'How to define a Forsyte?
'By the secrets we keep, shall you know us?
'By the little lies we tell?
'By the choices we make, which echo down the generations,
'Choices which will come back to haunt us,,,
',,until one of us decides to change the story,'
Believe me, this will pass,
And we'll come through it stronger and more devoted than ever,
I believe you,
My concern is this - now he knows about the children,,,
,,will he be able to forget them again?
Jos,
HOLLY COUGHS
You need fresh air, Hm?
I wish I could take you to the seaside,
I know where I like to go,
To a magic place,,,
,,where all the streets are made of water,
Where the poor servant girl met the prince,
LOUISA CHUCKLES SOFTLY
So, at the next board meeting,
I propose to introduce the subject
of my nephew's unfitness to be chair,
Mm,
Not just in temperament,,,
,,but in behaviour, As in,,,?
Any action that might bring the firm into disrepute,
This being the case,
not only can he be said NOT to be chair material,,,
,,he should be expelled from the company,,,
,,altogether,
You're not the first to sow wild oats in your youth,
But there's no need to pay for those mistakes with your career,
They're not "mistakes", Dad,
They're my actual flesh and blood, And that's important,
An heir is important, Something you currently lack,
But for the present,
when your succession is about to be challenged,,,
Oh, I am well aware of James's manoeuvrings,,,
,,it is imperative that we keep this matter a secret,
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
Your father and I have been wondering,,,
is there a case for offering some inducement?
"Inducement"? For the young lady in question,,,
,,to ensure her silence,
Her silence is not in doubt,
But if she could be persuaded to leave London,,, What?
,,set up home and business elsewhere,
Suitably funded, of course,
So she's expected to uproot her life and that of her children
for my convenience,
when she's made it abundantly clear she wants no further contact?
And you trust her? Completely,
You are not proposing some kind of public statement?
About the children?
Well, how would that benefit any of us?
No, I intend to honour her wishes,
whilst deciding how to discharge my financial obligation to her,
which will be MY decision,,,
,,no-one else's,
Are we sure he's the father? JAMES CHUCKLES
Why else would he be at her shop?
And there was that business in Italy with the lady's maid,
And there we have it,,,
,,the thing to tip the scales against him,
But let's keep this to ourselves for now,
Do I think I'd be the better chair? Of course,
Do I need to stoop to scheming to achieve it? Mm,,,
You can leave all that to me,
BIRDSONG
Irene,,,
I've got another note from Mr Forsyte,
SHE CLEARS HER THROAT
Hm,,,
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
JUNE BREATHES SHAKILY
So,,,
,,if you loved her,,,
,,why did you marry Mama?
Because your mother wa,,, IS,,,
,,an incredible woman,
Cultured, caring, kind,
And I value that,
JUNE SNIFFS
In those early days after Venice, I was sometimes a little lost,
And had you known about,,, her situation,,,
,,what would you have done?
I can't answer that,
You just did,
June, wait,
JUNE SNIFFS
Give her time,
I don't underestimate the pain this has caused,,,
,,but I am here,,,
,,and I have no plans to be elsewhere,
Then all shall be well,
You came, Did you doubt it?
Forgive me, Yesterday, I was overwhelmed,
I failed to observe the proper formalities,
Allow me to make amends,
Ah!
Miss Heron, you have made me the happiest of men,
Would you do me the honour,,, of wearing this ring?
SHE GASPS SOFTLY
SHE EXHALES SOFTLY
You dislike it? Er, no! No, how could I?
It's just,,, SHE LAUGHS SOFTLY
I mean, is this happening to me?
When there must be so many more suitable women of your own station,
Very many,,, eminently "suitable",
All art and polish and,,,
,,impeccable breeding,
Whereas you,,,
,,are all nature, SHE EXHALES SOFTLY
And to me, that is perfection,
May I now have the honour,,, of introducing you to my family,,,
,,my love? SHE LAUGHS
Yes!
THEY CHUCKLE
PLAYS SOFTLY
Mama was always fond of that one,
She was a fine woman,
Not a first love, but,,,
,,a lasting one,
So, it's a full turn-out tomorrow? What's this?
Epsom Races, Monty's horse is running,
What could possibly go wrong?
What shall I wear?
I need to cut quite the dash
when I strut into the ring with Lady Peaches,
Isn't that the groom's job?
When one's nurtured a nag as I have,
one feels a bond, a connection,
You don't think of mounting her yourself, then?
