It’s time again for another episode of Shagbottom Theater!
It’s Christmastime again… and that means nostalgia to Fionn. With this year of Cary Grant coming to a close, he couldn’t help but pick something that may pull a bit at your heartstrings. Nothing could do that better than considering the sacrifice some make in service to their country, especially those who gave time , if not all, during the Second World War. Fionn and I both have veterans from that era in the family. His many times great grandsire was a mine detecting dog in the Royal Marines. I had family in the Merchant Marine and Navy.
After cleaning up the script, Fionn thought Destination Tokyo would make a nice closing homage to his idol. Being a product of its time, there were some word choices that Fionn was less comfortable with, but he neither wanted to dismantle historical accuracy nor upset the audience. It was a delicate, often surgical, maneuver.
Below is a short excerpt of Fionn performing one of the opening scenes. It uses the frame of the holidays and the sacrifice our forebears to pull at the heart as promised. We at Shagbottom Theater hope you’ll enjoy the presentation, and have warm holiday season that brings a prosperous New Year to you all.
Capt. Cassidy: Hello! Hello! Sweetheart, we’re shoving off ahead of schedule. Something urgent. I tried to telephone earlier, sorry I’m calling so late to wish you and the children a merry Christmas. Wanted to tell you I’m now wearing three stripes on my sleeve and some embarrassingly shiny scrambled eggs on my cap. I hope you like the nylon stockings, darling. Don’t ask me how I got them. Hey, tell Michael I couldn’t find a toy submarine. Tell him it’s the war. He’ll understand. There’s even a shortage of teddy bears, but I found one for Debby. I hope her chickenpox didn’t leave any marks on that sweet face.
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