Members:  Rhea, Riddhi, Stuti, Sarah, and Maggie
This group is responsible for Act 1, Scene 1 and Act 5.

Two Noble Kinsmen: A Modern Adaptation

The Idea:

Shakespearean plays appeal to everyone but children simply because it is hard for them to understand his writing style. Since we were translating the play to modern English, our group decided to adapt it into a film meant to entertain a younger audience.

 

Storyline:

A modern adaptation of Shakespeare and Fletcher’s TheTwo Noble Kinsmen; a movie directed towards children. The movie will open with a visibly upset woman on her knees in front of Theseus, mayor of Athens. This woman is upset, for her husband has been killed in battle in the rival city of Thebes, which is under control of the powerful mayor Creon. Creon has refused to let the woman retrieve the corpse of her husband, so the woman decides to ask mayor Theseus for help. Theseus agrees to help and he declares a war on the city of Thebes. During this war in Thebes, Theseus and his army are able to capture two superheroes named Pala-man and Arc-man, who are cousins from the city of Thebes. Pala-man and Arc-man, well-known heroes of Thebes, are stripped of their powers due to injury and captured in the war. Both of the heroes are made prisoners in a jail in the city of Athens.  The two think they will be happy spending the rest of their lives in the prison without their powers, for they will be able to spend the time together. Everything changes, however, once they lay eyes on the beautiful Emilia. Upon seeing Emilia and falling in love with her, something occurs within them and they regain their super powers. Arc-Man is then able to escape from prison using his incredible strength, and Pala-Man uses his ability to control senses to escape from prison by hypnotizing the jailor. After the two escape from jail, it is decided that the only way to solve their conflict is to engage in a battle in which the winner will have Emilia. After praying to their respected Gods, the two engage in battle. Arc-Man wins the battle but, in the end, Pala-Man wins the girl.

 

Cast:

Theseus: A strong and powerful mayor of the city of Athens.

Creon: A strong and powerful mayor in the city of Thebes. Enemy to Theseus.

Hippolyta:  The wife of Theseus and sister to Emilia

Emilia: The sister of Hippolyta, and the cause of conflict between Pala-man and Arc-Man

Pirithous: Employed by mayor Theseus, a loyal friend to the mayor.

Pala-Man: A superhero in the city of Thebes. His super powers consist of the ability to fly, and super senses. Cousin to Arc-man

Arc-Man: A superhero in the city of Thebes. His super powers consist of super strength and the ability to fly. Cousin to Pal-Man

Woman: A citizen of Theseus’s city, lost her husband to Creon

 

The following scenes are our adaptations from the original play.

 

Opening Credits (The Prologue):

The Tale of Super-Love

This film is based on the play “The Two Noble Kinsmen” by Shakespeare and Fletcher, which was originally adapted from “The Knight’s Tale” by Chaucer

 

ACT 1 SCENE 1

Woman: Oh, Mayor Theseus please for the sake of pity hear my story

Theseus: Oh sad lady please do not kneel

Hippolyta: yes, please Stand up

Emilia: Please do not kneel to me, if a woman is in trouble and needs my help I will not fail to help her

Theseus: Now please tell me what can I help you with?

Woman: Well you see my husband was killed in the city of Thebes at the hands of the cruel Creon, and now his body is being torn at the beaks of crows and the claws of ravens. The horrid Creon will not let me cremate my husband to put his ashes in an urn or to take the horrible sight of his rotting corpse away. He lets the horrible stench of my dead husband reek through the air. Please have pity on me, mayor. Please take your fearsome weapons and send someone that will gather the bones of my dead husband, so that I may have a proper and dignified funeral.

Theseus. Please, get up from your knees. I was touched by your speech and I wish you would stand. The story of your dead husband makes me very sad and it motivates me to take revenge for his honor.

Woman: I am aware I am asking a great deal, sir. However, I hope that you will have mercy and help me.

Theseus: Really, please stop kneeling. Rather, put your knees to work and pray for me. Pray for me as your soldier, for I am troubled.

Woman: And you Hippolyta, the most respected woman in the whole city, the most feared and strong woman, with the ability to make any male fall captive to you. That is until your husband Theseus here captured your love and affection. Respected Hippolyta, my husband has been killed, and I know you have power over your husband since you have captured not just his force but also love, please convince him to help us. Speak to him as a wife, or a woman like any of us, crying and kneeling in front of him and convince him. What would you do if his dead body were lying in the battlefield under the Sun, infested by insects?

Hippolyta: Dear lady, nothing would make me happier than helping you. I will talk to the Mayor and get back to you.

Woman: I am really sad, but it isn’t visible, as I have been faced by such evil.

Emilia: I know, I can see your sorrow on your face.

