Mystical Transformation

When the Bishop slipped and broke his nose, he cancelled his pilgrimage to Lourdes and decided to grace our school with his presence for ‘speech day’ instead. It was customary to put on some sort of entertainment when he was presiding over the proceedings, but nothing had been prepared, so it was decided, to produce a Shakespearean anthology at the last minute.
It would comprise two comic scenes sandwiched between three serious ones. There were no budding actors in my class so we all drew lots to decide who would play the part of Henry the fifth, - and the lot fell on me. Day after day I practised extravagant gestures in front of my mother's full-length mirror, as I recited his famous speech before the final assault on Harfleur – “Once more into the breach dear friends once more…” At the dress rehearsal I got far more laughs than the grave digger from Hamlet and the porter from Macbeth put together. ....... read on