Sherwood Forest.
(Two men are walking along a forest path.
Robin, hidden behind a tree in a cloak of leaves, watches their
progress, slowly spinning round behind the trunk to its other side to
get a better view. The older man stops a moment as a startled bird
suddenly flutters. Will stands by a tree, cloaked in a thick, woven
fabric resembling bark, his mud-caked arms raised parallel to the trunk.
He pulls the cloth from his dirt-streaked face to take a peek at the
travellers. Much lies on the ground under a leaf-riddled net. He opens
his eyes at the sound of crunching leaves. The two strangers start to
climb a rise towards what resembles a dead tree stump as Allan raises
his head from behind his bark-like muddy arms, picks up a rock, smiles,
and throws it behind the pair before ducking quickly behind his arms
again. The two men glance behind them as the stump rises: Little John
with Djaq sitting on his shoulders wearing a long, brown cloak. Together
they look like a tall, furry, antlered monster and they roar and yell.
The frightened travellers turn and run for their lives. Little John and
Djaq laugh, then they and Allan start pursuit. Robin, having shed his
disguise, stands on a boulder with his drawn bow and follows the men
with his arrow. They continue running and Much yells and charges behind
them, wearing a crown of protruding branches, diverting his victims onto
the proper path. Robin waits for the right moment, then lets his arrow
fly into a distant tree trunk, cutting a rope. A weighted basket falls,
lifting a net directly in front of their prey, who run right into it.
Much, yelling all the way, stops behind them.)
Much: “This is an ambush!”
Robin: “Oi! A little of what you have could be a lot for the poor of Nottingham!”
Luke: “We are the poor!”
Dan: “Let them take what they need, Lukey!
(Will catches up the gang and stops, recognising the voice.)
Will: “Dad? (Will goes to hug the men through the net.) Dad!”
Dan: “Will!”
Will: “It’s me!”
(Will,
Dan and Luke laugh at the strange but happy reunion. Much comes over to
greet Dan. The gang all smile except for Djaq, who is confused, the
only one not to have met Will’s family, however briefly in Allan’s
case.)
Djaq: “Will, you know these people?”
Will: (Still laughing:) “I’d like you to meet my father, Dan Scarlett, and my little brother, Lukey.” (Luke steps forward and puts his hands on Will’s shoulders.)
Luke: “I’m not little.” (They put their foreheads together.)
Will: “My big little brother, Lukey.” (Robin, smiling, comes down to join them.)
(The gang walk back to camp with Dan and Luke. Robin talks to Dan as Will and Luke have a light shoving match behind them.)
Robin: “So what brings you back to Nottingham?”
Dan: “We’ve come to take Will back to Scarborough with us.”
(At the sound of the news, Will catches up his father.)
Will: “What? (Dan stops.) Hey? What about asking me if I want to come?”
(Robin pauses, looking back, then walks on, leaving them to sort it.)
Dan: “We’re your family! (Luke turns around in exasperation, drawing his hands down his face.) Your auntie Annie and us.”
Will: “Well, I’ve got a family here, too, Dad.”
Luke: “We were sure you’d come and find us. Didn’t you miss us?”
Will: “Yeah, but… (a pause)… I’m with Robin now.” (Follows Robin.)
Dan: (Mimics:) “I’m with Robin now.” Son, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you!” (Follows Will. Luke gives a disheartened sigh and follows, too.)
Sherwood Forest. Outlaws’ camp.
(Clarke looks up from rummaging through the food store to see the gang arrive back at camp. Robin
sits on the floor with a small piece of parchment on a stone slab. He
dips his quill repeatedly into the ink bottle, thinking, halfway through
a message. He adds something as the gang clean up from their disguises
and their day’s work. Allan and Will are standing near the entryway,
picking dirt out from beneath their fingernails, Allan debating whether
or not to question Robin, as behind them Luke and Dan hang up their
cloaks and look around at the construction marvel that is the camp. Noticing the Scarletts, Clarke smiles and heads over to them.
