The city of Bona,
Nicknamed the City of July.
Bona's summer was not hot at all,
Every July,
The sky was so blue that it was sweet,
The waves of the water were blown clean by the wind,
Inside and outside the city,
All the stench was blown away by the fragrance of the flowers. The beautiful flowers all bloomed in an instant, crowded together to compete in beauty.
Flowers every three steps,
Grass every ten steps, people didn't even need perfume,
All he had to do was take a walk around the flowers.
This kind of grand scene would last for about a month.
Therefore, the Bona people loved July the most,
There was some sacred ceremony,
Most of them chose to do it in July.
And the dense grand event,
Was even more beautiful with the natural scenery of July, making the city always filled with nostalgia for summer.
On the contrary, the cold winter when hundreds of flowers withered was the time when the Bona people were most dispirited.
From top to bottom,
There was a lazy atmosphere in the room. The Rose Theater, which was inferior to the Royal Theater, was even more deserted.
Ordinary citizens could not afford to go to a theater like the Royal Theater, and those noble gentlemen and ladies often looked down on it.
After learning that the Emperor's cousin,
When Lady Brown, the Countess, deigned to come,
The general manager of the Rose Theater was flattered.
"I'm honored by your presence, Madam. Please excuse me for not going out to meet you!"
He had a slight friendship with this lady,
He did not dare to neglect her at all,
He hurriedly came out to greet the noble lady who had returned from a long journey. He took off his hat and bowed meticulously.
Hathaway held a folding fan and tapped her palm. She looked at the shiny and magnificent theater and casually greeted, "Long time no see. Why, is business not good? "
The general manager of the Rose Theater, Mr. Leslie De Will, was a tall and thin man. He was too thin, so thin that he only had one leg left. In addition to his big head that was balding all year round because of the miserable business, people gave him the nickname "Cane Leslie."
Mr. Cane rubbed his shiny and reflective head in distress and sighed, "Sigh, you know. That's it. It's always like this. "
Hathaway chuckled and tapped his shoulder with a folding fan. "Old Leslie, then you'll have to thank me."
She asked the maid to bring two scripts and presented them to Mr. Will.
"Here," she said, "I've brought you the golden hen that lays the eggs. This is a good thing I got from Abat. "
Abat? Leslie thought for seven seconds before he remembered Abat, the upstart, vulgar harbor city known as the literary wasteland. Forgive him. Although Abat was not a small city, in the eyes of the native Bona, everything outside Bona could be called a rural place. he couldn't remember it at the moment.
What good script could there be in such a rural area? They probably didn't even have a decent theater or a decent playwright.
However, Lady Hathaway was very good at dealing with people. She was very popular among the Bonanese. Because she had seen many talents, she had high standards and was known for being picky. And with this lady's status, she was giving you face by giving you the scripts!
Leslie made up his mind. No matter what kind of script it was, he had to get someone to rehearse it immediately. There was no audience now anyway. If it really wasn't good, then after this winter, he would quietly cancel the show.
He took the script and pretended to flip through a few pages. Oh, one of the scenes was actually a comedy … With a bit of surprise, he flipped through the pages and suddenly froze. Unknowingly, he began to read with all his attention …
"Mr. Leslie?" Hathaway gestured for the maid to call him. After a few calls, Leslie came back to his senses. The intoxication and blush on his face came through the thick foundation. He was so excited that he could barely speak. He hugged the script tightly like a golden hen. "Madam, are … are these two scripts really authorized to us?"
He was incoherent. "Such a masterpiece! A masterpiece … I haven't seen it for many years … many years … "
Hathaway chuckled. "Of course, sir. Do you think I'm a person who doesn't keep her word? "
Leslie's thin face was practically glowing. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Madam, I'm willing to give you the highest forty-sixty split for these two scripts. You take sixty and I take forty. But please forgive my rudeness. Whether you go to the Royal Thorn Bird Theater or the Royal Phantom Theater, they are far better than our theater. Why … "
Why?
The cold wind outside rolled up the withered leaves. Hathaway pondered for a moment and smiled. "Because, as you said. I haven't seen such a masterpiece for many years. I admire this author very much. Moreover, there is a comedy in these two plays. Although the other two theaters are brilliant, they are arrogant and look down on newcomers. I think the inclusive Rose Theater is more suitable for newcomers to bloom. It can be considered a little selfish of mine. "
As she spoke, she waved her fan again. "As for the forty-sixty split, there's no need. Fifty-fifty is enough. But this money is not for me. It's for the author. If one day, that newcomer can come to Bona. "
After listening to the lady's words, Leslie was shocked for a moment. Did the lady mean that the author of these two plays was a newcomer?
When did a golden phoenix fly in a place like Abat?
For a moment, his mind was shaken. He wished he could immediately send his men to Abat to dig up this newcomer.
"Then, I'll take my leave first." The lady winked charmingly. "For the sake of me being a carrier pigeon from thousands of miles away and bringing two of the most delicate roses, when I started to perform these two plays, I booked the first row, free of charge."
"Of course, of course!" Mr. Cane was so happy that he forgot himself. He patted his chest and promised, "I'll let you see all my plays for free for three months, the most expensive box!"
When Hathaway's trace disappeared, Leslie was still at the door, fantasizing about the future where he would trample the other Royal Theaters under his feet.
The cold wind hit his forehead, and he came back to his senses. He repeatedly called the manager, "Come, quickly, immediately, immediately ask the actors to rehearse these two plays! The best actors! "
*
"It's been so long, and there are only a few tickets sold in the Gentlemen's Theater. It's a waste of good actors like us. "The manager muttered and complained.
