So much noise for nothing

 

 

play by William Shakespeare

adaptation by Ruth Salles
from the original and the translation by Carlos Alberto Nunes

CHARACTERS

Dom Pedro, Prince of Aragon.
Dom João, his bastard brother.
Claudius, young nobleman of Florence.
Benedito, young nobleman of Padua, count.
Leonato, governor of Messina.
Antonio, his brother.
Baltasar, servant of Dom Pedro.
babe and
Conrado, followers of Dom João.
Friar Francisco.
A Scribe.
A Page.
Hero, daughter of Leonato.
Beatriz, Leonato's niece.
daisy and
Ursula, Hero's chambermaids.
dogberry and
Verges, chief guards.
Messenger
Guard George
guard Hugo
nobles
Cupids (mute characters, with entrances to choose from the scene direction)

Scene: Messina

FIRST ACT

Scene 1

In front of Leonato's house.

Leonato, Hero, Beatriz the Messenger; then Dom Pedro, Dom João, Cláudio, Benedito and others.
Leonato, Hero and Beatriz are in front of Leonato's house. The Messenger arrives, who delivers a letter to Leonato, who reads it.

 

LEONATO: – This letter says that Dom Pedro de Aragão arrives in Messina today.

MESSENGER: – It is true, Mr. Leonato; I left it very close to here.

LEONATO: – Have you lost many nobles in this battle?

MESSENGER: – Only a few.

LEONATO: – The letter also says that Dom Pedro bestowed great honors on a young Florentine named Claudio.

MESSENGER: – Well-deserved honors, sir. Despite being very young, Cláudio showed a lot of courage. With the appearance of a lamb, he performed feats of a lion!

BEATRIZ (intruding): – Please, Messenger, could you let me know if Mr. Fighting Cock has returned from the war?

MESSENGER: Pardon me, miss, but I don't know any officer by that name.

HERO: – My cousin refers to Count Benedito de Padua.

MESSENGER: Ah, that one is back, and more playful than ever.

BEATRIZ: – Hmm… It's good to know. So I'm prepared to deal with your ironies.

LEONATO: – Frankly, niece, how much do you reproach Mr. Benedito?

MESSENGER: – You are a brave soldier, miss. Have honor. It has padding!

BEATRIZ: It's upholstered like a soft-stuffed sofa, that's right!

LEONATO: – My boy, don't take my niece Beatriz wrong. It's just that between her and Senhor Benedito there's a kind of duel of words.

BEATRIZ: – Duel in which he always comes out defeated. And who is now your comrade-in-arms? It is said that he changes his companion as well as his clothes or hat, according to the fashion.

MESSENGER: – Apparently, you must have crossed out Benedito's name from your notebook, miss. But, look, he is always in the company of the noble Claudius.

BEATRIZ: – This one must already be contaminated, because Count Benedito catches more than the plague.

MESSENGER: By God, miss, I want you to think well of me! But isn't it Dom Pedro who is coming?

(Dom Pedro, Dom João, Cláudio, Benedito, Baltasar and others enter.)

DON PEDRO: – My dear Mr. Leonato! Here we are.

LEONATO: – My dear Dom Pedro! It is with pleasure that I welcome you all here.

DON PEDRO (turning to Hero): – So, is this your daughter?

LEONATO: – Yes, my friend. (the two cupids with bow and arrow appear)

BENEDICT: – In fact, the young Hero is very similar to her father.

BEATRIZ: – I'm surprised, Senhor Benedito, that you said something. Nobody pays attention to you...

BENEDICT: Is that right, Miss Disdain? Because I want you to know that, with the exception of you, all women fall in love with me, although, to be honest, I don't feel love for any of them.

BEATRIZ: What happiness for them! And as for me, I'd rather hear my dog bark at a jackdaw than hear a declaration of love.

BENEDICT: That's great, for in that way an honest gentleman will avoid the scratches on his face that Fate has in store for him.

BEATRIZ: If he has a face like yours, the scratches won't make him worse.

DON PEDRO: – Hear me, gentlemen, my dear friend Leonato extends his invitation to all of us, and I know you mean it from the bottom of your heart.

DOM JOÃO: – Thank you, sir.

LEONATO: Well then, let's go inside.

(Everyone enters Leonato's house, with the exception of Benedito and Cláudio.)

CLAUDIO: – Benedito, how did you find Hero, Leonato's daughter? Don't you seem to have all the best qualities?

BENEDICT: – Honestly, I think she's too short for a high praise, or too small for a big praise.

