Chapter 12 Summary

The players set up in the yard, blocking off a makeshift stage, and Stephen announces the play as "The True Play of Thomas Wells." The audience crowds into the yard as if they were assembling into church, and Springer is alarmed by how quiet they are. Martin begins his prologue, much the same way as in the first performance. He has written new lines for the introduction. Nicolas is worried because he isn't wearing a mask. Straw's new performance as Jane, under the tutelage of Martin, now includes mimicking her noises and signs. Stephen improvises his lines, mentioning Christopher Hobbs, the gravedigger, as his source of information. As the play continues, the players begin to implicate the monk as the murderer. Martin removes his cloak and mask, and the others follow suit by removing their masks on by one.

Margaret shouts something from...