JAMES CHUCKLES The thought had occurred,
but the 2:30 at Epsom, is that the place to make one's debut?
I thought I'd wear my peach hat in homage to Monty's horse,
But if it doesn't win,,,?
I believe by the end of tomorrow, we'll have something to celebrate,
And to that end, I'll be bringing a guest,
Anyone we know?
Wouldn't wish to spoil the surprise,
Well, hardly a surprise!
A guinea on Miss Carteret! LAUGHTER
If you've a guinea to waste,
It's always a blow to realise that someone you love is not perfect,
Of course you want him to be, but,,,
,,he's fallen short, And I can't forgive him,
Parents disappoint their children, Children disappoint their parents,
Mine have a talent for it,
Even now, I suspect that your uncle James
is harnessing your father's imperfections to use against him,
And you may say, "Quite right",
Whereas I would say,,,
,,"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,"
Chin up, my dear, Tomorrow's race should cheer your spirits,
Yes, Peaches! Do it! Come on, Peaches, Told you!
Go on, go on, Peaches! Come on, Lady Peaches,
CHEERING Yes! Go! Yes!
Yes!
That's it, go on! Go on! Yes! Yes!
No! No, no, no!
No! No! No!
No! No, Peaches!
No!
HORSE SNORTS
HORSE WHINNIES
No! No!
Oh, it was so close! So close,
SO close!
You donkey!
Damn it! I've been sold a pup!
A,,, turkey, a clunker, a veritable dud!
But she did so well, Monty, She almost won!
CLATTERING They need to fix that,
How's Alicia?
If you value your life, never ask if she's feeling tired,
Or would like a chair, Oh, no, she already made that clear,
"I'm with child, Jo, I'm not an invalid or an imbecile,"
How are things with Frances?
Let's just say my connections with Louisa have consequences
neither of us reckoned with,
And the implications are frankly severe,
So, does Soames propose to join us
or is he keeping his intended under lock and key?
Ah, Miss Carteret, Pa would've been proud
to think we'd achieved nobility in three generations,
Just to alert you,,,
I haven't broached any of our plans with the family,
so forgive me if I'm deliberately vague,
Of course, IRENE CHUCKLES
Ah,
Miss Heron, Mrs Heron, my family,
How do you do?
Forgive me, I fear we're a formidable prospect,
Oh, not at all, I'm delighted,,,
to make the acquaintance of such a distinguished family,
Hm,
And there'll be ample opportunity for deepening that acquaintance,,,
,,as Miss Heron has done me the honour of agreeing to be my wife,
MRS HERON CHUCKLES
Oh! Huh,,,
Congratulations,
Thank you,
Our wedding will shortly take place by special licence,
after which we depart for Europe,
On your honeymoon? How thrilling, Where will you go?
Tradition dictates that must remain a secret,
"Heron" you say?
Er, do we know that name?
Who are your,,, people, my dear?
Er, no-one of consequence, My father was a professor, and my mother,,,
Oh, could we please not subject Miss Heron to the Spanish Inquisition?
Oh, no, no, no, indeed, That function belongs to me,
The customary formalities?
Yes, of course,
Shall we?
Oh, my,,,
I thought it best to get the ordeal out of the way as soon as possible,
IRENE CHUCKLES
As to the wedding, you must say if a fortnight from now is too soon,
A fortnight?
Well, surely, the sooner we arrive in Paris,,,
ANN EXHALES SOFTLY
I,,,
Your mother is seriously displeased,
Why wasn't she consulted? And the haste?
How long have you known this girl? Long enough,
She seems rather lovely, Oh, Emily!
She is, You'll like her,
You must be fearfully in love, "In love"?
What the deuce does that mean? It means everything, trust me,
This is not the match we were expecting,
No, I see that,
And to take the plunge now? When Jo's dug himself a hole?
We've a clear shot at the chairmanship,
and you're about to go gallivanting off round the continent?
Perhaps we should just leave Jo to it,
JAMES LAUGHS
Are you serious?
Hm,
The,,, insanity of it!
EMILY CHUCKLES I think I rather envy him,
How?
Daring to follow his heart,
Did you?
Did I?
For God's sake, Emily,
What sort of a question is that?
Come along, Pudding, Shall we retire?
Well, that was sheer purgatory,
JO SIGHS SOFTLY Absolute hell,
Grinning like fools, as if our whole lives were not on the rack!