CLAUDIO: – You're always joking. To me, she is the most enchanting creature I have ever seen.

BENEDICT: – Well, I can see very well without glasses and I can't see any of that. His cousin Beatriz is much more beautiful, despite being the fury that she is. But I hope you don't have any ideas of becoming a husband!

CLAUDIO: – Well, I am.

BENEDICT: Don't tell me! Are you that anxious to hang yourself? Look, Dom Pedro is coming looking for us.

DON PEDRO (arriving): – What secret did he keep you here, so that you would not enter Leonato's house?

BENEDICT: – The secret is Claudio's, and obedience forces me to reveal it. He is in love with Hero, Leonato's little daughter.

CLAUDIO: – I feel that I have great love for you.

DON PEDRO: – And she deserves it.

BENEDICT: – It is not possible! It is true that I am very grateful to the woman who gave birth to me. But as for the others, I reserve the right not to trust any of them. Conclusion: I want to remain single.

DON PEDRO: - Well, before I die, I'll still see you pale with love.

BENEDICT: — Pale with cholera, disease, or hunger, yes. Of love, no way.

DON PEDRO: – All right, but for now, go into Leonato's house and tell him that I won't miss supper, because he has made great preparations for us.

BENEDICT: No, sir. (enters Leonato's house.)

CLAUDIO: – Dom Pedro, could you help me?

DON PEDRO: – I am at your service, my son. Speech!

CLAUDIO:
— Oh, lord, even before this war,
I already suffered the irresistible charm
of the young Hero. I'm in love.
I'm madly in love!
But I don't know if I'll be able to say
the words to ask for your hand...

DON PEDRO:
– Calm down, Claudio. I know
that there is a masquerade ball in the evening.
In disguise, I'll do your part
and I will speak of love to the beautiful Hero.
Then I'll tell the father what's going on.
The conclusion is that it will be yours.
Let's put this plan into action right away. (Leave.)

 

scene 2

A room in Leonato's house.
Leonato and his brother Antonio.
Leonato and Antônio enter, from different places.

 

LEONATO: – So, Antônio, has your son already provided the music?

ANTÔNIO: – He is providing it, my brother. But I have strange news to tell you. I can't believe it.

LEONATO: – Good news?

ANTÔNIO: – It depends on the point of view. Imagine that one of my servants overheard Prince Dom Pedro telling Claudio that he was in love with your daughter Hero and that he intended to reveal this to her at the ball tonight and then speak with you.

LEONATO: And is that servant of yours good in the head?

ANTÔNIO: – It seems. Do you want to talk to him?

LEONATO: No, no! Let's take the case as a dream until it comes true. But you'd better go inform my daughter, so she can prepare for an answer. (Several people cross the scene.) – Cousins! Friends! Be very careful with the preparations! (All leave.)

 

scene 3

Another room in Leonato's house.

Dom João, brother of Dom Pedro, and his followers Conrado and Borracho.
Dom João and Conrado enter, talking.

 

CONRAD: But what is this sadness, my lord? Not long ago you rebelled against your brother Dom Pedro; but you have already fallen into their good graces again. Now it is necessary that you plant carefully to reap the best later.

DOM JOÃO: – I'd rather be a caterpillar on a fence than be a flower in my brother's good graces. But who is coming? (Enter Borracho.) – What's new, Borracho?

BUBBER: - I have just seen your brother prince being treated royally by Leodato, and I won't even tell you! A wedding is to be expected.

DON JOÃO: – Oops! Who knows, maybe this serves as a foundation for us to build some evil! And who is the imbecile who wants to hang himself?

BUBBER: - Why, your brother's right arm. The Claudio guy.

DOM JOÃO: – And with whom? With whom?

BUBBER: – With Hero, the daughter and heir of Leodato.

DOM JOÃO: – That chicken? And how did you know that?

BUBBER: – I was hidden behind a curtain and I could hear that the prince was going to mask himself and declare himself to Hero at the ball. And, after obtaining his consent, he was going to pass it on to Count Claudio.

DOM JOÃO: – Ah, this is wonderful. If there's any way for me to get in your way, joy comes back to me! Are you willing to help me?

CONRADO AND BORRACHO: – Until death, sir!

DOM JOÃO: Well, let's go to the big supper and see what can be done. (Leave.)

 

SECOND ACT

Scene 1

Room in Leonato's house.

Leonato, Antonio, Hero, Beatriz; then Dom Pedro, Cláudio, Benedito, Baltasar, Dom João, Borracho, Margarida, Úrsula and others, all masked; the cupids.
Enter Leonato, Antônio, Hero and Beatriz.