Woman: Oh you cannot see my face under my tears; you have to find my grief. Like you find treasure only when you dig deep into the Earth.

Emilia: I can see your sorrow; I would buy you if you were a painting as you are such a good example of grief. It is affecting my heart and I am sure it will generate pity in the Mayor too.

Theseus: Of course I will help you.

Woman: Wow! It is just the thought of a great man, such as you, which will create such celebration. I had been so sad in my big house, thinking about my husband who can no longer live in it. He definitely deserves a decent burial.

Theseus: I understand your concerns. I will bring you peace by making sure that your fallen husband is buried. To do so, I’ll have to take on the evil villain Creon.

Woman: Your best chance of winning is to go now, while he is celebrating his latest victory. He will never be expecting it! Creon and his army are so full of food and drink, they would never dream that I would stand before you now, asking you to perform such a holy task.

Theseus: I will send out my assistant to choose my best men for this task. He will go out and gather our finest soldiers. In the meantime, however, I must finish this important act of my life and commit myself to this marriage.

Woman: I have come at a bad time. But when would have been a good time to present my grief to you, mayor? You say you must delay the task that I ask for, so I must go on with my mourning. Farewell, then.

Theseus: I understand your grief, but the act of marriage is greater than any war. Marriage is more important to me than anything I have ever done or will do.

Woman: What you have claimed only tells me that my request will not be answered. Once you are married and you embrace your wife for the first time, you will no longer be thinking of my grief. Instead, you will feel the love between you and your wife, which is enough to make anyone give up war. I can assure you that just one night with her will make you forget what you have promised me forever, as you will be consumed with the thoughts of love.

Hippolyta: I know it would be very unlikely for Theseus to forget one of his promises. However, I would never want to be the cause of such a thing if it were to happen. Therefore, Theseus, I ask you to postpone our marriage and carry out the task that you have promised this woman you would fulfill. 

Woman: Oh Emilia, will you plead for me as well?

Emilia: Theseus, give my sister what she asks. If you help this woman with her grief I will never ask you for anything again, or be foolish enough to ever get married.

Theseus: I will force myself to do what you all ask. Pirithous, take my bride and go and pray to the gods for our success and safe return. I will find my assistant and the soldiers he has gathered, but first, let me kiss my love, Hippolyta, goodbye.

Pirithous: Mayor Theseus, I will follow you to war. The celebration of your marriage can wait until you return.

Theseus: Friend, I order you not to leave Athens. We will be back before the end of the celebration. I ask of you not to cut this celebration short. Once again, farewell to you all. 

Woman: Oh Mayor Theseus, you do live up to your reputation! 

Theseus: As a man and as your mayor, it is my duty to come to your aid.

 

ACT 5 SCENE 1

Theseus: Now let them enter to say their prayers. All proper ceremony must be done, as they are performing a noble task which will honor the gods who love them. You brave enemies and cousins, the day has come in which the closeness between you two will come to an end. But before the fight begins, let us put aside an hour in which you may pray to your respected Gods.  I hope that you will fight fairly, for the Gods will be watching you. Now I will leave you to your prayers. The best of luck to you both. 

Pala-Man: The clock is now ticking and it will not stop until one of us is dead. Please understand, cousin, that if anything within me tried to stop me from winning this battle I would destroy it, even though it would be part of myself. I need you to see how I must treat you. 

Arc-man: I am trying my best to forget your name, our long lasting love, and our friendship entirely.  In place of this memory I will create something that will help me to destroy you. So lets begin. It is now in the hands of the Gods.

Pala-Man: Well said, cousin. Before I leave, let us hug one last time Arc-man; we will never have the opportunity to do this again.

Arc-man: One last goodbye.

Pala-Man: Yes, let it be, goodbye cousin.

Arc-man: Goodbye Pala-man.

Arc-man: Oh Holy God of War, whose power is so tremendous on the battlefield. Teach me, the youngest of your followers, to have military skill so that I can praise you by raising my flag when I am victorious and give thanks to you and all your help. Please God of War give me help as I enter this battle! I will march boldly to fulfill my plans to destroy my cousin in your name, Mars.

Pala-Man: Oh Holy God of Love, who has the power to make even the fiercest man cry for a woman, please give your grace to me. We are fighting for love, and whoever you give your help to, you will give victory as well. I swear there was never a love-struck man as faithful as me. Oh Venus, God of Love please let me be the victor of this argument in which I represent true love and bless me with a sign of your great will.

Emilia: Oh Holy Gods, Please let the best man win. I know I should choose one of these two men and pray for his success, but I cannot make the choice. Therefore I pray to you to let the one who loves me best and has the greatest heart to become my husband!

