This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:02] Jonathan Cook: Gather by the Ghost Light presents Romeo and her sister, starring Anna Demetriou and Charlotte McBurney, written by Jillian Blevins.

[0:12] Jonathan Cook: For a more immersive listening experience, please enjoy the show with headphones.

[0:22] Charlotte McBurney: Well, that's the last of it. A whole life packed into a few suitcases. I've booked us tickets to the channel port from Victoria Station. And then a ferry to another train, then Paris.

[0:37] Anna Demetriou: Tomorrow?

[0:38] Charlotte McBurney: Tonight.

[0:40] Anna Demetriou: That's it then. So much for London.

[0:43] Charlotte McBurney: I'll miss it too. Except the food. I'll be happy to never see another herring.

[0:50] Anna Demetriou: You don't have to come, you know.

[0:51] Charlotte McBurney: Don't be stupid. Of course I'm coming. I can't promise you work, Sally.

[0:57] Anna Demetriou: We'll make work.

[0:59] Charlotte McBurney: I don't know how. I haven't done anything else since I was 16.

[1:03] Anna Demetriou: It's a new city. You'll act. I have an incredible idea for a production of Merchant.

[1:09] Charlotte McBurney: You never played Shylock.

[1:11] Anna Demetriou: I can't. You know I can't.

[1:13] Charlotte McBurney: Alright, you need a break.

[1:14] Anna Demetriou: We'll take a break. Listen to me. It will be like that time in New Orleans, remember? When we arrived in town and the theater had closed, no one had thought to tell us.

[1:22] Charlotte McBurney: I wasn't a disgrace, nobody in New Orleans. We had so much fun with all that free time, just you and I. Until you met that red-haired governess, anyway.

[1:32] Anna Demetriou: It's been an age since we had a vacation together.

[1:35] Charlotte McBurney: This isn't a vacation, it's exile.

[1:38] Anna Demetriou: We'll find our way.

[1:39] Charlotte McBurney: And what if we don't? You're used to me being rich and famous, not destitute and infamous.

[1:45] Anna Demetriou: So what? There's no reason for you to stay if there's no work. If there are no more plays, no more bookings, no more liaisons, if I'm no longer Charlotte Cushman.

[1:56] Charlotte McBurney: We'll have no more use for each other. You work for me, that's all. That is it.

[2:01] Anna Demetriou: I'm sick of your shit.

[2:02] Charlotte McBurney: Excuse me?

[2:03] Anna Demetriou: You won't stop until you've pushed away every single person who loves you.

[2:07] Charlotte McBurney: Ugh, I'm so tired of talking about love. I've kept your secrets, polished your performances, kept your name in the papers for the right reasons, and out of them for the wrong ones. The least you can do is acknowledge what we mean to each other.

[2:21] Anna Demetriou: And what is that?

[2:22] Charlotte McBurney: I'm your friend, you insufferable narcissist. Your dearest friend and you're mine.

[2:28] Anna Demetriou: Friendship has nothing to do with this. I'm finished.

[2:31] Charlotte McBurney: You don't get to give up. This is my life too. My vocation.

[2:35] Anna Demetriou: What vocation? No one even knows who Sally Mercer is. I've taken your ideas and claimed them as my own. Why wouldn't you rid yourself of such a parasite?

[2:44] Charlotte McBurney: Because it's not about recognition for me, Charlotte. I don't need applause or my name in print or a parade like you do. I just want to do the plays.

[2:54] Anna Demetriou: So do them. If I could do this work without you, I would. I would have done it years ago.

[3:01] Charlotte McBurney: Huh.

[3:03] Anna Demetriou: I need the theater. You've infected me with it, and now I can't live without it. And so I can't live without you.

[3:12] Charlotte McBurney: You don't get to throw away everything we've built. What I've built for you because you feel ashamed.

[3:19] Anna Demetriou: You owe me resilience. You believe I only think of myself. And sometimes you're right. Most of the time.