 

LEONATO: – Wasn't Dom João at supper?

ANTÔNIO: – I didn't see him.

BEATRIZ: What a scowling man. Whenever he comes here it gives me heartburn.

HERO: – He has a sad temper.

BEATRIZ: – The ideal man would be the middle ground between him and Benedito: one doesn't say anything, he looks like a portrait on the wall; the other talks nonstop.

LEONATO: – My niece, with that fierce tongue you will never find a husband.

BEATRIZ: – And that will be a happiness that I will thank from morning to night. Oh my uncle, I could not bear a bearded husband. I prefer to sleep on wool.

ANTÔNIO: – In that case, get a beard.

BEATRIZ: The bearded person is more than a boy, and the beardless person less than a man. None fit me.

ANTÔNIO: – Well, I still hope to see her married.

BEATRIZ: Only if God makes a man other than the dust of the earth. Have you ever thought, being overpowered by a cheeky block of dust? Furthermore, all the children of Adam are my brothers. And I consider it a sin to marry a relative.

LEONATO: - Hero, don't forget my recommendation, in case the prince makes you any marriage proposal at the ball.

HERO: – Yes, my father.

BEATRIZ: – She gives him a dancing answer, saying that in all things there is a beat: believe me, Hero, the engagement is ardent and fast as a Scottish jig; the marriage is as serious and ceremonious as a minuet; then comes repentance in the five bar of the pavane, until it ends up falling into the grave.

LEONATO: – Crosses, niece, what a vision of things!

BEATRIZ: Yeah. I have very good eyesight.

ANTÔNIO: – Brother, we better get away. Masks are coming.

(Enter Dom Pedro, Cláudio, Benedito, Baltasar, Dom João, Borracho, Margarida, Úrsula and others, wearing masks.)

DON PEDRO (to Hero): – Miss, do you consent to dance with a friend?

HERO: - If you're nice, I'm at your disposal, especially if I like your features, for God willing that the lute doesn't look like its case.

DON PEDRO: – You can believe it: my mask is like Philemon's hut; within it dwells Jupiter.

(***note***Philemon lived with his wife in a village in Phrygia. When Jupiter and Mercury visited this village, no one wanted to host them except Philemon. Jupiter turned their hut into a temple and blessed the couple's life. NT))

HERO: – Palhoça? In that case, you should have the mask covered in straw.

DON PEDRO: – Speak softly, if you speak of love… (They dance.)

BALTHASAR (to Daisy): – I would like you to like me.

MARGARET: – It is better not, for your own good, for I have very bad defects. For example, I say my prayers out loud.

BALTHASAR: For it increases my love. So the listeners can say “Amen”!

MARGARET: May God grant me a good partner for the dance!

BALTHASAR: Amen! (dance)

MARGARIDA: – And take him away from me after the dance is over. Then! Answer soon, altar boy!

BALTHASAR: - Enough of the words and let's go. (dance)

ÚRSULA (to Antônio): – Ah, I recognize you, despite the mask. You are Mr Antonio! With that way of shaking your head...

ANTÔNIO: – You are very wrong. I'm just doing an impersonation.

URSULA: With that thin hand that doesn't stop anywhere? You are the one, confess it! (Dance.)

BEATRIZ (to Benedito): – And who said I'm proud?

BENEDICT: – Sorry, but I can't reveal it.

BEATRIZ: Ah… I know! It was Mr. Benedict.

BENEDICT: – Who is this Benedict?

BEATRIZ: Well, it's the fool that distracts the prince, a poor devil who only knows how to invent absurd lies.

(Cupids appear).

BENEDICT: If I get to know him, I will tell him your opinion of him. (Music in.) Do you hear the music? Let's follow the guides.

(Dance. Then everyone leaves, except for Dom João, Borracho and Cláudio.)

DOM JOÃO: – It is already certain that my brother is in love with Hero; called her father privately to ask her to marry him. All the ladies followed her; there was only one masked man in the room.

BORRACHO: – It's Claudio. I recognized him by the floor.

DOM JOÃO (to Cláudio): – Aren't you Mr. Benedito?

CLAUDIO: – You know me well; I am himself.

DON JOÃO: – Sir, my brother holds you in high esteem. He is in love with Hero; I beg you, try to get him to give up on her, for she is of inferior birth to his.

CLAUDIO: – How do you know he loves you?

DOM JOÃO: – I heard when he declared to you that he was in love.

BUBBER: – I heard it too; swore they would be engaged tonight.