Allan makes up his mind and steps over to Robin.)
Allan: “What’s that?”
Robin: (Looks up. Facetiously:) “It’s a letter.”
Allan: “Yeah, but to who?”
Robin: (Seriously, without looking up:) “It’s to the King.”
(Drops the quill into the ink bottle.)
Allan: “What about?”
Robin: “The Sheriff and the Black Knights.”
Allan: “Who’s delivering it?”
Robin: “An old friend. (Looks up, smiling, knowing Allan will make fun of the name.) Roger of Stoke.”
Allan: (Poshly:) “Roger.”
(Robin laughs as Little John passes between them to put away the rolled-up net.)
Allan: “Where are you meeting him?”
Robin: (Impatiently:) “How many questions have you got, Allan?”
Allan: “Yeah, all right, I’m just curious.”
Robin: (Bends back over his note.) “I’m meeting him in Nottingham after the money drop.”
Allan: (Noticing a second letter on the table:) “What about that one?”
Robin: “That’s for Marian. I’ll deliver that one personally.” (Winks.)
(Djaq
passes Allan, going about her business, and Much hands Allan a purse.
Dan stands looking at the structure as Allan goes to the entryway behind
Will.)
Dan: “This craftsmanship is good.”
Will: “See, I’ve got a life here.”
Clarke: “It’s true, Dan. Will’s been invaluable to all of us.”
Dan: “All that says to me is that you could earn a decent living in Scarborough.”
Will: (Slams down his rag.) “Dad, I’m an outlaw! (Robin looks up at Will.) I stand up for what I believe in.”
Dan: “What? And I don’t?”
Will: (Shakes his head.) “It doesn’t matter.”
Dan: “Yes, it does. Tell me.”
Will: “You let the Sheriff cut off your hand!”
Luke: “That was to save me and you!”
Will: (Puts his hand on Luke’s shoulder.) “I know. I didn’t mean that.”
Dan: (Remorsefully:) “Yes, you did.”
(Sits down, wrapping his cloak round himself. Clarke moves to stand beside Dan, squeezing his shoulder sympathetically. Robin is watching the exchange, arms folded. Luke walks out past Dan.)
Will: “Robin, can you tell my dad I’m a grown man now. I make my own decisions.”
Robin: (Gently:) “Well, a real man listens to advice, Will.”
(Will nods and smiles in frustration, thinking he has no allies, and walks off. Robin watches him.)
Dan: “Thanks, Robin.”
Robin: “But Will does have a life here. (Will stops and looks back at Robin.) And you should see it before you take him away from it. Come to Nottingham tomorrow. Let us show you what we do.”
Nottingham Town. Night.
(In the upstairs window of a house, Sarah looks out at the horseman walking through the street.)
Sarah: “Look! It’s him! Jess, it is the Nightwatchman. (Sarah
runs downstairs as below, Jess opens the door. The Nightwatchman leans
down from his horse and hands her a bag before moving on to the next
house. Sarah helps her daughter open the bag.) Let’s see. What did he bring? (Looks up at the rider at the next door.) God bless you, Nightwatchman.”
(At the end of the street, the mysterious masked stranger stops, pushes back his hood and pulls off his face-scarf.)
Joseph: “And that night… (pulls off the mask)… the angel of the Lord went back and forth.” (Nods in satisfaction and walks his horse forward.)
Nottingham Castle. Sheriff’s quarters.
Sheriff: “Hmm. (The Sheriff is looking in the mirror. He pulls out his fake tooth. He turns aside and puts the tooth in its place in the third skull of a row of three, and the door opens.) Ah. (Glances at Joseph entering, then looks along the row of skulls, deciding which tooth to wear next.) The Nightwatchman. (Joseph stands uncivilly close to the Sheriff, pulling the mask off his head.) So, how was your evening’s generosity?”
Joseph: (In the Sheriff’s face:) “Satisfying. They all took the bait, like rats.”
