Incandescently | Dead Poets Society

Nine

"I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read." George R.R. Martin

"O Romeo, Romeo! - wherefore art thou Romeo?" I recite, standing upon the partially-constructed balcony and looking out towards the empty hall theatre, "Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet." Rehearsals have been moving at a decently steady pace, thanks to the determined actors in the cast, and our passionate director with a keen eye for allowing us to make independent choices in our portrayals of the classic characters. Now, merely a day away from the first performance, the company are running through scenes that need just a pinch of fine-tuning.

"Romeo, doff thy name; and for thy name, which is no part of thee, take all myself," I conclude, ending the balcony monologue as I act startled when Neil's voice quickly perks up from below. "I take thee at thy word," he speaks, his eyes sparkling with pretended love and admiration, "Call me but love, and I'll be new baptised. Henceforth I never will be Romeo." Our director sharply interjects with a direction for Neil to begin climbing up towards the balcony after my next line, using the ladder for now as the climbable vines have not yet been attached. 

He nods his head and when he looks up towards me, I look down at him with momentary confusion as I speak, "What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my counsel?" 

Neil then immediately begins to climb the ladder, but does so in slow and patient steps. "By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint," he recites, "is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word." I twist my expression to be one of slow realisation for my next line: "My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound. Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?"

"Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike," Neil says just as he reaches the top, and following a previous direction from our director, he smoothly finds his feet on the balcony floor whilst pressing a kiss on my hand. "How lamest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?" I start, unable to hide the smile that naturally finds its way to my face, "The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here."

"With love's light wing did I o'erperch these walls," he responds, gesturing his hand out towards the highest area of seats, where the shining moon is supposed to be situated, "For stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me." We continue through the scene until we begin to reach the end, where Juliet is beckoned inside by her nurse, but she insists that she must see Romeo another time. 

"'Tis almost morning," I recite, glancing up to the highest seats and back down to Neil, who is currently halfway down the ladder, "I would have thee gone. And yet no father than a wanton's bird, that lets it hop a little from his hand, like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, and with a silken thread plucks it back again, so loving-jealous of his liberty." Neil recites his line back to me, and eagerly jumps back up a few steps, inching his face closer to mine.

"Sweet, so would I," I respond, leaning over the balcony ever so slightly, "Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow." In spirit of the moment, and due to how close my face is to Neil's, I make a character choice to lean forward and press a kiss to his lips. He responds quickly, returning the kiss, before I pull away and our director shouts for us to stop. "Amazing work you two," she exclaims as she walks onto stage, "and that character choice right at the end, Elizabeth? Beautiful, well done!"