I know what makes this even worse,
We always wanted children of our own,
Yes,
Somehow that never happened,
Now to know that you have children with another,,,
The last thing I ever wanted was to cause you pain,
We must protect June as much as we can from all this,
IRENE PANTS
You're not wearing that, are you?
I mean, the Forsyte ladies will never approve,
Is it not sufficiently modish? IRENE CHUCKLES
My concern,,,
,,is that you don't embarrass yourself,
You're stepping so far outside your milieu,
I thank you for your concern,
But I can only start as I mean to go on,
By doing what feels right,,,
,,for me,
YELLING, COMMOTION
So, I was thinking crimson,,, Or burgundy,
My husband says, "Don't be extravagant",
which is rich coming from him,
when he outspends his allowance every month
and then blames me because he has no profession,
It's hardly my fault
my father and uncle won't give him a role in the company!
And it's not as if I haven't hinted at it countless times,
But they just keep saying,
"We have a reputation to uphold at Forsyte & Co,"
Forsyte?
But your name's,,,
Dartie, yes, by marriage, Forsyte by birth,
You know my cousin-in-law, Mrs Frances Forsyte,
Yes, Yes,
I, er, I should perhaps warn you, I'm snowed under with orders -
it could be months before your gown is ready,
In which case, I'd quite understand if you wished to go elsewhere,
' "Elsewhere"? '
I should think not,
And her tone! Almost as if she was wishing me gone,
And why would that be?
Thank your cousin Jo,,,
What?
,,and his not-so-gilded youthful escapades,
I congratulate you, cousin,
Miss Heron seems an excellent choice,
Thank you,
Perhaps one's reached an age where one is free to make a choice,,,
,,without succumbing to family pressures,
JO CHUCKLES SOFTLY
One lives in hope,
Jo fathered the dressmaker's children? Mm,
Well, well, well,
The dirty dog! How appalling!
But it does play into our hands, How so?
He wouldn't be the first to father children out of wedlock,
Hm, for our purposes, it serves us to portray him as a libertine,
The callous seducer, the,,, neglectful father,
I mean, any of these could be said
to jeopardise the reputation of the firm,
But it happened before he and Frances met,
Some might call it a "youthful indiscretion",
Well, they'd be wrong, Such behaviour is,,,
Yes, Monty? What is it?
Hm,
I might look in at my club,
Does he perform any useful function?
He could, given a chance,
If this is yet another bid to give him a role,,,
Not a role, A seat on the board,
SCOFFS You are joking?
The board meets tomorrow, yes?
And your plan is to expel Jo from the company?
Do you have a majority? Are you sure you couldn't use an extra vote?
Well,,, Monty's your man,
He's entirely without scruples,
He'll vote whichever way you tell him to,
Excuse me,
Ladies and gentlemen,,, Oh, so sorry,
,,please take your seats and welcome esteemed lecturer and philanthropist
Mrs Ellen Parker Barrington,
You believe you have no voice,
I believed the same,
I've been confused, ignored, disrespected in my time,
Oh, but trust me, I'm under no illusion,
It is my wealth, my standing, which now confers power,
commands respect, demands attention,
My late husband owned woollen mills in the north,,,
,,once viewed his workers as commodities,,, expendable,
But he was brought to see them as precious human souls,,,
,,worthy of respect,,,
,,of dignity,,,
,,of proper recompense,
So,,,
,,change is possible,
And I owe those who have not been as fortunate as I
to challenge ignorance and injustice,,,
,,wherever I see it,
I invite you,,, to do the same,
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thank you so much, Nice to meet you,,,
Miss Renegade?
SHE CHUCKLES Mr Buccaneer,
What brings you here?
The same as you, A wish for a rational argument?
A disgust for inequality,
Would you,,, Would you care for some cake?
HE CHUCKLES SOFTLY, SHE LAUGHS
Thank you,
So, you're an architect, How splendid,
I should introduce you to my family, They'll be terribly impressed,
Oh, I doubt it, I'm a modernist,
In my experience,
the moneyed classes are highly conservative in their tastes,
Now, you, I suspect, are a radical,
Well, I like to think I have an open mind,
Why else would you be here, unchaperoned? Mm,
I don't care a fig for such nonsense,
I suspect your mother does,
And what she doesn't know can't hurt her,
Do you have a card?
In case any of my family should at some point require your services,
You and I both know how unlikely that is,
Culver Street? Hardly an illustrious address,
And it's a garret, Oh, I adore garrets,
"Proposal to admit Montague Dartie to the board"?
