"Your Excellency. Your Excellency, Jesus Christ, Your Excellency, at last, God, at last!"

The shouts of joy broke through the warm indoor air, and in the midst of the surging crowd they found Lan Li, who was deeply encircled, and everyone's eyes turned to it, and then they could see the Count of Richard de Ville—

Or, to put it more accurately, the Earl of Oxford.

The earl is well-known in London's West End circles, his passion for drama and dedication have never been hidden, and his professional eye and critical taste have been recognized by countless industry veterans.

When "Les Miserables" was staged at the Almeida Theater, Count Richard did not hide his love and support, and even did not hesitate to break the shackles of high society, and through George Hall's matchmaking, he completely ignored the "internal strife of the Hall family", just to get to know Lan Li.

Every year of the Oliver Award, Earl Richard is bound to be present in person. In the VIP box, he will always have a place.

At this moment, Richard completely ignored the crowd around Lan Li, and completely ignored the etiquette of social occasions, simply and rudely interrupted the hot conversation, cut into the conversation unreasonably, and came to Lan Li enthusiastically and cordially.

This is the Earl of Oxford.

The aristocracy and the unique style/stream/character in the upper class, who go their own way, deviant, and debauchery, even if they are over 50 years old, still have their own world like a naughty boy who does not grow up, in the gossip of pointing fingers, has a world of his own.

Originally, the peers around Lan Li have tacitly made way to make way of space, because every practitioner in the industry has heard of Richard's name, they know Richard, and they also appreciate Richard - a truly pure audience like Richard is the driving force for them to continue to work hard and persist.

After politely exchanging glances with Lan Li, the peers turned around and left one after another.

Richard didn't seem to notice his "impolite" behavior at all, but sighed and looked at Lan Li, gushing his opinion, "Please, tell me a little good news, you're going to be back on stage for this one-year anniversary show, right? I mean, Daniel is still too ingenious, he's a great actor, but there's still a little bit of spirituality in the performance, and the lack of layering completely weakens John's original intention of directing the six-hour version." ”

There were no politeness, no greetings, no greetings, and as soon as they met, Richard couldn't wait to cut to the chase and express his wishes.

Richard is now discussing the lead actor of the second edition of "Les Miserables".

Lan Li smiled dumbly, "Thank you, thank you very much." He humbly and politely expressed his gratitude, "But unfortunately, I will not be returning to the stage of the first anniversary performance this time." To be precise, I'm not going to put on any performances in a short period of time, you know, the previous performances have taken so much energy and I need to rest. ”

Richard immediately showed a look of disappointment, "Regret, it's really a pity." After shaking his head repeatedly, he still restrained his expression and spread his hands slightly, "But I understand." John's version of Jean-Argent is not an easy role, and it is because of this that your performance is so rare. ”

The control of details and etiquette, which is free to retract and release, reveals Richard's aristocratic heritage, which is still different from ordinary people after all.

"So, do you have any other plans for the next step? for example, to return to the West End stage. Richard excitedly initiated a whole new topic, "Not media nonsense, I mean, Shakespeare, I think, you will certainly be able to be a good Shakespearean actor and carry on the mantle of Sir Oliver." ”

What Richard is talking about is that not long ago, the official website of "Us Weekly" launched a questionnaire to provide in-depth feedback on the resurgence of Broadway and the West End in the past year, and the entire questionnaire covered 30 questions, including "which actor would most like to be on the theater stage", "which actor would be willing to buy tickets if he returned to the theater", "what play is the most popular", and so on.

There is also a section about the Blue Rite, which mainly revolves around "Les Miserables", but the last question is:

"If Lan Li stands on the stage of the theater again, which play and which character would the audience most want to see?"

In the questionnaire, the Phantom of the Opera won the first place, receiving more than 38% of the votes.

But in the eyes of industry insiders, such a vote is meaningless.

The main reason is that the general audience has a limited understanding of the drama, and the repertoire they are familiar with has obvious limitations, and the four classic musicals such as "Les Miserables", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Cats" and "Miss Saigon" have naturally become the first choice, and in addition, "Jump Out of My World", "Turandot", "Madama Butterfly", "West End Story", "The Lion King" and other familiar plays have also become the priority objects.

