Court in the Act

The Court of St James’s Palace, London in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. All present have but lately arrived from the royal premiere of Master Shakespeare’s latest rib-tickling comedy, Two Ladies of Venice.

Now, the Queen makes merry and entertains her courtiers, guests, would-be husbands and envoys from foreign powers with a sumptuous banquet. But while all prepare to feast and frolic, dark clouds gather, the sound of war-drums is heard in the distance – and that dear old man the Archbishop of Canterbury, who surely had never an enemy in the world, is found brutally murdered.