I don't expect you to like it, He's an imbecile,
But if we're to get the votes we need,,,
Last minute addition to the agenda, "Item five,,,
"Reputational Risk and Remedial Action,"
So, here we are, Here we are,
Let battle commence,
Come in, sir, MONTY SIGHS
Large brandy and the day's papers, Chop chop!
"Item number four,
"the proposed election of Montague Dartie,,,
",,to the board,"
Proposer?
Seconded?
All those in favour?
And those against,
JOLYON SIGHS SOFTLY
Montague Dartie is elected to the board,
I suppose you should,,, let him in,
DOOR OPENS
To those who voted in my favour,,,
,,good choice! MONTY CLAPS
To any who voted against,,,
All right,
"Item five,,,
",,Reputational Risk and Remedial Action",
Yes,
I'm afraid there have been alarming rumours
implicating one of our own, which,,,
should they reach the ears of our more eminent clients,
could lead them to take their business elsewhere,
What rumours are these?
Concerning a senior partner,,,
,,debauching a serving maid,
That is not what happened,
That is not who she was, and those are not the circumstances,
And for those of you as yet in the dark,,, my nephew,
I had a relationship prior to my marriage
with a young woman I met in Venice,
Some days ago, I learnt that, when we parted, she was with child,
Twins, to be precise,
Now ten years of age, living with their mother in London,
And distasteful as some of you doubtless may find it,,,
"Distasteful"?
Try "scandalous"!
Inexcusable, What we can't ignore
is that many of our clients will find such a liaison "distasteful",
But of course they will!
Because such things have never happened in respectable families,
Good Lord, what on earth,,,?
And it'll be the first misstep that this family has ever made,
Mama, for goodness' sake, Gentlemen, please,
DOOR SHUTS
May I ask what brings you here today?
Curiosity? This is most irregular,
We do not admit ladies into the inner sanctum,
Oh, "the inner sanctum",,,
that solely exists because I paid for it,
Can I not see what my marriage settlement bought?
Mater,,, the matter in hand,,,
,,concerns the irrevocable damage to company reputation
should Jo remain within its ranks,
We are inviting him to step away for the good of the family name,
Oh, "the good of the family name",
Ah! SHE CHUCKLES
Our sainted family,
devoid of scandal, closets,,,
,,skeletal remains,
Yes, but the effect, the damage to our reputation,,,
There will be no damage,
The matter can be hushed up, and the girl paid off,
Please allow me to deal with this!
Mm,
If we could be certain of the girl's discretion,
we could agree to turn a blind eye, but,,,
Though I trust he's not expecting any settlement
to come out of company funds? Ah, no, that would,,,
Rest assured,,, I've no intention of asking anyone here
to take responsibility for my obligations,
The fact remains I have two children,,,
,,of whom I'm not ashamed,
Nor of myself,
DOOR SHUTS
Well, you heard him,
No remorse, Disappointing, Has to go,
With regret,,,
,,I propose that Jolyon Forsyte,,,
,,be expelled from the company,
All those in favour,,,
That's fine, erm,,,
Thank you, Thank you, ma'am,
Why are you here?
I'm not content with how we left things,
More is due to you and the children,
Nothing is due, We are content,
Do you think you have the right to deprive them by refusing my support?
"Deprive them"? Did they look deprived?
No, that's not what I meant, Can I not want them to have a better life?
Have you given the slightest thought
to how my life has been since we parted?
No, I can only imagine, Can you?
A girl, two infants, No-one to turn to,
But gradually to take a fierce pride
in knowing that she could provide,
To have raised two beautiful souls, single-handed,
CHILDREN LAUGH
Why would I, why would they need any more than what we have?
Mama, will you come? There's jugglers!
Will you come?
CHILDREN GIGGLE Whoa, hang on,
Faster!
CHEERING Look!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Yay!
They're beautiful, They are,
If you'd told me, I would've come for you,
Your family would've cut you off, you'd be living in disgrace,
And knowing all of that, I still would've come,
Wasn't to be, No, it wasn't,
Goodbye, Jo,
JUNE SNIFFS
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
Miss Renegade,
Can I be of assistance?
SHE SNIFFS No-one can,
Well,,, can I at least offer you some cocoa?
