Work Prophet
Chapter 227 - 75: The Performance Begins

Chapter 227: Chapter 75: The Performance Begins

To quickly familiarize themselves with the new play and meet the minimum performance requirements, Timothy had imposed a lockdown order on all the actors of the theater troupe and completely sealed off the hotel’s main door.

Thus, aside from the few who knew the truth, people outside were totally unaware of the reality of "Death of the Demon Dragon," and most of them were still looking forward to the new drama.

Some quick-minded vendors even took advantage of the trend, and carpenters rushed to make a batch of toys including those of the Black Dragon and Ireya in wood.

This was a case of the merchandise being sold before the drama even premiered.

Beyond that, some pubs and inns took the opportunity to roll out gimmicky dishes like Dragon Slayer Pie and roasted Dragon Eggs, while some tailors sold handkerchiefs and garments embroidered with dragon heads.

In short, the atmosphere had already been whipped up, and everyone was in the festive mood.

On the day of the performance, the area in front of the stage was packed tight; Timothy opened the window and saw the line stretching all the way to another street, wondering what those at the back could possibly see.

Additionally, numerous buildings nearby were packed with people, and some even climbed onto the rooftops just to watch the play.

Timothy took one look and quickly shut the window, walking down to the lobby of the hotel with somewhat unsteady steps, surrounded by nothing but exhausted faces.

There were even people mumbling to the air as if possessed.

Even though Timothy had decided to adopt the strategy proposed by Li Yu and use a prompter to help the actors remember their lines, the quality of the actors reflected the quality of their theater troupe leader.

The members of "Love and Honey Wine" were mostly people Timothy had personally trained or peers who shared his ideals, naturally adhering to his aesthetic standards and imposing rigorous demands on themselves not to forget their lines.

Usually, a new play would take at least two to three months of refinement before it could be performed publicly, but this time, they had only three days to prepare.

As a result, more than one person had approached Timothy during rehearsals, saying they couldn’t perform because such a short time did not allow for producing a quality work.

As a result, Timothy not only had to write the script, oversee the rehearsals, coordinate various tasks, but also had to mentally support his actors, bolster their spirits, and persuade them to keep going.

For three entire days, Timothy hadn’t closed his eyes once, his eye sockets were filled with bloodshot lines, which was why he seemed to be floating as he walked.

The theater troupe leader felt he might return to the embrace of the god of art at any moment.

His actors were not faring much better; up until a moment before the play started, some still could not find their props, and the backstage was in utter chaos.

But Timothy could no longer manage that much, as the audience outside was nearly bursting with anticipation, whereas David, sitting in the front row, appeared calm and composed, seemingly not anxious at all.

However, Timothy also didn’t dare to make the representative of the Figrola family wait too long.

He quickly sent the first actor onstage.

It was a human girl about sixteen or seventeen years old, similar in stature to Ireya, wearing a pair of fake long ears on her head and a set of clothes from the Arias family, with a rabbit crest on her chest to immediately identify her role.

The actor now playing Miss Rabbit on the stage was no stranger to the role; she was the same young woman whom Timothy had first met and taught voice exercises as theater troupe leader.

As she made her entrance, Timothy backstage felt his heart rise up to his throat.

After all, Ireya was undoubtedly the leading lady of the play. He had initially favored several more experienced actresses, and age wasn’t really an issue as it could be covered up with makeup.

However, those people, fearing they might tarnish their reputation, stubbornly refused to perform.

In the end, the theater troupe leader could only hand the role to a newcomer. Fortunately, her initial performance was adequate. In the eyes of a professional like Timothy, there seemed to be quite a few areas for improvement, but it was good enough to fool the audience below.

In fact, most people came to the theater just for entertainment. As long as the performance was passable, the audience couldn’t really discern any higher nuances.

The actress playing Ireya started with a monologue, introducing herself, then she shared her longing for her father who was away from home, and mentioned that she would bake a pie to welcome him upon his return.

Watching this scene, Miss Rabbit blushed a bit. She knew nothing about cooking, whether at Teacup Castle or later when she was studying at the Temple—she was purely a food devourer.

But well, art inevitably contains elements of fabrication, drawn from life but elevated above it.

The young lady continued to watch as the actress playing her returned backstage, and then came another scene where Ruse was to duel with Caroman.

The crowd reacted moderately when Ruse appeared, but when Caroman took the stage, the commoners showed little reaction, while the nobles began to buzz with surprise.

For the person playing Caroman was none other than Caroman himself, long thought to be missing.

This linked to Ireya’s previous boast that Li Yu could find Caroman through divine prophecy, a claim many had doubted. Yet, now, the reality was more persuasive than any argument.

But immediately, some keen individuals began to sense that something was amiss.

As a noble, Caroman ostensibly should not have been acting in a theater troupe—even if he loved drama, performing privately was one thing, but appearing on stage was quite another and stained the reputation of the Vier family.

Yet Caroman acted as if completely unaware of this, continuing his performance methodically on stage—or rather, he was not performing, but simply recreating the original events.

This included how he arranged for his attendant to switch the blunt swords for real ones and then used the real sword to kill Ruse, provoking cries of shock from the audience.

Ireya then glanced over at David nearby, who still maintained a calm demeanor as though the drama unfolding on stage had nothing to do with him.

However, Miss Rabbit did not believe he could remain so composed if the play continued this way.

Soon, it was time for a minor climax in the second act. After accidentally killing Ruse, Caroman held his friend’s body, wept loudly, and explained the reasons behind his actions to the audience in a monologue.

This part of the script had been previously discussed between Ireya and Caroman.

Knowing his own inevitable demise, Caroman had taken this course to both alleviate his guilt towards Ruse and cleanse part of his sin.

The Family Head of the Vier family also had to muster a lot of courage to stand there.