Maisie Mosco’s novel
Between
Two Worlds is about a traveling Shakespeare troupe, and so it has a whole
lot of Shakespeare references. The book’s prologue contains a reference to
Shakespeare. There is a list of a character’s few possessions, including “a
copy of Shakespeare’s plays, which he had scrimped and saved to buy” (p. vii).
Then the first part of the book opens with a bit of that fantastic speech from
Macbeth: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a
poor player,/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage…” (p. 1). In the
book’s first chapter, the company is putting on a production of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and so there
are plenty of references to that play. The first lines of that chapter are:
“One of Alison’s earliest memories was of seeing her father transformed into an
ass” (p. 3). Then Mosco writes: “Remembrance was evoked by the sight of her
father once again playing Bottom in
A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. But to twelve-year-old Alison, perched on a stool
in the wings of the Theatre Royal, Bolton, on a winter morning in 1912, it was
inconceivable that there had been a time when Shakespeare’s characters had not
seemed to her like old friends” (p. 3). Alison’s mother is in the role of
Titania. Mosco writes, “It was as if Shakespeare had had before him a painting
of her, when he created Titania, the Faerie Queen” (pages 3-4). Then Alison
tells her father, “Your portrayal of Bottom could not be bettered” (p. 5).
Oberon is also mentioned: “Oliver caught Horace’s eye and doffed the crown he
was wearing for his role of Oberon” (p. 8). And: “Gregory would have to take
over the role of Oberon tonight” (p. 13). And some of the characters are named
after Shakespeare’s characters. There is a Hermione, and there is a Jessica,
for examples.
Then in the second chapter, Mosco writes, “When the tour
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream began,
the wardrobe room had been staffed by three” (p. 9). Horace is trying to convince
the others to expand their repertoire beyond Shakespeare. He says, “If you
would only come down to earth, accept that our solely Shakespearean repertoire is
simply not commercial, it might be possible to save the company from total
disaster” (p. 11). Gregory says, “We shall keep our heads above water with
readings from the sonnets and choice excerpts from the comedies” (p. 13). Then
Mosco writes, “He revered Shakespeare no less than Gregory did, but was not
prepared to continue living a hand-to-mouth existence in order to perpetuate
the Bard’s work” (p. 13). Then: “As with A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, he would not recoup his outlay” (p. 14). Horace is
Jewish, and Gregory says to him, “In the thirteen years you have been my
son-in-law,. I have not staged The
Merchant of Venice” (p. 14). Merchant
Of Venice is referred to again: “But Gregory Plantaine had not found it
difficult to equate Horace with Shylock” (p. 15). And again on that same page:
“Which Shakespeare had immortalized when he created Shylock” (p. 15). We then
return to A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
“The actress playing Hippolyta called a friendly greeting as she passed along
the corridor to her dressing room” (p. 17). Soon after that there is a
reference to The Taming Of The Shrew:
“Hermione laughed and the sound was not pleasant. It reminded Horace of her
portrayal of the Shrew” (p. 19). And then All’s
Well That Ends Well: “‘All’s well that ends well,’ Hermione blissfully
quoted” (p. 22). It then goes back to Dream:
“Bottom made his first appearance in Scene Two” (p. 22). And: “He left Hermione
to finish transforming herself into Titania” (p. 23).
Early in the third chapter there is a reference to
Shakespeare himself: “The Plantaines were nominally Christians, but it was
Shakespeare, not Christ, whom they worshipped, Oliver thought” (p. 24). The
book continues to mention characters from Dream:
“And Grandpa had most certainly not enjoyed playing Oberon last night” (p. 26).
Then in the fourth chapter, the company is performing Macbeth. Mosco writes: “The Players were currently staging Macbeth, which was supposed to be
unlucky” (p. 30). And then: “Macbeth
must never be referred to by its title, or disaster would surely descend” (p.
31). And: “Gregory had asked a young hopeful, engaged to play one of the
soldiers, to take over Horace’s part of Macduff” (p. 31). And: “Most actors
yearn to play Hamlet, but Horace’s high peak of challenge had been Macbeth” (p.
