As the ‘Nocturne’ continues to play, ROY comes on. He looks forlorn, alone. He looks around vacantly. In another part of the stage MEG carries in the suitcases. GWEN staggers in with more things. MEG takes them from her and goes out. GWEN turns to go but stops. JIM comes in with the cardboard carton. He takes out a parcel and hands it to her. She unwraps it. It is a pair of slippers. She looks at them, then at him, and walks away, a bit overcome. JIM goes to her and they embrace. CORAL comes in carrying her hat upside down. She approaches ROY cautiously. When he sees her he is confused. She approaches him and offers him the hat. He takes it. She digs her hands into the crown of the hat and lifts out a handful of shells. She lets them run through her fingers. She lifts them out again. ROY leans towards them and buries his face in the shells in CORAL’s hands. She lets them go again and picks them up. He kisses the shells and her hands. JIM and GWEN have left the stage. MEG comes in and picks up the carton and takes it off. As ROY and CORAL leave MISS LATROBE comes on. The light becomes bright, summery, morning.

SCENE TWO

The schoolyard.

MISS LATROBE looks about her at the morning. The other actors come in. MISS LATROBE hands out books. They read the first scene of King Lear down to the entrance of the king. MISS LATROBE stops them.

MISS LATROBE: I thought I’d bring you all out here under the trees to read this, in my opinion, Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. Now there are many who would give Hamlet pride of place, but it is the struggle between man and nature, as well as between man and man, and between man and himself that make this, for me, his masterwork. And it is the power of nature, its participation in the drama that made me bring you all outside to commence work on your text for this year. Now settle down [as they sit in a circle] and we’ll continue reading King Lear by William Shakespeare. Tom, you’re our own Chips Rafferty, why don’t you go on reading? Pick it up at the King’s opening speech.

TOM:  ‘Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.

Give me the map there. Know that we have divided

In three our kingdom; and ’tis our fast intent

To shake all cares and business from our age,

Conferring them on younger strengths, while we

Unburden’d crawl toward death.’

They remain still as the lights fade, the closing bars of Mendelssohn’s music are heard. Beyond them, as in a dream, the lights play on the blue horizon and the sea.

THE END