Because the exterior of the city had to be set up on stage, there was much more preparation for "Roman Holiday" than "Yes! Prime Minister", so it will be a little longer.

The so-called "soldiers and horses have not moved, grain and grass go first",

Before the play was released, various posters were plastered all over the façade of the Royal Opera House.

All posters have a large line on them -

By Yes! The Prime Minister's author, Lu, personally wrote it.

Although it was a porcelain announcement, the effect of this sentence was extremely significant, and the citizens of the whole London who loved drama were looking forward to it.

And because it's a love theme, there are more female viewers who are attracted,

For a time, "Roman Holiday" became the focus of discussion on the streets.

In contrast, the publication of Guns, Germs and Steel was not so sensational, and even the Royal Publishing Bureau failed to pull sales very high.

This kind of large-scale popular science academic work really has a very small audience.

Lu Shi also began to write "Roger's Mystery Case",

He had promised Cooper because of Wilde's affair that he would continue to serialize new works in The Scotsman, and of course he would fulfill them.

Time is moving forward so steadily,

Finally, in mid-January, "Roman Holiday" is about to take the stage.

……

Royal Opera House,

First Class Box.

Margarita carefully poured tea for the queen and looked distractedly at the stage.

The curtain is tightly pulled,

It will be a while before the show starts.

After that, Her Royal Highness leaned forward slightly and glanced at the next door from above the guardrail, but because of the angle, she couldn't see Lu Shi.

The queen coughed lightly,

"Rita."

Margarita realized her gaffe and quickly sat back in her seat.

She exuded a hint of resentment.

Because the announcement of "Roman Holiday" is too well done, and the venue of the performance is the Royal Opera House, the royal family members who are currently in London are very curious, and they organized a group to accompany the queen to watch it.

With so many people crowded into the box, Lu Shi and George Bernard Shaw naturally couldn't attend.

The two were in the next box.

The queen chuckled and patted Margarita on the shoulder,

"What? Today I watched a romantic comedy, not "Yes! The Prime Minister", a political satire, still needs the script writer to give you a live commentary here? ”

was pierced in her mind, Margarita couldn't help but feel a little ashamed,

She waved her hand again and again,

"I didn't."

It's strange if you don't!

The queen just wanted to tease a few more words, but suddenly found that the discussion on the first floor was much quieter.

Margarita whispered, "Here we go." ”

On the stage, the curtain slowly opened,

A beautiful young girl slowly walked onto the stage surrounded by many attendants.

Because of being passed by the play, Margarita knew that the character who appeared now must be Princess Anne, so she subconsciously looked at the actress.

She muttered, "So young." ”

The queen laughed, "Isn't that good?" The heroine is a princess, so the actor needs to have princess-level beauty, reserve, and chastity. Beauty is easy to say, but reserve and chastity need to be revealed naturally. ”

As she spoke, the queen added:

"Just like you, Rita."

Margarita was very happy with the compliment, but she couldn't help but say, "But she's younger than me." ”

The queen couldn't help but laugh out loud,

"Okay~ Okay~ Let's watch the show."

Margarita turned her attention back to the stage.

Princess Anne, played by Phyllis, visits Rome, and there are endless business and boring banquets every day.

She was disgusted by it.

There is a small detail in the script that Princess Anne felt tired from standing for a long time in high heels, so she quietly took off her high heels.

As a result, when she could sit down, she left her shoes in place because she couldn't bend over to put them on.

Phyllis portrays that embarrassment and panic very well.

There was a burst of good-natured laughter from the audience.

Margarita nodded, "Awesome! In just a few minutes, Professor Lu showed Princess Anne's dilemma, while Wilde did the same thing in "Windermere's Fan" in an entire scene. The strength of the play can be seen. ”

The queen is curious,

"You've also seen Windermere's Fan?"

"Ah......h

Margarita was on the move.

In fact, she took the initiative to contact Wilde's works because she admired Wilde when she was on the land.

But this reason must not be known to my grandmother.

Fortunately, the pace of the drama is relatively fast, and the queen did not continue to delve into it.

They refocused on the stage.

Princess Anne returned to the bedroom,

The waiter told her to rest, and she rebelled and lost her temper.

But the waiter was unmoved, and still "persuaded" her to rest at a glance, and even gave her milk with sleeping pills.

In the original movie, the waiter actually used a sedative,

However, sedatives only began to be used in some medical situations in the 40s of the 20th century, and it is naturally impossible for Lu Shi to come up with high-tech beyond the times, otherwise the romantic comedy will become a science fiction drama.

However, this substitution did not affect the plot.

Even though Princess Anne knew that she had taken sleeping pills, she still couldn't hold back her yearning for freedom, changed into ordinary clothes, and ran away from "home" in the dead of night.

Slowly, sleeping pills began to work,

Anne didn't go far before she was forced to rest on the side of the road.

At this moment, the male protagonist, reporter Joe, appeared on the stage.

He found that the beautiful girl was alone, so he went up to talk to her.

As a result, without saying a word, Anne slept unconsciously.

Joe tried to send her home, but unfortunately she couldn't wake up;

I want to hand her over to the coachman, but I am afraid that the coachman of my wife will not do it again.

Jo had no choice but to take the girl home, and then found that Princess Anne, the headline person in the newspaper, was the girl she had picked up.

At this point, the first act ends.

The queen put down the small metal binoculars and smiled quite satisfied,

"Very good."

Margarita asked in surprise, "Grandmother, do you think that this "Roman Holiday" is better than "Yes!" The Prime Minister" is even better? Even I felt that the beginning of this drama was a bit ...... Hmmm......"

Margarita paused, as if searching for the right words.

The queen asked, "Do you think this beginning is too common?" ”

Margarita nodded,

"I do feel that way."

She was puzzled.

The queen chuckled,

"The reason is in Yes! Prime Minister. Because it came out of nowhere, you have higher requirements for drama. It's like getting used to drinking high-quality Chinese tea, and then going back to drinking Indian black tea, it will be difficult to swallow. ”

It seems to be the same thing.

Margarita pondered for a while, and then asked, "Then why did my grandmother think that the first act of Roman Holiday was very good?" ”

"Because the script for 'Roman Holiday,' though simple, is perfect," the queen said. It's like a text that will appear in a textbook, it may not be eye-catching, but it is solid enough. ”

Margarita didn't expect her grandmother to consider it from the perspective of literary creation.

Indeed, the first act of "Roman Holiday" clearly explains the cause of the story, and the content plot, character image, and character emotions are also clear and complete.

At this pace, it is bound to go all the way up.

The queen said: "If I had to choose a textbook for a drama student, I would choose 'Roman Holiday' instead of 'Yes!' Prime Minister. Professor Lu has demonstrated a textbook creative foundation in this play. ”