Sheriff: (Chuckling quietly:) “Good. (The Sheriff steps aside, but Joseph keeps close to him.) Shouldn’t you be, er… measuring [turns into Joseph’s face again] or whatever it is that you do?”
Joseph: (Staying in the Sheriff’s face:) “Scientific analysis.”
Sheriff: “Quite, hm.”
Joseph: “Well, I’m waiting to be accidentally caught in the quarantine.”
Sheriff: “Ah… yes. The erm…pestilent poor of Pitt Street. (Chuckles.) Off you go.” (Joseph leaves as the Sheriff scowls and Gisborne raises his eyebrows.)
Gisborne: “Are you sure we can trust that man?”
Sheriff: “Trust? Do grow up, Gisborne. (Glances at Gisborne:) I trust no one. (Returning to his skulls:) However, he will provide an adequate distraction for Robin Hood. And, once the trap has been sprung, your men will be free to enter the forest and continue their hunt for the Celt’s base of operation.”
Gisborne: “Further reconnaissance won’t be necessary, my Lord. (The Sheriff turns his attention back to Gisborne.) I’ve narrowed it down to an area of the forest as yet explored by my men. To go any further would be suicide.”
Sheriff: “I don’t understand, you mean you’re still yet to find their camp?”
Gisborne: “We’ve gone as close to it as we can without being detected. The trebuchets shall make up the distance.”
Sheriff: “Ah yes, the weapons you insisted we buy. (Snidely:) Tell me, Gisborne, will three of these machines be enough? Because you know how I just love spending money!”
Gisborne: “Trust me, my Lord. Once they are in position the Celts will have no escape. Surely their deaths will more than cover the expense?”
Sheriff: (Turns away from Gisborne:) “Just make sure they all die.”
Gisborne: “Yes, my Lord.”
Sheriff’s Quarters. Exterior.
(Listening by the door with a sombre look on her face is Isabella. Concerned by what she’s just overheard, she heads off to find Clarke and warn her.)
Nottingham Castle. Dungeons.
(Marian reaches the foot of
the stairs and is stopped by a guard with a halberd. A man screaming in
torture can be heard echoing in the distance.)
Marian: “Please. (Marian sees Edward in a cell with parchment and an old, stripped quill.) Please, Jailer, let me see my father.”
Jailer: (Walking in from down the tunnel:) “Can’t be done. I’ve told you.”
Edward: “Marian, I am well.” (The Sheriff, walking past the open upstairs door, stops and listens.)
Marian: “I will speak to the Sheriff.”
Edward: “Do not worry.”
Sheriff: “Speak away, my dear.”
Marian: (Turns, startled.) “Sheriff. (Climbs the stairs to him.) This punishment hurts my father, not me.”
Sheriff: “Oh, I don’t know. I think it hurts you both.“
East exterior corridor.
(Marian follows the Sheriff down the corridor.)
Sheriff: "It is efficient, make you think before you undermine my authority again. Which… (stops…) trust me, is in your best interests.” (Walks on.)
Marian: “Please. (Hurries after him.) Please, Sheriff. There must be something I can do… (They all stop at the courtyard steps. Looks plaintively at Gisborne.) Guy?”
Sheriff: “It’s no good making those big eyes at him. He doesn’t want you any more. (Tempering her frustration, Marian bounces on her feet and glances at the courtyard.) Tell you what, you read this announcement for me, and we’ll see if we can get Daddy some dinner.” (Goes down the steps.)
Marian: (Calling after the Sheriff:) “You mean you haven’t fed him? (Gisborne
steps to her with a disapproving look at the Sheriff’s remark. Marian
turns to him and Gisborne follows the Sheriff down the steps.) Sheriff!”
(Follows them both.)
Nottingham Town. Marketplace.
(The gang, each with a purse in hand, gather with Dan and Luke south of the market, ready to make their handouts.)
Will: (to Dan:) “You see? These people need us.”
