Chapter 53: An Experiential Playwright

Apart from the sound of labored breathing, only the noise from the construction on stage could be heard, and everything else was silent.

Owen stared intently at Lu Shi, curious about how a Chinese person could have written "Yes, Prime Minister."

After a while, Lawton finally caught his breath, patting his chest as he asked Owen, "Manager, which madman wrote this script..."

Halfway through his sentence, Lawton remembered that Shaw was also present, and he quickly changed his tone, "Which great talent wrote this script?"

In Lawton's mind, the answer could only be Shaw.

Unexpectedly, Owen pointed to Lu Shi and said, "It's him. Lu, the author of 'And Then There Were None,' who is also a poet. That poem you highly praised, 'The Answer,' is also his work."

Lawton's expression went from blank to surprised, "So young!"

He blurted out his thoughts directly.

Lu Shi laughed heartily, "Yes, that young. The photo in the Manchester Guardian was too blurry, you couldn't tell, right?"

Lawton nodded somewhat sheepishly.

As Owen had just mentioned, Lawton really liked Lu Shi's "The Answer." Recently, his morning exercise routine included emotionally reciting excerpts from Chekhov's "The Seagull" and memorizing "The Answer."

Owen looked at Lu Shi, "Mr. Lu, why did you portray Humphrey this way?"

Saying this, Owen pointed to the tongue-twister segment, "Both Joe and I oppose 'art for art's sake,' and naturally, we oppose satire for satire's sake."

From a creative perspective, the playwright made Humphrey speak in long, complex sentences mainly to satirize the British bureaucratic system, but Humphrey's "hobby" also had a set-up.

Lu Shi said, "Sir Owen, take note of Humphrey's educational background. He graduated top of his class in Classics from Oxford University. And the language and literature program at Oxford is very... well, you know."

Of course, Owen understood, Classics is a very deep study that requires mastery of English, Latin, and Greek grammar, especially at Oxford University, so Humphrey is very adept at creating long, complex sentences.

Lu Shi continued, "When I was writing, I put myself in Humphrey's shoes and naturally wrote that passage."

Owen glanced at Lu Shi in surprise, "Put yourself in his shoes?"

Lu Shi was puzzled, "What's strange about that? When writing a script, you have to immerse yourself in the character to write actions that are logically consistent. I think every playwright does this, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Shaw said, "No."

Owen said, "No."

Lawton said, "No."

…

Lu Shi was bewildered and looked at Natsume Sōseki beside him, thinking that at least his good brother and roommate would back him up.

Unexpectedly, Natsume Sōseki was just lost in thought, his mind seemingly elsewhere, He didn't speak not because he agreed with Lu Shi, but because he hadn't heard him.

Lu Shi couldn't help but feel speechless.

Owen didn't dwell on the matter and continued reading the script, then asked, "Mr. Lu, there are three important characters in 'Yes, Prime Minister.' Among them, Jim is ambitious but incompetent, and Humphrey is shrewd and efficient but extremely averse to change—both are vividly portrayed. But Bernard..."

Owen frowned, as if searching for the right words.

Shaw, however, understood, "Yes, I have the same question. As the Prime Minister's Private Secretary, Bernard should be a quite capable character. Why does he seem almost devoid of personality throughout the play?"

Lu Shi smiled, "Once again, I urge you all to immerse yourselves in the context."

The others exchanged glances.

Lu Shi straightforwardly gave a hint: "The answer lies in the question itself. Think about what this script really is. Or rather, who wrote this script?"

Isn't it written by Lu Shi?

Shaw and Lawton thought Lu Shi was talking nonsense.

Only Owen muttered words like "immersion" and "experience," starting to flip through the script.

His eyes stopped on the title page, where there was a famous quote: "Britain has always been unparalleled in inhumanity."

This tone could only be...

Owen tentatively asked Lu Shi, "Are you saying that 'Yes, Prime Minister' shouldn't be seen simply as a script, but as Bernard's memoir? Or that the script should be viewed as the playwright's adaptation of Bernard's memoir?"

Lu Shi nodded, "Exactly. That's why Bernard seems almost personality-less in the script. He has glossed over himself."

This writing technique is somewhat similar to narrative deception, a technique pioneered by Agatha Christie in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." People in 1900 had never seen such advanced storytelling!

Everyone present was stunned.

Shaw slowly nodded, incredibly impressed, and said, "No wonder something felt off before. So that's it. It makes sense. As the future leader among civil servants, Bernard couldn't possibly be a pure and innocent little bunny."

Owen added, "So Mr. Lu is also a follower of Stanislavski."

Stanislavski, a Russian actor, director, drama educator, and theorist, is the author of "An Actor Prepares," famous for saying, "There are no small parts, only small actors."

Lu Shi was a bit confused, "Who? What Stanislavski?"

Owen smiled and explained, "Stanislavski believed that actors should actively feel the character, turning their own emotions into part of the art, rather than merely coldly portraying it."

Lu Shi didn't know about these theories, but as a modern person, even if he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he had seen it happen and could make some educated guesses.

But these guesses were ultimately just surface-level knowledge, not practical expertise.

Lu Shi steered the conversation back to the script, "Sir Owen, what do you think of 'Yes, Prime Minister'? Does it have a chance to be performed at the Lyceum Theatre?"

Owen replied excitedly, "Of course! Absolutely! And I particularly want to try the role of Humphrey. It would be a tremendous challenge and a new milestone in my acting career."

Lawton coughed lightly, "Um... Can I take Jim Hacker's role?"

They both seemed very eager.

Lu Shi subtly winked at Shaw and whispered, "Director, it's a pity there are no prominent female roles in 'Yes, Prime Minister.' Otherwise, I would definitely give you a chance to curry favor."

Shaw initially didn't understand what he meant, but after a moment, he realized Lu Shi was referring to Ellen Terry and blushed.

Owen chuckled, "Mr. Lu, let's not tease Joe."

In fact, successful European men having mistresses was quite common, and no one was truly clean.

Owen redirected the conversation back to the script, continuing, "Mr. Lu, let's see if my lines match your vision of Humphrey."

He took a deep breath,

"'Yes, even if they might actually know that the Navy might not use, and even if the Navy might not use, the Navy certainly might not use it.'"

It was still that segment about the battleship discussion.

Owen's enunciation was precise, just like a news broadcaster, and he managed to deliver the long, complex sentence in one breath, which was quite impressive.

However, Lu Shi frowned slightly, "Although 'Yes, Prime Minister' is a series of episodes, each performance lasts at least three hours. Sir Owen, in your current condition, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep up."