I find that cocoa is the answer to most ills,
Even a stepfather with feet of clay,
He's utterly betrayed me,
I can see it must seem that way,
If you'd seen him,,, with them,,,
,,smiling adoringly,,,
,,as if I didn't even exist, SHE SCOFFS
You exist to me, Miss Renegade,
I do?
I see you,,, clear as day,
I should go,
I really shouldn't be here at all,
Well, I'm glad you were,
KNOCK ON DOOR
Come,
DOOR OPENS
I've brought Miss Heron to see you,
I congratulate you,,,
Thank you, Grandmama,
,,for catching them all unawares,
SHE GIGGLES SOFTLY
But not you? The Carteret girl was too obvious,
Not your type at all,
Bring her to me,
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
I just spoke to your father,
Don't you want to know how it went? The vote?
HE EXHALES
I can guess,
In your favour,
How?
You're not to be expelled, so the chairmanship can now be yours,
You must see what this now affords us?
A golden opportunity,,,
,,for you to recommit,,,
,,to your family,,,
,,the firm,,,
,,our life together,
I do see that,
My commitment to you and June is absolute,
So, tell me, my dear,,,
,,are you prepared?
For what?
The Forsyte family, Are you aware of its peculiarities?
Everyone has been,,, welcoming,
And Soames?
What do you know of him? What can you tell me?
Soames has never loved before,
That he does so now is significant, You will want for nothing,
You'll be mistress of all you survey,
My wants are modest, And what are those wants?
To love and be loved,
To trust and be trusted, To,,,
IRENE CHUCKLES ,,dance,
ANN LAUGHS And it will be a dance!
Whether the pavane, or a tarantella,
Or a pas-de-deux? THEY CHUCKLE
And you?
Are you in love?
Oh! SHE LAUGHS
I,,, have tremors, my pulse races, and I feel faint,
Some poets call that love,
What would you call it?
A prelude,,,
,,to something deeper,
I hope you find it,
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
I trust she wasn't too fierce,
IRENE CHUCKLES
She was,,, kind,
You didn't mention Paris?
Should I have done?
Time enough to address that when we're there together,
planning our future,
To our wedding day,
So, do we think this wedding is a love match?
How can anyone not marry for love?
Because love is only part of what makes a marriage,
Respect,,,
,,patience,,,
,,belief,,,
These also matter,
And that's what you had with Papa?
Have,
Still,
This could've been the event of the season,,,
,,rather than some low-key, hole-in-the-corner travesty,
Just wish it hadn't come so soon, Soon, Emily?
You've had him at home his entire life,
It's just
the thought of losing him to someone we don't really know,
who might wish to keep him all to herself,,,
Yes, well, that's the least of it,
Instead of idling around Europe,
he could be here, planning our next strategy,
Do you like it, Mama? Monty assures me it cost the earth,
Nothing's too good for my Freddie,
And a man of business can afford such trifles,
Lord help us,
APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS
For heaven's sake, Irene, the carriage will be here any minute!
I hope I'm as blessed as they were,
Can you ever doubt it?
I mean, the resources at Mr Forsyte's disposal,
his willingness to uproot his entire existence for your sake,,,
I meant theirs was a love match,
And yours is,,,?
I don't yet know what to call it,
He told me it would be all that I dreamt of,,, and more,
Then I suggest you count your blessings and get dressed,
Mama,
Perhaps she's had a change of heart,
If she has any sense,
Mama, where is she? I,,, I don't know,
DOORS OPEN
GASPS
MURMURING
SOAMES EXHALES
CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
SOAMES CHUCKLES, IRENE GIGGLES
You've taught me a valuable lesson,
Which is?
To trust no-one but myself,
To think for myself,
To do only what my heart tells me,
What does it tell you?
That true love is what matters,
A meeting of minds,
A conjunction of souls,
That is what matters,
Good, We agree,
IRENE BREATHES SHAKILY
SHE CHUCKLES SOFTLY
You see?
It wasn't that hard,,,
deciding to move on,,,
,,from them,
That wasn't what I said,
It was implied,
I said my commitment to you is beyond doubt,
But to suggest that I have moved on from them
would be to deny that any of it mattered,
Well, of course I accept that you were once fond of her,
I wasn't "fond", Frances,
My children were conceived of love,
Then let us be clear,
That "love", as you call it, has no place in this house,
So kill it, Once and for all,
Or face the consequences,
Thank you,
For what?
Showing me a life and a man,,,
,,that I never knew existed,,,
,,till I met you,
SHE GASPS FAINTLY