[3:28] Charlotte McBurney: But Sally, once the truth about me is revealed, I know what could happen to you.

[3:33] Anna Demetriou: Oh.

[3:35] Charlotte McBurney: Whatever becomes of me, if anyone suspects you of anything for being close to me.

[3:41] Anna Demetriou: I see.

[3:42] Charlotte McBurney: It will be that much worse for you. Unthinkably worse. I can survive my own humiliation, but not your you must get far away from me.

[3:54] Anna Demetriou: I've always been in charge of my own destiny. When I entered your employ, when I learned who you are and who you love, when I made you realize that my vision would make you great. Every step of the way, I've decided for myself what my life would look like. As much as any woman can.

[4:14] Charlotte McBurney: And I'm choosing to suffer your company and to keep doing our work no matter what.

[4:21] Anna Demetriou: But at what risk?

[4:23] Charlotte McBurney: I'm in, Charlotte. Sink or swim, we do it together.

[4:28] Anna Demetriou: At least it won't be pouring. Now get it together, and don't try to make decisions for me again.

[4:38] Charlotte McBurney: You know, no one else ever tells me what to do.

[4:42] Anna Demetriou: They wouldn't dare.

[4:49] Charlotte McBurney: Whether we like it or not, we're all we've got now.

[4:52] Anna Demetriou: Well, well, what?

[4:54] Charlotte McBurney: You may need to get one more train ticket.

[4:57] Anna Demetriou: I got your note, but I haven't much time.

[5:00] Charlotte McBurney: Really?

[5:01] Anna Demetriou: I have needs.

[5:02] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, I know. The walls in New Orleans were thin, and the ginger governess was loud.

[5:07] Anna Demetriou: I'll check the flat one last time.

[5:10] Devora Wilde: Miss.

[5:11] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, hello.

[5:12] Devora Wilde: Sink or swim, Sally. Keep paddling, Miss Cushman.

[5:16] Anna Demetriou: Oh, Charlotte. I've read the papers. It's all so horrible.

[5:20] Devora Wilde: The play, it's really cancelled.

[5:23] Anna Demetriou: I'm afraid so, Bet.

[5:24] Devora Wilde: Oh, how dreadful. I was so looking forward to it.

[5:28] Anna Demetriou: More than that, and the reason I asked you here, I'm leaving London.

[5:34] Devora Wilde: For good.

[5:35] Anna Demetriou: Oh no. But why?

[5:37] Devora Wilde: It's what's best. These sorts of scandals, they're ruinous. And there are certain parties from whom I won't be safe until I'm in another country altogether.

[5:45] Anna Demetriou: Poor you. Well, hopefully not so poor.

[5:50] Devora Wilde: How would you like to come with me?

[5:52] Anna Demetriou: To Paris?

[5:53] Devora Wilde: Oh, Charlotte.

[5:55] Anna Demetriou: Uh you, me, the Seine. What could be more romantic?

[6:01] Devora Wilde: I can't.

[6:01] Anna Demetriou: Oh, I know it's sudden, but it will be an adventure.

[6:05] Devora Wilde: No, I mean, I really can't.

[6:08] Anna Demetriou: I'm engaged.

[6:10] Devora Wilde: Engaged?

[6:11] Anna Demetriou: Yes.

[6:12] Devora Wilde: To be married?

[6:13] Anna Demetriou: Yes.

[6:14] Devora Wilde: Since when? To whom?

[6:16] Anna Demetriou: Well, a very lovely gentleman. Mr. Hunt. He's asked me several times, and I well, my mother and I both thought it best that I accepted last night.

[6:25] Devora Wilde: After the chatter in the papers.

[6:28] Anna Demetriou: I see. Mother was uh concerned that we'd been spending rather too much time together.

[6:34] Devora Wilde: It didn't look right, considering he's very nice.

[6:39] Anna Demetriou: He's a he.

[6:40] Devora Wilde: Well, of course. What else do you expect? Ladies can't marry each other.