In fact, copyright issues aside, the adaptation of these plays is absolutely extremely difficult, as you can imagine if you look at "Les Miserables", and the original repertoire performed by Lane Lilly loses its meaning, because these plays have now lost their novelty and are gradually reduced to tourist gatherings.

Therefore, such a vote is too limited and too simple.

In the eyes of industry insiders represented by Richard, Shakespeare is an eternal classic.

It's as if James McAvoy starred in "Macbeth" and Mark Rislang starred in "Twelfth Night." Every year, Shakespeare's repertoire is rearranged and reinterpreted, and the more classic the work, the more difficult it is to adapt, which is a serious challenge for any director and actor.

It is precisely because of this that the interpretation of Lan Li is more and more worth looking forward to.

Without waiting for Lan Li to respond, Richard couldn't help but express his opinion, "Hamlet, do you think the challenge is too low? But I personally think that it must be very exciting for you to play Hamlet! Last year, John Cord choreographed a new version of Hamlet, and I don't know if there is still the creativity and inspiration to rearrange it again." ”

In the face of such an enthusiastic Richard, Rao is Lanli was also a little overwhelmed, "Maybe." He smiled, "But not now." The simple words were categorical, there was no room for manoeuvre, and those bright eyes shone with a non-negotiable resolute light.

Carried away, Richard also felt this strong will, and the words rolled in his throat for a moment, and his expression and eyes darkened.

Just when everyone thought that Richard would be furious, as an earl, Richard was the one who had the right to speak on any occasion, not to mention a head-on confrontation, and flattery was not uncommon - this was the case with George Hall at the beginning;

But Richard lowered his head and shook his head repeatedly, "Regret." It's a shame. While I can understand your situation and condition, ...... As a true lover of theater, I hope you'll be back on the West End stage soon. This is the real actor, and those Hollywood movies are just children's games. ”

Sincerely expressed his strangulation. It's not so much a contempt for Hollywood as a fanatical embrace of the West End.

With this sincerity, Lan Li couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

Richard raised the pipe in his right hand and took two puffs, as if he was venting his emotions, his face was full of loneliness and disappointment, like a little boy who had missed his beloved toy, and finally, he let out a long breath, raised his eyes again, and looked at Lan Li expectantly, "I hope your vacation is not too long, this is a loss for the audience." ”

"My pleasure. That kind of pure and straightforward love flattered Lan Li.

For Lan Li, it seems that it has become a norm now, and there is a steady stream of praise from all over the world, but even so, every time you really feel the joy and support from the audience, you can still feel the lightness of butterflies fluttering and flapping their wings in the chest. He will not take all this for granted, only pay, there is a reward, only hard work, there is a harvest.

Richard replied politely with a gentle bow, as if to say, "It is also my honor to be able to express my inner appreciation."

Then, Richard's eyes lit up slightly, as if he remembered something important, "By the way, to commemorate the first anniversary of the performance of the Almeida Theater's version of 'Les Misérables,' I threw a small party at home this weekend. Now that you're back in London, it's my faux pas if you don't send out an invitation. ”

Sure enough, it's a drama idiot.

"If I have the chance, I will definitely attend. Lan Li expressed politeness in a proper manner.

Richard smiled meaningfully, as if he had seen through Lan Li's "official answer", but his words did not debunk it, but further added, "This is a private party, and I only invite true theater lovers." By the way, I also invited Cameron McIntosh and several outstanding actors from the Queen's Theatre version. ”

There is a message in and out of the words: he is sincere.

Lan Li opened his mouth slightly, but before he could answer, Richard continued, "Do you still live in Notting Hill?" Lan Li stayed at Matthew Dunlop's private house every time, which is no secret in London, and after receiving an affirmative reply, Richard nodded in agreement, "I will send the invitation." ”

Then, without waiting for Lan Li's answer, Richard turned and left.

came and went in a hurry, the initiative was always in Richard's hands, and of course, Lan Li did not fall behind. But it can still be felt that Richard is indeed an outlier among the aristocracy.