31). And: “His lifeless performance had, by contrast, made her portrayal of
Lady Macbeth seem melodramatic” (p. 31). And: “Papa had been a failure as
Macbeth” (p. 32). There is another reference to Shakespeare: “‘I’m the only
female Plantaine not to be called after a Shakespearean heroine,’ Alison
informed her” (p. 34). Then Mosco writes, “‘My wife wanted to continue the
tradition and call her Viola,’ Horace told Lottie” (p. 34). Shakespeare is
mentioned again in the fifth chapter: “How on earth can your Grandfather
Plantaine hope to sell Shakespeare to them and their kind” (p. 41). And: “As
life itself sometimes seemed the empty exercise that Shakespeare summed it up
to be, in Macbeth” (p. 46). The sixth
chapter also contains a reference to Shakespeare: “Yet she knew all
Shakespeare’s texts by heart, before she was twelve” (p. 60).
At the beginning of the seventh chapter there is a
reference to Macbeth: “The company
was still touring Macbeth and playing
to better houses than they had in the industrial north” (p. 68). There is
another mention of the play later in that chapter, with Oliver asking Horace, “How
would you like to play Macbeth for the rest of the tour?” (p. 75). In the
eighth chapter, Horace is arguing with his wife. Mosco writes: “Who is she
going to pull out of the hat? Juliet or Ophelia? Horace wondered” (p. 79).
Then: “His wife had temporarily deserted Shakespeare’s heroines, in favor of
the suffragettes” (p. 80). The ninth chapter returns to Macbeth: “Several of the actors in Macbeth had gone with Horace to enlist” (p. 84). In the tenth
chapter, the company begins performances of Twelfth
Night, Mosco writing, “By the winter of 1914, Gregory had managed to get
together a cast to stage Twelfth Night”
(p. 88). Alison says to Hermione, “I remember your losing several pounds when
you last played Rosalind, Mama, so maybe playing Viola is having the same
effect upon you – though it’s a much less strenuous role” (p. 88). Mosco
writes, “When the company last presented Twelfth
Night, her father had played Malvolio” (p. 89). Mosco then writes that
Hermione “forced herself to return to the dressing table and resume
transforming herself to Viola” (p. 92). Then: “Viola did not appear until the
beginning of Scene Two, but Twelfth Night
had only a short Scene One, which allowed Hermione little time to dawdle” (p.
92). That page also contains a reference to Shakespeare: “Hermione’s mind had,
that evening, deserted the Bard, to concentrate upon her personal drama” (p.
92).
The eleventh chapter has another reference to Twelfth Night. Mosco writes, “The actor
who was understudying him could have the pleasure of playing Malvolio to a
packed Christmas Eve house” (p. 104). The twelfth chapter likewise has a
reference to Twelfth Night: “Or
Oliver Plantaine in London, on Christmas Eve, when the Plantaine Players are
presenting Twelfth Night in
Bournemouth” (p. 121). There is also a reference to Shakespeare, along with
mentions of two plays: “There’ll always be a place for Shakespeare in the
English theater – that goes without saying. The Old Vic has staged The Shrew this year, and the Savoy, The Dream” (pages 123 - 124). And there
is another reference to Shakespeare: “But the Bard’s work is timeless and
endures forever” (p. 124). And at a party, a woman approaches Oliver and tells
him, “The last time I saw you was when I played Bianca in your father’s
production of The Shrew” (p. 127).
And Lucy asks, “Wouldn’t Mother be marvelous as Lady Macbeth, Mr. Plantaine?”
(p. 133). And her twin brother Luke adds, “Or Portia?” (p. 133). Ruby, their
mother, says, “I wouldn’t mind playing one of the Merry Wives of Windsor” (p.
133). Oliver then adds, “And Luke would make a delightful Ariel” (p. 133). Lucy
says, “I should like to play Juliet” (p. 133), and Luke responds, “And I Romeo”
(p. 134). Then in the fourteenth chapter, Hermione says, “Ruby May in a
Shakespearean production?” (p. 159).
The second part of the book begins with a line from Romeo And Juliet: “Here’s much to do
with hate, but more with love” (p. 161). The first chapter of the second part
contains references to Hamlet and Romeo And Juliet, with Mosco writing: “Her
grandmother had made hers playing Ophelia, and her mother Juliet. Alison had
assumed that she, too, would be presented to the public in one of those two
coveted roles. But her grandfather had produced Hamlet last season, and Romeo
and Juliet, which was to open the autumn season, was in preparation now.