[6:46] Anna Demetriou: You're lying to yourself, and to that very nice gentleman.

[6:50] Devora Wilde: I most certainly am not. I'm going to be a wife and a mother and a proper lady. And Albert, um, Alfred, but Mr. Hunt will make a fine husband.

[7:01] Anna Demetriou: You and I, we were just having a bit of fun. And now you're rushing into a sham engagement to distance yourself from a debauched pariah.

[7:09] Devora Wilde: You always use big words when you get cross.

[7:11] Anna Demetriou: All of this happened because of you. You foolish little girl. Now you're just being mean. Where is your loyalty? Your constancy. You're behaving as if you didn't use me the entire time.

[7:22] Devora Wilde: Use you? Did you ever intend to bring me on as Juliet? Really?

[7:27] Anna Demetriou: Of course you didn't. And I never intended to throw my life away and leave polite society behind for a woman I barely know and who doesn't care for me one bit.

[7:36] Devora Wilde: You're abandoning me when I need you most.

[7:39] Anna Demetriou: I never promised you anything. You're famous, and I'm beautiful. We each got what we wanted for a time. That's all.

[7:47] Devora Wilde: Well. Not so naive after all, Pat. You'll make a lovely bride.

[7:56] Anna Demetriou: I know. Oh. And I'm sorry about your sister. I guess she really is just as awful as you said.

[8:03] Devora Wilde: Susan.

[8:04] Anna Demetriou: What about her?

[8:06] Devora Wilde: Oh dear. She didn't even tell you.

[8:09] Anna Demetriou: What?

[8:10] Devora Wilde: Oh, this is awkward. Well, I heard from my cousin who heard from her school friend, who heard from her brother who works at the Princess's Theater.

[8:12] Anna Demetriou: The Princess's?

[8:21] Devora Wilde: That your sister has offered to collaborate with Edwin Forrest. She was spotted there today.

[8:26] Anna Demetriou: With Forrest? She would never.

[8:30] Devora Wilde: I'm aware that you and Mr. Forrest have less than cordial relations. But perhaps it's best for her. Women do well beside a strong man.

[8:39] Anna Demetriou: I wouldn't know.

[8:41] Devora Wilde: No.

[8:42] Anna Demetriou: I suppose you wouldn't.

[8:46] Devora Wilde: Goodbye, Miss Cushman. Thank you for the acting lessons. I shall never forget them.

[8:53] Anna Demetriou: Me neither.

[8:55] Devora Wilde: How could she? Treacherous, spineless, deceiving, faithless betrayer.

[9:01] Charlotte McBurney: Mistress Featherbrain won't be joining us.

[9:03] Anna Demetriou: No. I mean, she won't, but but that's not it. It's worse.

[9:07] Charlotte McBurney: I can't say I'm disappointed. She was dull as dirt.

[9:11] Anna Demetriou: Aren't you listening? It's Susan.

[9:13] Charlotte McBurney: What's Susan?

[9:14] Anna Demetriou: She's double-crossed me.

[9:17] Charlotte McBurney: Us. She's working with Forrest.

[9:20] Anna Demetriou: No. I don't believe it.

[9:21] Charlotte McBurney: Have you seen her today?

[9:23] Anna Demetriou: Not since early this morning.

[9:24] Charlotte McBurney: She's not at the flat?

[9:25] Anna Demetriou: No. Or in the dressing room?

[9:27] Charlotte McBurney: No. I gave her every opportunity she ever had. If it wasn't for me, she'd still be working in our mother's boarding house, elbow deep in dirty dishwater.

[9:35] Anna Demetriou: And the moment our circumstances reverse, this is why I expect the worst from people, Sally. They always deliver.

[9:42] Charlotte McBurney: She didn't even say goodbye. Not a word.

[9:46] Anna Demetriou: Perhaps something has happened to her. She can't have really left.

[9:50] Charlotte McBurney: You're just angry that I'm right.

