Overview
- Female: 0
- Male: 2
Context
Having recently witnessed the court-martial and death sentence of the honest sailor William for striking his superior officer, the villains and bystanders of Deal are reeling in the fallout. Doggrass, the avaricious and heartless landlord who scheme-drivenly pushed for William's ruin, enters expecting to celebrate Captain Crosstree's death, which would ensure William's execution goes through without interference. Jacob Twig, formerly Doggrass's subservient minion, arrives having just
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Doggrass: Now, Jacob, how fares Captain Crosstree?
Jacob: Better; it is thought he will recover.
Doggrass: Another disappointment, yet, by the rules of the service, William must die. Here, Jacob, I've something for you to--
Jacob: I've something for you, sir. [Gives him money]
Doggrass: Why, what's this?
Jacob: Three guineas, two shillings, and sixpence half-penny! That's just, sir, what I've received of you since I've been in your employ.
Doggrass: Well, and what of that?
Jacob: I don't feel comfortable with it, sir; I'd thank you to take it.
Doggrass: Take it! Are you mad?
Jacob: No, sir--I have been; I have been wicked, and I now think--and I wish you would think so too--that all wickedness is madness.
Doggrass: How is all this brought about?
Jacob: A short tale, sir; it's all with the Captain.
Doggrass: The Captain!
Jacob: Yes; I was in the public house when the Captain was brought in with that gash in his shoulder; I stood beside his bed, it was steeped in blood--the doctor shook his head--the parson came and prayed; and when I looked on the Captain's blue lips and pale face, I thought what poor creatures we are; then something whispered in my heart, 'Jacob, thou hast been a mischief-making, wicked lad--and suppose Jacob, thou wert, at this moment's notice, to take the Captain's place!' I heard this--heard it as plain as my own voice--and my hair moved, and I felt as I'd been dipped in a river, and I fell like a stone on my knees--when I got up again, I was quite another lad.
Doggrass: Ha, ha!
Jacob: That's not a laugh; don't deceive yourself, it sounds to my ears like the croak of a frog, or the hoot of an owl.
Doggrass: Fool!
Jacob: I ran as hard as I could to Farmer Arable--told him what a rascal I was, and begged he'd hire me--he did, and gave me half-a-year's wages in advance, that I might return the money you had paid me--there it is.
Doggrass: Idiot! take the money.
Jacob: Every coin of it is a cockatrice's egg--it can bring forth nought but mischief.
Doggrass: Take it, or I'll throw it into the sea.
Jacob: Don't, for coming from your hand, it would poison all the fishes.
Doggrass: You will be a fool, then?
Jacob: Yes; one of your fools, Master Doggrass--I will be honest. [Exit]
Douglas Jerrold, "Black-Ey'd Susan" in Nineteenth-Century Plays, ed. George Rowell, Oxford University Press, 1987, pp.32-3.
Performance Tips
- Anchor the physical transaction: Treat the coins as toxic weight. Jacob should handle the money with visceral disgust as if it burns, while Doggrass's attempts to force it back must carry sharp, spatial aggression.
- Avoid melodramatic villainy: Doggrass shouldn't be played as a cartoonish bad guy; ground his malice in rigid, transactional cynicism. His laughter at Jacob's conversion should feel like a genuine defensive mechanism against being challenged by a social subordinate.
to read performance tips for this scene from Black-Ey'd Susan and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Emotional Beat Breakdown
1. The Unexpected Rejection
What shifts: The dynamic instantly flips from Doggrass expecting reportable gossip to Jacob taking control of the interaction by physically returning his wages.
Character objectives: Doggrass seeks news of Crosstree's death to secure William's execution; Jacob seeks to sever his financial bond with Doggrass immediately.
Performance note: Keep the opening lines crisp; Jacob’s hand-off of the money should happen unexpectedly to catch Doggrass
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