Dan: (Grumpily:) “Ha! We need you, too. Your family.”
(Sarah comes running down the marketplace carrying Jess.)
Sarah: “Help me! Somebody please help me! (Robin runs to her. Sarah sees him.) Robin! Robin, help! It’s Jess. (Robin scoops Jess into his arms.) She’s got something. I think it’s the pestilence.“
Robin: “Let me see. (Will, Dan and Luke come over.) Will, get Djaq.”
(Dan looks at Jess as Will runs off.)
Dan: “There’s no swellings. How long has she been like this?”
Sarah: “Just since this morning.”
(At the castle gate, the Sheriff, Gisborne, Marian and two young trumpeters assemble.)
Sheriff: (Leans to the trumpeters.) “Toot, toot-toot, toot.”
(As fanfare plays, Isabella quickly steps out of the gates and walks into the marketplace. The townsfolk gather round and the gang turn their
attention to Marian as she steps up on a small platform, parchment in
hand. Robin glances up at her with concern and curiosity.)
Marian: (Quietly:) “People of Nottingham.”
Sheriff: “Louder.”
Marian: “People of Nottingham!”
Sheriff: “Gooood.”
Marian: “On behalf of the Sheriff, I make the following announcement. The pestilence has come to Nottingham.”
(The crowd murmur.)
Sarah: “Oh, my god, Jess. That’s what it is!”
Dan: (Quietly:) “No, it’s not.”
(Clarke stands looking on in concern as Marian continues reading. Suddenly, Isabella grabs Clarke by the arm and leads her down an alleyway.)
Alleyway.
Clarke: "What in the-”
Isabella: “I’ve got news from the castle, you don’t have much time.”
Clarke: “What’s happening, tell me.”
(Isabella begins to recall what she overheard earlier to Clarke as we cut back to Marian.)
Castle Gate.
Marian: “Do
not be afraid. It is confined to the houses in Pitt Street. There will be a quarantine placed around the street. No-one is to pass through
without permission. No-one is to pass food or medicine—”
Dan: “What? There are young ones suffering. (Steps away from the gang and out into the street.) They can’t be cut off with nothing!”
Marian: “To do so risks spreading the infection and will be punished by death.”
(Marian realises what she just said and scowls back at the Sheriff, who looks back, tilting his head unperturbed.)
Sarah: “What are we going to do? She’s gonna die!”
Dan: “No, she isn’t. That’s not what she’s got.”
Robin: “Sarah, take Jess home. (Robin hands Jess back to Sarah.) Djaq and I will come soon. Be careful.“
Marian: “We will not be cowed by this infection. Business will continue as normal. All workers -”
Much: (Over Marian’s line:) “What’s Marian’s game?”
Marian: “are to report to the castle for duty…”
Robin: “She’s just doing what she’s told.”
Marian: … “at their usual hour.“
(Finished, Marian steps down and the Sheriff takes her place. Robin and Much quietly step to the side of the street and join Djaq amongst the crowd.)
Sheriff: “Now, you may hear cries for help, pleas for mercy… medicine.
“Help me, help me, help me!” A word of advice…”
(The Sheriff looks around to make sure the people are watching, then puts his fingers in his ears, frowns as if he can’t hear anything, then chuckles. Dan menacingly shakes his head. Will looks for Robin, then goes over to him.)
Will: (Infuriated, while the Sheriff is speaking:) “Robin, we’ve got to do something. He’s condemning the whole street to death.”
Sheriff: “Go forth, in peace, to love and to serve your sheriff.”
(Finished, the Sheriff turns to step down. Dan yells out to him and Luke starts to stop him, but quickly changes his mind.)
Dan: “Sheriff, this is not right!”
Robin: (Taking a step forward:) “Dan! Dan!”
(Much pulls Robin back, not wanting him to be noticed.)
Sheriff: (Turns back to the crowd. Quietly:) “What?”
Dan: “I’ve just had a look at a young lass and it’s not t’ pestilence.”