[9:52] Anna Demetriou: That's true. I do hate when that happens.

[10:27] Jonathan Cook: I know, I know, but wait, wait, wait, there's more. So there he was. Genteel McCready. The picture of the effeminate aristocrat. Just just the softest, weakest personation of a king you could imagine.

[10:45] Jonathan Cook: For he that fed the blood with me, thou be my brother.

[10:52] Charlotte McBurney: As if a feeble creature is he could lead a battle, right?

[10:55] Jonathan Cook: Oh, I was ready to shout down my center from the opera box.

[10:59] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, what did you say?

[11:02] Jonathan Cook: I didn't have to.

[11:03] Charlotte McBurney: What do you think was hurled onto the stage from the opposite box?

[11:07] Jonathan Cook: I couldn't guess.

[11:08] Charlotte McBurney: Rotten fruit?

[11:09] Jonathan Cook: A dead sheep.

[11:10] Charlotte McBurney: Right on the bastard.

[11:12] Jonathan Cook: Oh no!

[11:14] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, he never saw it coming.

[11:17] Jonathan Cook: Nearly jumped out of his skin.

[11:20] Charlotte McBurney: I would have died.

[11:22] Jonathan Cook: Oh, and when I went on as Henry the next weekend, the same audiences cheered me.

[11:28] Charlotte McBurney: Rightly so.

[11:30] Jonathan Cook: Here in London, it's McCreedy, McCready, McCready.

[11:34] Charlotte McBurney: But New York.

[11:35] Jonathan Cook: Oh.

[11:36] Charlotte McBurney: New York sees right through him.

[11:38] Jonathan Cook: That pretty poetry, the mincing about.

[11:42] Charlotte McBurney: They know that if Shakespeare were alive today, he would be an American.

[11:47] Jonathan Cook: At least at heart.

[11:48] Charlotte McBurney: Right, you are.

[11:51] Jonathan Cook: Now, my dear, while I'm enjoying this stimulating conversation.

[11:55] Charlotte McBurney: As am I.

[11:56] Jonathan Cook: Shouldn't we discuss the matter at hand?

[11:58] Charlotte McBurney: Which is mounting a new Romeo and Juliet.

[12:01] Jonathan Cook: You and I.

[12:02] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, but there's plenty of time for business.

[12:06] Jonathan Cook: I'm just so enjoying getting to know you.

[12:09] Charlotte McBurney: Not the colour brute your sister made me out to be, huh?

[12:12] Jonathan Cook: Not a bit.

[12:13] Charlotte McBurney: And it's so nice to be in the company of a man.

[12:16] Jonathan Cook: At long last.

[12:18] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, you poor thing.

[12:20] Jonathan Cook: She's been keeping you locked away in her tower this whole time.

[12:24] Charlotte McBurney: A lovely young bit of raspberry like you.

[12:26] Jonathan Cook: Well, I was here to work.

[12:28] Charlotte McBurney: All that will change with me.

[12:29] Jonathan Cook: You'll see.

[12:31] Charlotte McBurney: Meeting people, parties and dinners and dances.

[12:34] Jonathan Cook: It's part of the work.

[12:36] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, she should have shown you all of it.

[12:38] Jonathan Cook: Uh, but it's no surprise that she kept you from the other sex, given her proclivities.

[12:44] Charlotte McBurney: Enough about her.

[12:45] Jonathan Cook: How the two of you are sisters, I've no idea.

[12:49] Charlotte McBurney: You are such a sweet, delicate little thing in—

[12:49] Jonathan Cook: Oh stop.

[12:53] Charlotte McBurney: And she, oh, a columping ox.

[12:56] Jonathan Cook: You really got the lucky draw.

[13:01] Charlotte McBurney: Well, I don't know.

[13:03] Jonathan Cook: Lovely and modest.

[13:03] Charlotte McBurney: A winning combination in a woman.

[13:07] Jonathan Cook: Romeo and Juliet will be easy.