With Lucy playing Juliet! Alison thought with a pang” (pages 164-165). There is
another reference to Romeo And Juliet:
“he was playing Mercutio and not presently required on stage” (p. 165). And
then: “Had he cast Alison as Ophelia or Juliet, Ruby May’s fury would know no
limits” (p. 165). Mosco then writes: “Gregory Plantaine, the autocratic
actor-manager, was no longer a free agent, nor his repertoire solely
Shakespearean. The latter was the consequence of the former, Gregory frequently
apologized to the Bard’s revered memory” (p. 166). And: “Plays by Shaw and
Maugham, Pinero and Galsworthy, Barrie and Ibsen, were a painful diversion from
his own life’s work, but they were now included, along with Shakespeare, in the
company repertoire” (p. 168). There is then another reference to Romeo And Juliet: “Gregory vented his
spleen upon the twins, through their rendering of the balcony scene was not at
all bad. ‘How I shall transform you into Romeo and Juliet – !’” (p. 168). That
chapter contains more references to Shakespeare, with Mosco writing, “Gregory
could have gone producing nothing but Shakespeare, if he hadn’t cooked his own
goose” (p. 174), and “Gregory’s personal obsession with Shakespeare did not
prohibit him from taking an academic interest in lesser works” (p. 175). Lucy
then says, “We ought to be talking about Romeo
and Juliet” (p. 175). There is another reference to Shakespeare, with the
character Ruby saying, “They’d always been mad on Shakespeare and idolized the
Plantaine Players” (p. 177). The next references are to Romeo And Juliet: “Afternoon rehearsal was to begin with the
Capulets’ feast, a large-scale scene with which Gregory was not yet satisfied”
(p. 178), and: “A mischievous quirk had impelled him to cast Hermione as Lady
Capulet. Ruby had reluctantly had to make due with playing Romeo’s mother, Lady
Montague – a lesser part” (p. 178). Mosco then writes: “For Shakespearean
productions, Gregory had the final word on casting, and Ruby for other plays.
Ruby had suggested this as a workable arrangement and Gregory had been relieved
that she had. It was a way of keeping her hands off his beloved Shakespeare,
and of ensuring she did not make a travesty of his work” (p. 178). And again
regarding Romeo And Juliet, Mosco
writes, “Jessica had the plum part of the Nurse, which she had played many
times” (p. 178). Mosco then writes, “The mixed repertoire, after a lifetime of
undiluted Shakespeare, and her husband’s unprecedented failure to maintain their
former status quo, had disoriented
her” (p. 180). And regarding Romeo And
Juliet, Mosco writes, “Alison could go there now and watch the Romeo and Juliet costumes taking shape”
(p. 181). And then: “Hermione turned her thoughts to Lady Capulet and, with satisfaction,
to Ruby’s disappointment when she did not get that part” (p. 183). And there is
another reference to Shakespeare: “But the pleasure of stretching her talent
was tempered by a sense of disloyalty to her father and the Bard; and of
injustice, because Ruby always had the leading role. Only in Shakespearean
productions was Hermione able to score over her” (p. 183). That chapter also
contains another reference to Hamlet,
with Mosco writing, “but let us not forget the immortal words – ‘The play’s the
thing’!” (p. 186). Then Mosco goes back to Romeo
And Juliet: “These were Gregory’s dispassionate thoughts as the actors
playing Maskers and Servingmen positioned themselves onstage for the Capulets’
feast. He went into the auditorium, to see how the grouping would look from out
front when Capulet had entered with the Guests and Gentlewomen” (p. 186). Mosco
then writes, “Romeo’s parents, the Montagues, did not feature in this scene”
(p. 187). And then: “Gregory gave the signal for Capulet and his entourage to
make their entrance” (p. 187).
The third chapter in the second part mentions Troilus And Cressida: “Hermione had
pressed, in her copy of Troilus and
Cressida, one of the tea roses from her bridal bouquet” (p. 219). The fifth
chapter then goes back to Romeo And
Juliet, with Gregory telling Alison, “You are now sixteen, Alison, and I
have the utmost confidence in your ability to play Juliet, when we open
tomorrow night” (p. 233). Jessica then says to her, “As my poor mother’s sudden
death allowed me to step in and prove I was capable of playing Lady Macbeth,
though I had not yet the experience for it” (p. 233). It is not long before
there is another reference to Romeo And Juliet:
“She took her copy of Romeo and Juliet
from her bookshelf and began studying her part. Lucy’s ‘too sweet to be
wholesome’ interpretation of Juliet was not how Alison would play the role.
