! I must be in front at the end of that act. I must hear what the Queen will say to it.
Shakespeare. But you’ll come back?
Mary. That depends on what the Queen says. I’ve promised you nothing if she damns it.
The applause breaks out again.
Shakespeare. Listen! Is it damned?