[13:10] Charlotte McBurney: Two attractive people, a cut-down script.

[13:10] Jonathan Cook: Cut down.

[13:16] Charlotte McBurney: Less Mercutio for one thing.

[13:18] Jonathan Cook: Always a scene stealer.

[13:19] Charlotte McBurney: What else?

[13:21] Jonathan Cook: Too much comedy in the beginning.

[13:21] Charlotte McBurney: Get rid of all that.

[13:23] Jonathan Cook: Uh, focus on the lovers.

[13:23] Charlotte McBurney: And of course, simplify Juliet.

[13:27] Jonathan Cook: Simplify her.

[13:27] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, she goes on and on and on with the damn nurse.

[13:32] Jonathan Cook: So much talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.

[13:32] Charlotte McBurney: We only really need to see her in the scenes with Romeo.

[13:35] Jonathan Cook: And when it's time to die.

[13:38] Charlotte McBurney: It's been done that way with actress prompts for a hundred years.

[13:43] Jonathan Cook: Fascinating.

[13:45] Charlotte McBurney: Audiences come for the big moments.

[13:46] Jonathan Cook: The meat.

[13:48] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, they don't want to sit through the rest.

[13:49] Jonathan Cook: You'll see.

[13:49] Charlotte McBurney: It certainly does sound simpler.

[13:54] Jonathan Cook: It will be.

[13:54] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, a pretty creature like you.

[13:57] Jonathan Cook: All you have to do is walk on stage, and they will love you.

[14:03] Charlotte McBurney: The fellows, especially.

[14:03] Jonathan Cook: And without the distraction of the other one.

[14:06] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, you'll be a star in your own right.

[14:09] Jonathan Cook: The cream rises to the top, Miss Cushman.

[14:13] Charlotte McBurney: Oh.

[14:13] Jonathan Cook: Is that how you've risen?

[14:18] Charlotte McBurney: In a way.

[14:19] Jonathan Cook: Well, come on.

[14:19] Charlotte McBurney: I want to hear all about how the first great American actor got his start.

[14:25] Jonathan Cook: Nitrous.

[14:25] Charlotte McBurney: What?

[14:25] Jonathan Cook: I was living in Philadelphia, working as a ship chandler.

[14:29] Charlotte McBurney: How I love a gentleman who works with his hands.

[14:32] Jonathan Cook: And I attended a scientific lecture, during which I volunteered to participate in an experiment on the effects of nitrous oxide.

[14:41] Charlotte McBurney: You were I is a kite.

[14:44] Jonathan Cook: And in my adult state, a soliloquy came bursting forth.

[14:49] Charlotte McBurney: Was ever woman in this humor wooed?

[14:52] Jonathan Cook: Was ever woman in this humor won?

[14:54] Charlotte McBurney: I'll have her, but I will not keep her long.

[14:58] Jonathan Cook: Oh.

[14:59] Charlotte McBurney: Is that—oh, Richard III.

[15:02] Jonathan Cook: And another fellow attending the lecture, very well connected, was so impressed by my raw talent and animal magnetism, undeniable even under the influence of the gas, that he arranged an audition for me at Walnut Street.

[15:16] Charlotte McBurney: And the rest is history.

[15:19] Jonathan Cook: So it is.

[15:21] Charlotte McBurney: As for your own history.

[15:24] Jonathan Cook: Hmm?

[15:24] Charlotte McBurney: Your little incident?

[15:26] Jonathan Cook: Incident?

[15:28] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, you mean Ned.

[15:30] Jonathan Cook: Is there any way that you could send him home to your mother for a bit?

[15:34] Charlotte McBurney: Uh, just to free you for more social engagements.

[15:37] Jonathan Cook: Uh, perhaps discourage any more talk like that unfortunate piece in last week's paper.

[15:42] Charlotte McBurney: You think I should send my son away?

[15:44] Jonathan Cook: It will be wise.

