Tweedles

About the show

Act I (Mrs. Albergone's Antiquity Shop. A Saturday summer afternoon.) Mrs. Ricketts tries to pump Mrs. Albergone about Julian Castlebury's purchase of Bristol glass three weeks ago. Why did he leave his purchase there instead of taking it home? The stoic shopkeeper is not obliging but does admit to having a waitress for the Tea Terrace, her niece Winsora. From her, Mrs. Ricketts learns Julian visits his glass collection daily. When Julian enters the shop, he smiles at Winsora but abruptly tries to leave when Mrs. Ricketts hails him. He has turned down her invitation to go motoring, and doggedly declines to explain his sudden interest in collectible glass. Julian departs; his parents now enter the shop. Mrs. Ricketts draws their attention to the glass collection that Julian purchased. She tricks Winsora into leaving to look up a price. Alone with the Castleburys, Mrs. Ricketts suggests Julian should go motoring rather than hang around a tea room waitress. Mr. Castlebury is concerned, but Mrs. Castlebury recognizes the widow as the greater danger to her son. Later, Julian returns to pester Winsora, speaking aimlessly about the glass, while Winsora expects him to broach another subject. Mrs. Albergone tells Julian to take his glass away, but he cannot until Monday. Constable Philemon Tweedle, who calls the shop's antiques "queeriosities", cautions Julian to stay away from Winsora, his deterrence lessened by a bonhomie fueled by confiscated liquor. Adam Tweedle also warns Julian to stay away; the young man puzzles and alarms Adam by his indifference to local public opinion. (Curtain) Act II (Same as Act I. Sunday, dinner time.) The Tweedles and Mrs. Albergone have just finished dinner. Adam reads a bible passage, aimed at Winsora, about preserving the family name. They are astonished when Julian comes knocking at the closed shop door. He seems impervious to increasingly hostile suggestions to leave, his one and only concern to see Winsora. Challenged to be fair, Adam agrees to let Winsora talk to Julian alone in the shop. Julian is unable to vocalize his feelings, so their conversation goes in circles, both sensing the other's affection. Julian's circumlocution continues when Adam returns, but he finally confesses his intentions. Adam is angry, but he is not prone to physical violence. When Julian's parents arrive, Adam invites them to confer with Julian, his sister and Winsora. Adam misunderstands Mr. Castlebury's talk of family position and social prominence; he assumes the summer visitors are admitting their son is not worthy of an alliance with the exalted Tweedle family. Worse, Mr. Castlebury reveals Julian's struggle at prep school and withdrawal from college after freshman year. Adam is delighted to inform them of Winsora's graduating high school with honors and completing a year at college. Though Adam and the Castleburys hold the same views on the young couple, the latter are too mortified to speak at his assumption of social superiority. They exit, leaving Julian struggling to get Winsora to understand him. When she suggests he cares only for the Bristol glass and not her, he lifts the chest containing it and smashes it on the floor. "It is you I care about" he tells her. (Curtain) Act III (Same as Act I. Monday morning.) The industrious Mrs. Albergone is delighted at the arrival of Monday morning after an enforced Sunday idleness. Winsora's mood is less clear; pensive and winsome, certainly, but her aunt wonders will she break into joyful laughter as she did last night? Constable Philemon has confiscated a small picnic basket from Mrs. Ricketts, which clinks when moved. His efforts to "destroy" this contraband render him benign and loquacious towards Julian. He reveals the sharp practitioners and blackguards of Tweedle family history, including a Revolutionary War traitor. Philemon mentions how Mrs. Albergone, after enduring a loveless first marriage, adored her second husband, Capt. Albergone, whose portrait hangs in the shop. Julian uses this information to put Adam on the defensive, and recites a litany of errant Castlebury ancestors to further show how foolish family pride can be. Julian now asks permission to take Winsora for a walk, but she speaks up for herself: "You're asking the wrong person, ask me" she tells Julian. Mr. Castlebury and Adam, now reconciled to the inevitable, confer as the young couple stroll out together. (Curtain)