Here you are!

(Pausing, confused.) Here I am.

(Strides over to him.) I need to speak to you before the others get here. Bad things are going down, Tim. Corruption is rife in this seemingly cosy little gang and it must be stopped.

What are you talking about? What must be stopped?

Him, Timothy. He must be stopped.

Who?

Edward.

Edward?

(Paces up and down the stage) He is behind everything! He's out of control!

Gordon, you're starting to scare me.

First Mrs Painter, then he knocks you off the throne, then he gets Nigel out of the way, he knew too much, and he's just tried to rub me out of the picture.

What do you mean?

(Pause. Gordon struggles to tell the story without getting angry) He offered my help to working mothers.

Eh?

He put my name down to help out at the village hall, every day after School.

Doing what?

Helping to supervise ... a creche.

No

All the mothers phoned the headmaster to say what an outstanding example was to the school. Broke my heart letting all those good people down.
Calculating tyrant knew I wouldn't find that easy ... but he made one mistake ... he thought I'd find it impossible. I'm on his trail now, he's mine!

But how can you be certain it's him?

(Gordon gets out a piece of paper from his jacket and thrusts it in front of Timothy's face.) It's amazing what you find if you go through the rubbish for long enough.
(He hands the piece of paper to Timothy, who reads it)
Recognise the hand?

(Reading) "Dear Mr Atherton, would you be so kind as to tell the group there was a mistake on the cast list yes...sterday”, spelt with two S's. "Tim mustn't play Macbeth, it should be Edward.” …. This is Edward's Writing?!

Bingo! I'll tell you something else. I saw him win those dirty cards at the fair an' all. They weren't Nigel's. He didn't have to have them either, he could have had some jelly babies. I don't miss a thing!

What are you going to do?

What are we going to do? He knocked you off the throne! You should be Macbeth You should be the star!

(Pause. Timothy lowers his head) I can't be a star, Gordon, I'm not star quality.

What is this?

Edward's much better than I would be, anyway.

You're not going to let him get away with it.

What am I supposed to do? Muck up the whole thing by demanding to be Macbeth again? Then I'll be rubbish and people will wish Edward was back.

You will not be rubbish! Get up!

What?

I said get up!

(Timothy gets up. Gordon finds a page in his script and hands it to Timothy) Before he kills the King, Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger hovering in front of him. What are you thinking, Macbeth?
What?

Come on, Tim!

(Timothy closes his eyes and thinks hard.) What does this mean?

Good.

ls it a sign, or my own imagination?

That's right.

Shall I take it, or not?

Now read!

(Timothy opens his eyes and starts to read) is this a dagger which I see before me?

You sound like you're only mildly curious. You're in turmoil!

Is this a dagger which I see before me?

Better

The handle toward my hand?

See it. See it

(Timothy fixes his eyes on an imaginary dagger and begins to reach for it)
Come let me clutch thee.

I like that! Keep that say it again!

Come let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind …?
(Timothy pauses, then steps out of character. He looks amazed. Gordon looks impressed.) That was quite good.

Yes it was. (Suddenly voices are heard in the corridor) Promise me one thing.

What?

That you'll learn his lines.

Whose?

Macbeth's

Why?

I'm getting you your throne back. You will be the King of this show.

There's so many though! There's loads of them! Who's gonna play Malcolm?

Talk to Nigel. Get him to learn Malcolm. It'll give him something to do while he's in jail.

I don't know, Gordon.

Promise. Then leave the rest to me!