[15:46] Charlotte McBurney: Just until you're married again.

[15:49] Jonathan Cook: Young unmarried actresses are always suspect.

[15:53] Charlotte McBurney: And with a child, it just appears unseemly.

[15:57] Jonathan Cook: Perhaps you're right.

[16:00] Charlotte McBurney: Goodness knows being a mother is decidedly less glamorous than being an actress.

[16:06] Jonathan Cook: If I leave both Charlotte and Ned behind, I can have a truly fresh start.

[16:12] Charlotte McBurney: Smart girl.

[16:13] Jonathan Cook: Honestly, I'm surprised you received me at all after that nasty article.

[16:17] Charlotte McBurney: It was so humiliating.

[16:19] Jonathan Cook: Oh, don't give it a second thought, miss.

[16:22] Charlotte McBurney: I'm nothing if not understanding, and everyone deserves a second chance.

[16:28] Jonathan Cook: You really are kind.

[16:29] Charlotte McBurney: Charlotte was so wrong about you.

[16:32] Jonathan Cook: She and I are like oil and water, always arguing, but you and I seem more suited.

[16:38] Charlotte McBurney: As artistic partners.

[16:40] Jonathan Cook: Does that surprise you?

[16:42] Charlotte McBurney: Perhaps a bit.

[16:43] Jonathan Cook: I wasn't sure we'd like each other.

[16:45] Charlotte McBurney: And now?

[16:46] Jonathan Cook: I'm quite certain that we do.

[16:48] Charlotte McBurney: Or that I like you at least.

[16:50] Jonathan Cook: I feel I can truly be myself around you.

[16:53] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, you certainly can.

[16:55] Jonathan Cook: And I can even confide in you?

[16:58] Charlotte McBurney: I'm all ears, Miss.

[17:00] Jonathan Cook: It's something of a relief.

[17:01] Charlotte McBurney: Charlotte being exposed.

[17:03] Jonathan Cook: I had no idea about her assignations, her sickness.

[17:06] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, you poor thing, how could you?

[17:09] Jonathan Cook: We all thought she was merely celibate.

[17:12] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, we couldn't have imagined this.

[17:15] Jonathan Cook: No one ever spoke of me but in comparison to her.

[17:19] Charlotte McBurney: An always lacking.

[17:20] Jonathan Cook: Pretty Susan, nice to look at, but without the spark of her sister's genius.

[17:26] Charlotte McBurney: That was from my very first notice for the Bride of Genoa.

[17:31] Jonathan Cook: I never forgot that phrase.

[17:34] Charlotte McBurney: I was always to be only Charlotte Cushman's sister.

[17:37] Jonathan Cook: But now?

[17:39] Charlotte McBurney: She'll be gone, and people might see me for who I am without having someone to measure me against all the time.

[17:45] Jonathan Cook: In a strange way, I feel almost grateful.

[17:49] Charlotte McBurney: Am I a terrible person for feeling such relief at my sister's misfortune?

[17:54] Jonathan Cook: Oh, you dear girl.

[17:55] Charlotte McBurney: No, no, no, no, no.

[17:57] Jonathan Cook: What you're feeling is perfectly natural.

[18:00] Charlotte McBurney: And your star will rise and burn as brightly as hers ever did.

[18:05] Jonathan Cook: Brighter.

[18:06] Charlotte McBurney: But what if she doesn't leave?

[18:08] Jonathan Cook: What if she tries to fight the rumors as libel?

[18:11] Charlotte McBurney: Hold on to her place.

[18:12] Jonathan Cook: I can't bear to go on being just the lesser Cushman.

[18:16] Charlotte McBurney: She can't.

[18:17] Jonathan Cook: You won't.

[18:18] Charlotte McBurney: But how do you know?

[18:20] Jonathan Cook: Because I have these.

[18:25] Charlotte McBurney: These letters.

[18:26] Jonathan Cook: These letters will keep you safe, Susan.

[18:29] Charlotte McBurney: They prove that she's what she is.