There were fiery depths to the tragic heroine, which tomorrow night would not
be left unplumbed” (p. 236). Luke then asks, “What sort of Romeo is she going
to make me look like?” (p. 236). This chapter contains more references to the
play: “‘But not all entrances are required to be imposing,’ Alison countered. ‘And
Juliet’s certainly isn’t!’” (p. 241). And: “It was Romeo whom she would love
tonight! While applying her makeup, she imagined she was Juliet, seated before
a looking glass in her home in Verona” (p. 242). And: “Alison wanted to present
a flesh-and-blood Juliet, whose life is interrupted by events” (p. 242). And: “Juliet
did not make her first appearance until Scene Three” (p. 242). And: “It was
Miss Plantaine who emerged from the dressing room, but the girl who appeared
onstage was Capulet’s daughter. When Alison stepped from the wings she stepped
too, into the ancient city of Verona and into the heart, soul and being of
Shakespeare’s best-loved heroine” (p. 243). And: “During the balcony scene, there
came a moment Alison would remember always. Silence lay thick as a blanket in
the darkened auditorium as she spoke her lines, and she knew she had made the
audience forget they were seated in a theater; she had transported them
backwards in time, into Juliet’s life” (p. 243).
The third part of the book begins with a line from Hamlet: “To thine own self be true” (p.
245). The first chapter of that section refers to Shakespeare, with Mosco
writing, “It had caused her to rethink the meaning of drama and to view
Shakespeare as a dramatist whose work, like Shaw’s and Glasworthy’s, held up a
mirror to his day” (p. 247). That chapter also contains a reference to King Lear: “That’s what I meant when I said
the degree of forgiveness was related to the nature of the sinned against” (p.
250), referring to Lear’s line “I am a man/More sinned against than sinning.”
There is also a reference to Romeo And
Juliet in this chapter: “How long ago it seemed since she had sat here in
her Juliet costume, savoring for the first time the taste of success” (p. 255).
The second chapter also contains a reference to Romeo And Juliet: “‘What’s in a name?’ he quoted wryly” (p. 263).
The fourth chapter contains references to Shakespeare, as Mosco writes, “One
month she would be performing in Shakespeare and the next in a revue, or a
contemporary play” (pages 286-287). And then Alison says she’s bored with the
company’s productions, “Including the Shakespearean ones” (p. 289). And then: “There
are shades of meaning in the Bard’s work that Grandpa has not divined” (p.
289). There are also references to The
Taming Of The Shrew. Mosco writes, “The company was currently staging The Taming Of The Shrew and Alison was
playing Kate” (p. 292). And then: “Her portrayal of the Shrew was magnificent”
(p. 293). And then: “I’ll suggest the final night of The Shrew” (p. 294).
The fifth chapter has a reference to Shakespeare almost
right away: “It would, he said in his reply to Horace, afford him the pleasure
of seeing Shakespeare produced by the man his father had called ‘the maestro’”
(p. 294). And there are references to The
Taming Of The Shrew. Mosco writes: “When the curtain rose on the final
performance of The Taming Of The Shrew,
it was for Alison just another Saturday night at the Playhouse” (p. 295). And
then: “She forgot that Morton was there until Lucy, who was playing Bianca,
began deliberately upstaging her. When it happened for a third time, Alison
registered that the first occasion was during Bianca’s line: ‘Sir, to your
pleasure I humbly subscribe’” (p. 295). And then: “It was then that Alison felt
her fighting blood rise, which accounted for there never having been a more
tempestuous Shrew; nor one who reduced her sister Bianca to an object of
derision the Bard had not intended” (p. 295). Horace tells Alison, “You are not
still onstage playing the Shrew” (p. 298). And then Mosco writes, “Hermione,
who could no longer pass as a Kate, or a Bianca, had had to settle for the role
of the Widow” (p. 298). In that chapter, Mosco also writes, “But Ruby, who
wanted to play Lady Bracknell, had exercised her right to select the company’s
non-Shakespearean production” (p. 300). There is also a reference to Hamlet: “And the play, even when by an
author of whom Gregory didn’t approve, remained the thing” (p. 301). There is
another reference to The Taming Of The
Shrew: “So much for Morton’s not congratulating you on your splendid Kate!”
(p. 302). There is another reference to Hamlet,
with Horace saying to Alison: “I’m telling you to do what’s necessary to pursue
your own art, Alison, To thine own self be true” (p. 303). Alison responds, “A
fine time to quote Shakespeare to me!” (p. 303).
Between Two Worlds
was published in 1983. The Bantam Book edition was published in 1984.
