OCR Text |
Show -244- described, to make the character so real the audience had to feel for him. Since that time he had done almost nothing except comedy. "Ah, yes," the Professor said, "and in comedy the effect is quite different." "Exactly!" the actor agreed. The Professor had to t e l l himself to be careful. If he got off on this subject, he might monopolize the conversation. They xrere interrupted, then, by the a r r i v a l of the other couple, so the Professor had no opportunity to say xrhat i t xas on his mind to say, that comedy above a l l demanded c l a r i t y and understanding, not feeling. The Professor's daughter had neglected to t e l l him about this second couple. They were not man and xrife, but man and boyfriend. The man xas young, in his l a t e twenties, strikingly handsome; the boyfriend younger and less goodlooking, more cherubic. Their relationship xas obvious, and in different clothing and xrith s l i g h t l y different manners, they might have seemed duplicates of the couple xrho had arrived before them. The man xas introduced as a Canadian, but his accent xas too British for Canada, the Professor thought. Either i t xas a stage diction or he had emigrated from England. The boyfriend xas introduced only by his f i r s t name - a diminutive. The Professor's son-in-laxr asked if anyone xrould like a drink before the cake and coffee; or, he added, if anyone d i d n ' t xant coffee, he could have wine. |