[18:33] Jonathan Cook: And when I have them printed tonight, she'll be out of both our lives for good.

[18:38] Charlotte McBurney: Oh, Mr. Forrest!

[18:40] Jonathan Cook: Edwin, please.

[18:41] Charlotte McBurney: Are these real?

[18:42] Jonathan Cook: Where did you get them?

[18:44] Charlotte McBurney: Never mind that.

[18:45] Jonathan Cook: All that matters is that I have the means to give you everything you've ever wanted.

[18:50] Charlotte McBurney: Your own career.

[18:52] Jonathan Cook: A place in the sun.

[18:54] Charlotte McBurney: Perhaps even a husband, if you'll have me.

[18:59] Jonathan Cook: Edwin!

[19:00] Charlotte McBurney: I know I may be forward, but I'm a man who knows his own desires.

[19:06] Jonathan Cook: And how can you blame me, Susan?

[19:08] Charlotte McBurney: You're so beautiful, and the two of us so alike.

[19:13] Jonathan Cook: But aren't you married?

[19:15] Charlotte McBurney: Ugh, that wilting English rose.

[19:18] Jonathan Cook: She's been having assignations of her own.

[19:22] Charlotte McBurney: Making a fool of me with some limey actor.

[19:26] Jonathan Cook: Poor man, I'm so sorry.

[19:28] Charlotte McBurney: Don't be.

[19:30] Jonathan Cook: I'd rather an American beauty.

[19:33] Charlotte McBurney: I'm filing for divorce as soon as I return to Philadelphia.

[19:36] Jonathan Cook: And then we'll be wed.

[19:39] Charlotte McBurney: This is all happening so fast.

[19:41] Jonathan Cook: Don't you see?

[19:42] Charlotte McBurney: We are so much the same.

[19:45] Jonathan Cook: Both mistreated in our marriages.

[19:47] Charlotte McBurney: Both encumbered by your disgraceful sister.

[19:50] Jonathan Cook: Both destined for greatness.

[19:53] Charlotte McBurney: We are meant to be together.

[19:55] Jonathan Cook: Oh, I'm so sorry.

[19:57] Charlotte McBurney: I get so overwhelmed.

[19:59] Jonathan Cook: Oh, there, you dear thing.

[20:02] Charlotte McBurney: I don't mean to rush you.

[20:03] Jonathan Cook: I can be patient.

[20:05] Charlotte McBurney: But I want you to know how it feels to be taken care of by a real man.

[20:10] Jonathan Cook: That's all I've ever wanted.

[20:12] Charlotte McBurney: Let's get these letters to the printers.

[20:14] Jonathan Cook: And we'll celebrate your freedom.

[20:16] Charlotte McBurney: Your fresh start.

[20:17] Jonathan Cook: You would do that for me?

[20:20] Charlotte McBurney: All that and more.

[20:28] Jonathan Cook: Romeo and her sister is a Gather by the Ghost Light production.

[20:32] Jonathan Cook: Produced by Jonathan Cook and Devon McSherry.

[20:35] Jonathan Cook: Written by Jillian Blevins.

[20:37] Jonathan Cook: Directed, edited, and sound designed by Jonathan Cook.

[20:41] Jonathan Cook: This episode features the voice talents of Anna Demetriou as Charlotte Cushman.

[20:46] Jonathan Cook: Charlotte McBurney as Susan Cushman.

[20:49] Jonathan Cook: Paris Pringle as Sallie Mercer.

[20:52] Jonathan Cook: Devora Wilde as Eleanora.

[20:54] Jonathan Cook: Jonathan Cook as Edwin Forrest.

[20:56] Jonathan Cook: This program is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

[21:04] Jonathan Cook: We'd also like to give our deepest thanks to all of those who supported our Kickstarter campaign to help get this production made.

[21:11] Jonathan Cook: If you would like to hear more audio dramas like this one, please visit gatherbytheghostlight.com.