An Actor’s Guide to Luciana’s “And may it be that you have quite forgot” monologue
About the Monologue
In this monologue from The Comedy of Errors, Luciana tells off her brother-in-law because she thinks he’s cheating on his wife. What’s actually happened is that she’s speaking to her brother-in-law’s long lost twin brother, who has no idea what she’s talking about - and is about to fall in love with her!
Tips for Performance
Like all of Shakespeare’s comedic monologues, there is a spectrum of ways you can play this monologue. It can range from very subtle and sweet to silly and obnoxious.
If you’re auditioning for a comedy (or if this is your comic monologue for your drama school audition), I encourage you to identify where the comedy lies, and lean into it. For me, the comedy lies in the fact that she is an unmarried woman who, throughout the play, tries to tell the married people around her how marriage works. Essentially, she is someone who thinks she knows a lot about the world, but she really doesn’t have a clue. This is doubled by the situational comedy - she is talking to someone she literally doesn’t even know! So, finding the “funny” lies in pushing the cluelessness. She doesn’t have to be stupid, she just has to wholeheartedly believe she’s right about the situation and that she is definitely the BEST person to be giving advice right now.
Occasionally people are scared to lean into the comedy, because it feels cheesy. My advice for that is - find a moment to be genuine. I love the lines “Alas poor women, make us but believe, being compact of credit, that you love us. Though others have the arm, show us the sleeve.” For me, it is the perfect moment to show her vulnerability. Perhaps she's afraid of being hurt, or perhaps she’s been hurt in the past. Or maybe at that moment, she genuinely feels for her sister. That is your time to shine! Bring out all the humanity.
Another thing to think through is your phrasing. You’ll notice that it has an ABAB rhyme scheme, but it’s not super obvious because many of the rhymes are… let’s say, a bit broad. Some might have rhymed in the Original Pronunciation, and I suspect some are just “close enough”, which personally I love, because rhymed monologues drive me batty. BUT because the rhymes are a bit loose and the punctuation is sometimes endless semi-colons, it can be hard to figure out where when idea finishes and the next begins. My recommendation is to read 4 lines at time - in fact, assume a full stop at the end of every 4 lines, and see how that affects your phrasing. (I actually did this very badly in my breakdown video, so don’t copy my phrasing!)
Finally, the other thing you really want to make sure you nail is variety throughout each section. If you look at the monologue 4 lines at a time, ask yourself what is different in each section. Even if it seems like she’s making the same point, there needs to be a shift each time, or it will sound like it’s all the same. As an exercise, you could challenge yourself to change to a new, extreme emotion for each section. For example, start the monologue patronising (And may it be… ruinous?), then switch to furious, then miserable, etc. It doesn’t need to make sense, you just need to get a sense of change each time. Improvise different emotions and see what you notice. Does it feel like she’s sometimes trying to attack him, then soothe him? And then - why? Does she feel like he’s not getting it? How do you think he’s reacting?
If you’d like to see my full breakdown of the monologue, you can watch the video below.
Cutting Possibilities
Below I’ve suggested some possible cuts to this monologue, in case you need a shorter version for an audition. You can potentially remove both the sections marked below, but it would be safer just to remove one. It may seem like a long monologue, especially because it feels like she is repeating herself a little bit, but it is actually designed to build momentum as she goes along. So don’t cut it just because you don’t know how to handle the text - only cut if it falls outside your time limits!
FYI - When I timed this monologue in full, it was around 1 min 30 secs, which is fine for most auditions.
The most important thing to consider when cutting a monologue is making sure you still feel connected to the dramatic ‘arc’. The peak of this monologue is around “Alas, poor women”, where she is really moved by the situation. If you feel like you can’t build the monologue up enough for you to connect at that moment, you may want to try a different cut.
And may it be that you have quite forgot
A husband's office? Shall, Antipholus,
Even in the spring of love, thy love-springs rot?
Shall love, in building, grow so ruinous?
If you did wed my sister for her wealth,
Then, for her wealth's sake use her with more kindness:
Or, if you like elsewhere, do it by stealth;
Muffle your false love with some show of blindness;
Let not my sister read it in your eye;
Be not thy tongue thy own shame's orator;
Look sweet, speak fair, become disloyalty;
Apparel vice like virtue's harbinger;
Bear a fair presence, though your heart be tainted;
Teach sin the carriage of a holy saint;
Be secret-false: what need she be acquainted?
What simple thief brags of his own attaint?
'Tis double wrong to truant with your bed,
And let her read it in thy looks at board:
Shame hath a bastard fame, well managed;
Ill deeds are doubled with an evil word.
Alas! poor women, make us but believe,
Being compact of credit, that you love us;
Though others have the arm, show us the sleeve;
We in your motion turn, and you may move us.
Then, gentle brother, get you in again;
Comfort my sister, cheer her, call her wife:
'Tis holy sport to be a little vain,
When the sweet breath of flattery conquers strife.
This monologue is a fabulous comic monologue that doesn’t get done too often, so I’m glad you’re considering it for your audition! If you have questions or ideas you’d like to share, pop them in the comments box below. I’d love to hear from you.
x
Sarah
