The
Robin Hood Musical
Scene
One -
Cast
Eleanor
Dale & Sir
Richard at the Lee
Robin
Hood leans against a tree; standing by is Little John, Will Scarlet and Much the
Miller's son.
Little
John: Master, its time
for us to dine.
Robin:
To dine I have no lust,
till I have some unknown guest, some bold baron, knight or squire, someone
willing to pay the best.
Little
John:
Master, tell us
what life to lead, who to rob and who to leave?
Robin:
It's quite simple and to
our good. Leave the farmer tilling his fields, the yeoman strolling through the
greenwood, and those knights and squires who are good fellows. But some
archbishops and bishops are not so good you will find; and the Sheriff of
Nottingham - keep that crafty one in mind.
Little
John:
We will remember
what you say. But it’s late in the day, isn't it time for our dinner? I'm
surely getting thinner and thinner!
Robin:
Pick up your longbow, John, and take Will and Much with you up the path going
west to
Exit
Robin Hood while Little John, Will and Much look for a traveller. A bedraggled
knight comes walking by. He is a sorry sight for a summer's day: the cloak he's
wearing is threadbare and his hood hangs in two pieces. A courteous Little John
goes down on one knee.
Little
John:
Welcome to you,
gentle knight, welcome you are to me. Welcome gracious knight to the greenwood
and to all us three. For your sake, my master has been waiting three hours for
his dinner.
Sir
Richard:
Who is your
master?
Little
John:
Robin Hood.
The
outlaws sing The Greenwood Tree
Sir
Richard: Robin Hood is a
good yeoman. I've heard much good of him. I will accept the invitation from your
master though I did intend to dine at Blythe or
The
knight's face holds a troubled look and tears stream down his face as the
outlaws bring him to the lodge door where Robin Hood and Eleanor Dale are
waiting. Robin courteously pulls back his
hood and goes down on one knee.
Robin:
Welcome sir knight, welcome you are to me. Three hours I've been fasting -
waiting for thee.
Sir
Richard:
Good tidings to
thee, Robin, and all your fair company.
They
wash their hands and all sit down to dinner served by Eleanor. They finish off a grand feast of
the choicest cuts of venison and
generous helpings of bread and wine.
Robin:
You have a good appetite,
sir knight.
Sir
Richard: I'm obliged to
you. It's more than three weeks since I have dined so well and free. If I come
this way again I will give you as good a dinner as you've given to me.
Robin:
Obliged, I'm sure, but
when I've just eaten a good dinner, I am not greedy enough to crave another.
Better you paid for your dinner before you leave. Methinks it’s not right for
a yeoman to pay for a knight.
Sir
Richard:
To my shame, I
have nothing in my coffers to offer.
Robin:
Little John! Go look and see! Surely sir knight you can afford a fee.
Sir
Richard:
I must confess I
have no more than ten shillings - God my witness be.
Robin:
If you have no more I will not take one penny and if you need more I'll lend it
to thee.
Little
John spreads his mantle on the ground and empties the knight's bag on to it.
There's exactly ten shillings and Little John goes to his master,
Robin:
What tidings, John, what have you found?
Little
John:
Sir, the knight is
honest enough; his word is sound.
Robin:
Fill up with the best
wine and ale let the knight begin his tale. Let him tell us how he got into this
mess. Explain yourself, sir, and rest assured it will go no further . . .
Let me guess . . . you were forced to become a knight and couldn't afford the
expense. Or else you managed your estates so badly whence you lived your life in
dispute and strife. Or did you lend your money unwisely, or throw it all
away on women and neglect your wife. You must have committed some sins in your
life?
Sir
Richard:
Nothing of the
kind. My ancestors have been knights a hundred winters or more. Often a
man can be deprived of his status by fate alone and so become poor. My
neighbours will tell you that two years ago I had an income of £400 a year and
a goodly life, now I have only my children and wife.
Robin:
In what manner then, have you lost your riches.
Sir
Richard: Through folly
and loyalty and kindness . . . I had a son who would have been my heir. At
twenty winters old, he was a first class jouster, good and fair, and in a fight
he slew a knight of
Robin:
What is the sum, truly tell me?
Sir
Richard:
Sir, £400 –
that’s what I owe to the abbey.
Robin:
What will become of thee if you lose your lands?
Sir
Richard:
I will go over
the salt sea on pilgrimage to the
Eleanor:
Where are your friends?
Sir
Richard:
My lady, now no one
wants to know. When I was rich at home my friends would boast and blow. Now they
run away from me like sheep in a row. They take no more heed of me, you see –
it’s as if they'd never heard of me.
Sir
Richard sings Once
At
the end Little John, Scarlet, Much and Eleanor begin to weep.
Robin:
Fill up with our best wine, some consolation is due. Tell me, have you a friend
who will stand surety for you?
Sir
Richard:
My only friend
is our Lord who died on the cross.
Robin:
If that's a joke, it’s
a poor one. Do you think God is going to act as security, as well as St. Peter,
Paul and John? If you can't find me better security for your debt, then not a
penny will you get.
Sir
Richard:
I've no one else
and that's the plain truth . . . except perhaps Our Lady. She has never failed
me yet forsooth.
Robin:
By our dear Lord, if you
searched all
Though
he carefully counts out the money, somehow, Little John makes it come to £560.
Much:
Is that what you call
proper counting?
Little John: Why grieveth thee? Look on it as alms for a gentle knight who has fallen into poverty.
Eleanor:
And master,
his clothing is so thin that we must provide him with some livery to keep his
body therein. Haven't we plenty of green and scarlet cloth, master - we've such
a rich array that no merchant in Merry England carries, I dare say!
Robin:
Give him three yards of
every colour and look well that it is carefully measured.
Little
John uses his longbow for a measure and at every handful he jumps another three
feet.
Much:
What kind of a devil's
draper do you think you be?
Much,
Scarlet and Eleanor cannot help but laugh!
Eleanor:
John can afford
to stretch his measure out because it costs him no fee.
Little
John to Robin:
Master,
you must also give him a horse to lead him safely home thereto.
Robin:
Give him my grey courser
with a saddle that's new - after all, he is Our Lady's messenger and God grant
that he be true.
Much:
And a good palfrey to
maintain his rights.
Scarlet:
And a goodly pair of
boots, for he is a noble knight.
Robin:
What will you give him,
Little John?
Little
John: Here's a pair of
fine gilt spurs so he will remember us in his prayers and I hope God takes away
all his cares.
Sir
Richard:
Sir, on which
day shall my repayment be?
Robin:
This day 12 months hence under this same greenwood tree . . . It seems a great
shame that alone you must ride without a squire, yeoman or page by your side. I
shall lend you my man, Little John. No better yeoman you will find if you get
yourself into a bind.
Eleanor sings Anyone Can Do It
Scene
Closes