Old Cook listened to him muttering and looked at the few tickets sold. He had a headache. This situation was within his expectations.
"Wrong Marriage" had been on for a week.
"Lady Peony" was still popular, attracting most people's attention. Every day, the show was full.
However, this "Wrong Marriage" had become a bone stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.
"Wrong Marriage" was neglected in the Gentlemen's Theater. The third-class gentlemen who made their fortune by doing business tried their best to get rid of the smell of money on their bodies and were bent on getting close to the upper class. Sometimes, they were even poorer and more particular than the nobles.
In Tessie, comedy had a low status since ancient times and had always been a hobby of the common people. Many comedies were not elegant and targeted at the common people, so they had always contained crude and vulgar elements. After all, many citizens who were poor and illiterate liked this.
Luster was no exception. When it came to the current dynasty, the major figures of the neoclassical movement made a lengthy critique of comedy.
In the eyes of the nobles and the nouveau riche who tried their best to imitate the nobles, comedy was extremely difficult to be elegant.
Even after the dinner party went against the flow, the value of the citizens increased day by day, and even the comedy got rid of some of its notoriety. But it was also difficult to escape people's prejudice.
Two tabloids were placed in front of Sir James Cook.
One and a half pages were filled with reviews of "Lady Peony".
Only a corner at the edge of the page mentioned indifferently, "A few days ago, a poor and unknown author published an evaluation of" Wrong Marriage ". The evaluation was: Beautiful but not bad."
It was useless!
Old Cook wanted to invite the famous drama critic Wood Kent, who had always been on good terms with him, to take a look at "Wrong Marriage". Mr. Kent, he believed, was a man of taste and vision, and had very few prejudices in the matter of plays. In addition, he had always favored the author of "Lady Peony", Anna, so he would definitely come. At that time, their Cook Theater would invite him to publish a few reviews of the play, and then publicize it everywhere. It would be a good start …
But probably because of bad luck, Mr. Wood Kent, who had always been known as a drama addict, had closed his door for a few days in a row for some reason. He even rejected all the invitations for this month, and even the literary salon was not held again.
When Old Cook thought of this, he was even more desperate. He also had the idea of asking his old friend, Baron Hawk, for his connections. Unexpectedly, it was as if they had made an appointment. Mr. Kent closed his door and refused to see any guests. Hawk was nowhere to be seen. It was said that he had something important to do, so he called his friends and rushed to Bona overnight.
As for the rest … Hmph, the rest of the literati, who were slightly more outstanding, were all guests of his old rivals!
Without Mr. Kent pulling the strings, if they did not follow his master's wishes and slander "Wrong Marriage", Old Cook would thank the heavens!
Sir James Cook thought for a moment: It would be better to ask this play to be removed from the Gentlemen's Theater and be performed in the Citizen's Theater. Anyway, the Citizen's Theater had always performed a lot of comedies.
But if it was really performed in the Citizen's Theater, I'm afraid … I'm afraid Miss Anna's reputation will be ruined.
Always, stylish plays would first be performed in a high-end theater before being allocated to a low-level theater. Directly perform in a low-level theater? I'm afraid that if the rumors of this play being vulgar and despicable were confirmed, the gentlemen would never go to see Miss Anna's plays again …
It wasn't easy for him to use Madam Peony to produce a new play that was better than the other theaters … But it was ruined just like that?
After thinking about it, he was quite unwilling. He gritted his teeth and thought: Forget it, forget it. Let's wait for a few more months and see if there is any improvement.
*
Ocot Matzerat was dragged to the Royal Rose Theater by his good friend Daniel.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I haven't finished my script, and I'm not interested in plays. Their capacity is too limited. "
"Ocot, you're really …" Daniel waved his hand. "How about this, if you don't get up and applaud after watching these two plays, I'll treat you to the most expensive meal for three days. How about it?"
The carriage had already arrived at the Rose Theater, and they could even vaguely see the beautiful spiral marble staircase through the open door.
"You're dead set. I will never applaud any mediocre person who is not as good as me. "Ocot dropped a sentence and got off the carriage.
In front of the carriage in front of the Rose Theater, the servant invited the two distinguished guests in with a smile.
As soon as he entered, Ocot frowned his thick and messy eyebrows.
Daniel was also quite surprised. "So many people?"
The petticoats of the noble ladies squeezed under the golden candlesticks, and the boots of the noble gentlemen tapped on the smooth floor of the hall.
Some people had already noticed Ocot who limped in.
People's eyes swept over his deformed left foot, his messy and thick eyebrows, his curled hair, and his untidy old clothes.
The noble ladies covered their faces with their fans and whispered, and the noble gentlemen exchanged glances with each other.
"There weren't so many people when I came yesterday …" Daniel knew that Ocot did not like crowded places. When he was at the Rose Theater yesterday, it was very quiet, so he invited his good friend.
"Sorry, Ocot. Let's go, I'll treat you to a big meal in advance. "Daniel was very apologetic.
Ocot coldly glanced at the people who were sizing him up. He did not care at all. "Don't worry about it. I don't care about a bunch of vermin in skin. "
"Let's go, we're already here." He walked towards the crowd, and the crowd immediately dispersed, leaving a path of surprise and disgust. Ocot walked through the path without a care and led the way to the performance hall.
He could faintly hear the excited exclamations of the noble ladies and gentlemen behind him, as if some powerful lady had arrived.
He snorted and followed Daniel, walking straight past the baroque sculptures on the walls and pillars of the lounge and into the performance hall.
In the performance hall, the curtains had just been pulled open, and the announcement on the side read:
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