DOM JOÃO: – Let's go to the banquet. (Don João and Borracho leave.)

CLAUDIO:
– I was Benedict to answer him.
But it was Claudio who heard the bad news.
Friendship is loyal in almost everything,
less in love. Dom Pedro fell in love…
The lover must use his own language,
without using the language of an agent.
'Cause beauty has spells, filters
that change the faithful into infidels.
This is a common fact that I forgot
to predict. To my Hero I say goodbye!

(Benedict enters again.)

BENEDICT: – Are you Count Claudio?

CLAUDIO: – He himself.

BENEDICT: - It is good that you accompany me, for the prince has already conquered your Hero.

CLAUDIO: – I want you to be happy with her.

BENEDICT: But is that a manner of speaking? You're acting like the blind: someone steals your food and you hit the pole with a stick.

CLAUDIO: – Since you're not going out, I'll go out. (Leaves.)

BENEDICT: – Poor wounded bird… It took refuge in some corner. And Miss Beatriz who knows me so well and, at the same time, so poorly! He called me the prince's fool. Do I deserve this title for being a cheerful genius? But I will take revenge as I can.

(Dom Pedro enters again.)

DON PEDRO: Do you by any chance know where Count Claudio is?

BENEDICT: – Indeed, my lord, I have just met you and told you that you managed to please the young Hero. And he reacted like a schoolboy who, happy to have found a bird, shows it to a classmate who ends up keeping it.

DON PEDRO: – But I just wanted to teach the bird to sing, and then hand it over to its real owner.

BENEDICT: – If the bird sings according to what you say, then it is because you speak honestly.

DON PEDRO: – Look, Miss Beatriz has a score to settle with you; her partner in the co-dance said you've been badmouthing her.

BENEDICT: Now! I was the one who bore your mistreatment with the patience of a stone. He hurled so many sarcasms at me that I looked like I was targeting an entire army. I would not marry her if she brought as a dowry all that Adam had before his sin. Tell me no more about that person!

DON PEDRO: – Only she's coming!

BENEDICT: And don't you have some errand for me? Send me to the antipodes to fetch you a toothpick, or bring you the measure of Prester John's foot?

DON PEDRO: – None, except to wish you good company.

BENEDICT: Oh, heavens! If there's one dish I can't stand, it's Lady Tongue!

(Benedito leaves. Cláudio, Beatriz, Hero and Leonato re-enter.)

DON PEDRO: – As you can see, miss, you have lost Senhor Benedito's heart.

BEATRIZ: Well, if I lost it, I don't care to find it again. But, sir, here I bring you the Count Claudio you sent me to look for.

DON PEDRO: – Now, count, you look sick! Why are you so sad?

CLAUDIO: - I'm not sad or sick, my lord.

BEATRIZ: Neither happy nor healthy. It's just as polished as a yellow orange, the color of which he's taken on in jealousy.

DON PEDRO: – But then it is a suspicion that has no basis whatsoever. See, Claudio, I spoke on your behalf to the beautiful Hero and got her hand for you. The father has already given his consent. All you need to do is set the wedding day. And may God make you happy!

LEONATO: – Count, receive my daughter and, with her, my fortune. Heavenly grace says Amen to this union.

BEATRIZ: – It's your cue, Claudio. Come on, speak!

CLAUDIO: – Silence speaks better than speech itself. My happiness would be small, if I could say that it is great. Miss Hero, I'll be yours forever.

HERO: You are in my heart.

BEATRIX: Oh, heavens, a wedding! Cousins, God grant you joy.

LEONATO (to Beatriz): – Aren't you going to take care of what we agreed on?

BEATRIZ (departing): — Yes, my uncle. Excuse me, everyone. (Leaves.)

DON PEDRO: – Count Cláudio, when are you thinking of taking the bride to the altar?

CLAUDIO: - Tomorrow, my lord.

LEONATO: – No, my dear, only in seven days, which is still a short deadline for the realization of our project.

DON PEDRO: – Ours is a work of Hercules, which consists of leaving Senhor Benedito and Miss Beatriz dying of love for each other. I wish to see you married, and I will, if the three of you will follow my directions.

LEONATO: I am at your service, my lord.

CLAUDIO: – Me too.

HERO: And I'll do my best to help my cousin find a good husband.

DOM PEDRO: – Benedito is a man of proven courage and honesty to the test. If we can get the two of them to love each other, Cupid can retire his bow, and we'll be the new deities of love! Come with me, so you can learn about my plan. (Leave.)

 

End of Scene 1 of Act 2

 

(to be continued)

 

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