(Luke goes over to Robin, who ushers him off the street with Much and Will following.)
Sheriff: (Quietly to a soldier:) “Get that man to shut up.”
Dan: “I’ve seen the pestilence before in Scarborough. (Will shadows his father through the marketplace behind the crowd and stalls as Dan starts walking towards the Sheriff.) These people must have food and water (Robin and Much hop over tables in the marketplace, following Will.) and medicine!”
Sheriff: “I said shut up!”
(Dan stops and Will slows, his eyes on his father.)
Dan: “I’ve shut up for you once before, Sheriff. It cost me my wife, my hand, and the (Will reaches Little John, who is watching from the marketplace, too, and clenches his fists round a standing shelf.) respect of my son, so I’m not shutting up any more. Now why are you saying this is the pestilence—“
(Dan is stabbed from behind by a soldier. A woman screams. Little John immediately grabs Will as he tries to run to his father.)
Will: “Dad!”
(Marian turns around at the commotion, unable to see what’s occurred. Much grabs Luke as he tries to run to Dan. Robin turns around and puts a hand on Luke’s shoulder as well. The Sheriff looks on smugly. The soldier pulls his knife out of Dan, who shudders as Will watches, wide-eyed and horrified. The crowd murmur. Dan falls to his knees, then onto his face, dead. Will is shocked into stillness and Little John loosens his grip.)
Sheriff: (Pointing at the soldier:) "Well done! (The soldier holds his knife out at the crowd.) Hysteria… panic… in times of crisis, not very helpful. It will not be tolerated!”
(Will’s
eyes widen at the Sheriff’s misleading statement, then his temper
flares and he claws at Little John to get free. Robin and Much run over
to help, as do Allan and Djaq.)
Robin: “Will! Will, you can’t go up there!”
Will: “I’m going to kill him now!”
Gisborne: (Pointing to the soldiers in the courtyard:) “You heard the Sheriff! Set up those barricades!”
(The Foreman starts shouting a constant chain of orders.)
Much: “There’s too many of them, Will!”
Robin: “It’s suicide.”
Will: “I don’t care!”
Djaq: “Will!”
(Djaq puts her hand on Will’s chest and he immediately calms down and looks at her as she gently shakes her head at him.)
Foreman: “Pick up those barricades! Move ’em! Come on, move yourselves!”
(Robin releases Will and turns to watch the soldiers taking the barricades into town. Two other soldiers drag off Dan’s body as Luke watches, despondent and alone. Will sees him and rushes over to him as the townsfolk scatter.)
Robin: “They’re setting the barricades up right now! There are people in there, our people, and they need us. (Will hugs Luke fiercely. Turns to Djaq.) Djaq?”
Djaq: “Of course.”
(Djaq passes in front of Robin, then circles behind the gang to wait as behind her, Will pulls Luke onto a bench and holds him close.)
Little John: (Unsure:) “Robin, pestilence.”
Allan: “I’m not sure either, to be honest. (Robin starts to push past Allan and Much, but Allan stops him.) Listen, I’ll tell you what. I’ll do the letter for what’s-his-name, Roger of Stoke.”
Robin: (Reaching for his belt:) “Good thinking. (Pulling out the note and handing it to Allan:) Here. Go. (Looking from Little John to Will:) The rest of you, I can’t ask you to risk your lives, but if you do come with me, then do it for Dan. Now come on.”
Pitt Street.
(More barricades are put up as the gang run up another way to Pitt Street. Little John bursts past a soldier setting up the last barrier.)
Joseph: “Let me through! I don’t live here! I was just walking this way! I’m from Leicester!”
Soldier: “Sheriff’s orders!” (The soldier reaches through and pushes Joseph back into Robin behind him.)
Joseph: (Turning around:) “This has got nothing to do with me!”
(Joseph
runs off and Robin watches him go. The gang are now barricaded inside
Pitt street along with all the other sufferers of the ‘pestilence’.)
Robin Hood Revisited 