Benedict Cumberbatch reads a notoriously grumpy Irish playwright's letter of complaint

10 years I've been stuck doing this it's amazing it's amazing a decade of my life and I I'm so proud of this thank you so much for traveling with us here's George berore July the 3rd 1905 sir on Saturday night I went to the Opera I wore the costume imposed on me by the regulations of the house I fully recognize the advantage of those regulations evening dress is cheap simple jble prevents rivalry and extravagance on the part of male leaders of fashion annihilates class distinctions and gives men who are poor and doubtful of their social position that is the great majority of men a sense of security and satisfaction that no clothes of their own choosing could confer besides saving a whole sex the trouble of considering what they should wear on state occasions now let me describe what actually happened to me at the Opera Not only was I an evening dress by compulsion but I voluntarily added many Graces of conduct as to which the management made no stipulation whatever I was in my seat in time for the first court of the Overture I did not chatter during the music nor raise my voice when the Opera was too loud for normal conversation I did not get up and go out when the statute music began my language was fairly moderate considering the number and nature of the improvements of Mozart volunteered by Senor Caruso and the respectful ignorance of dramatic points of the score exhibited by the conductor and Stage manager if there is such a functionary at Cent Garden in short my behavior was exemplary at 9:00 the Opera began at 8 a lady came in and sat down very conspicuously in my line of sight she remained there until the beginning of the last act I do not complain of her coming late and going early on the contrary I wish she had come later and gone earlier for this lady who had very black hair had stuck over her right ear the pitiable corpse of a large white bird which looked exactly as if someone had killed it by stamping on the Beast and then nailed it to the lady's Temple which was presumably of sufficient solidity to Bear the operation I am not I hope a morbidly squeamish person but the spectacle sickened me I presume that if I had presented myself at the door with a dead snake around my neck a collection of black beetles pinned to my shirt front and a grouse in my hair I should have been refused admission why then is a woman to be allowed to commit such a public outrage had the lady been refused admission as she should have been she would have soundly rated the Tradesman who imposed the disgusting headdress on her under the false pretent that the best people wear such things and withdrawn her custom from him and thus the root of the evil would be struck out for all fashionable woman generally allows herself to be dressed according to the taste of a person who she would not let sit down in her presence I once in draw Lane theater sat behind a Mae hat decorated with two wings of a seagull artificially rened at the joints so as to produce the illusion of being freshly plucked from a live bird but even that lady stopped short of a whole seagull both ladies were evidently regarded by their neighbors as ridiculous and vulgar but that is hardly enough when the offense is one which produces a sensation of physical sickness in persons of normal human sensibility I suggest to the Covent Garden authorities that if they feel bound to protect their subscribers against the dangers of my shocking them with a blue tie they are at least equally bound to protect me against the danger of a woman shocking me with a dead bird Yours Truly GB [Applause] surea

Channel: Letters Live

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Id: -tGwDjwnNN0

Length: 4min 49sec (289 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 20 2023