 

SCENE TWO WAS CUT ENTIRELY

 

ACT 5 SCENE 3

Emilia: I am not coming in to watch those two fight.

Pirithous: Are you really going to miss a fight like this?

Emilia: I would not like to witness something like this even in my worst nightmare. Every time they attack each other with their supernatural powers, it is a waste of god’s precious gifts. Each of these men were created specially to protect the world against evil and here they stand, trying their best to destroy each other. I will stay here. I think it is bad enough that I have to hear this fight, let alone see it.

Pirithous: Your sister-in-law refuses to go any further, Sir.

Theseus: Emilia, they are fighting for you. They need your support. You need to be present to witness and crown the winner.

Emilia: I will shut my eyes if I stand there.

Mayor Theseus: The trial is tonight and you must come.

Hippolyta: You must go! 

Emilia: I will not

Theseus: Well ok, if you insist.

Hippolyta: See you sister. I am excited to know who will be your future husband. I hope the best man for you wins this fight.

Fight scene:

Pala-Man: Cousin, I can’t believe its come to this. But we have no choice.

Arc-Man: Yes, lets fight. We need to get this over with.

Pala-Man: May the best man win!

Pala-Man flies towards Arc-Man and punches him in his face. Arc-Man falls back and uses his super strength to unroot a tree from the ground and throws it towards him. However, Pala-Man uses his sixth sense and gets to know before the tree reaches him and hence dodges it.

Pala-Man: Aaagh, have it your way

Pala-Man uses the suns energy to create a fireball and throws it towards Arc-Man. Arc-Man didn’t see this coming. He tries to stop the fireball using his hands but he can’t handle the heat and his hands end up getting burnt.

Emilia: What is happening?

Servant: People are shouting in support and praise of Pala-man.

Emilia: Then he might have won.  I expected this. He looked so prepared for success and he is undoubtedly very capable. Please, run and see what is happening now.

Servant: They are still shouting for Pala-man.

Emilia: I told you to run and check.

Even though Pala-Man sees Arc-Man lying flat on the ground, he is not convinced and goes for the final blow. He senses the water underground and makes it rise from under Arc-Man. A fountain of water suddenly erupts where Arc-Man is lying and takes him flying into the air.

Pala-Man: Aaaaargh!

Everyone starts cheering for Pala-Man.

Pala-Man: Emilia, my love. We can now be together forever.

While Pala-man is overwhelmed and distracted by his victory and hooting around him , Arc-Man uses his regenerative powers to recover. He suddenly diffuses and lands behind Pala-Man. He strangles him to unconsciousness using his unbreakable grip.

Emilia: All this noise, I think the fight has come to an end. More shouting, is it still Pala-man?

Servant: No, I think its Arc-man now.

Emilia: Can you please listen carefully!

Servant: I think they are shouting Arc-man and Victory. The battle has come to an end madam.  Arc-man defeated Pala-man. He can marry you now. People are also saying that Pala-man has lost all his powers.

Theseus: The winner of the fight is Arc-man. You may now join hands and be together.

Arc-man: Emilia, to be with you I have lost my dearest friend, Pala-man. This sacrifice, however, is a bargain compared to the value I put on you.

Theseus: He is talking like a brave man, like the other great superheroes of his league. He is so charming; The Gods have made a good choice by choosing you to win such a difficult fight. I’m giving you this crown with joy. Pala-man must now die, as it would be a torture for a superhero to live in defeat. But this is not a sight for us to see, so we should leave with some joy and some sorrow in our hearts. Arc-man, take your prize, Emilia, I know how excited you are. Hippolyta, don’t cry, this is a new beginning for Emilia.

Emilia: What kind of victory is this? Arc-man is being parted from his friend, who was more worthy of living than all women combined. This is unfair and I should die as well.

Hippolyta: It is pitiful that if two people love Emilia, one should be killed for it.

Theseus: Well, it’s just fate!

 

ACT 5 SCENE 4

 Pala-man: Maybe dying young isn’t such a bad thing after all. Unlike the older people who die as fragile individuals, I am a superhero. I am still strong and healthy, and will enjoy the nectar in the heavens with the Gods. The only advantage the winners have over us is their luck, not honor. It’s good I lost; I had heard Emilia was insane; I have now been freed from living with her.

Jailor: Well, she’s perfectly fine and will be married soon.

Pala-man: I am happy for her. Here, keep this money as a gift for Emilia. Now let my life be short!

Pirithous: Wait! Wait! Wait! Stop the execution! I have a message!

Pala-man: Could it be true? Could Venus really fulfill my prayers?

Pirithous– I have news for you Pala- man.

Pala-Man– Yes?

Pirithous– Your cousin Arc-Man is dying. He wishes to talk to you, and he is being brought here now.

Pala-Man: What a horrible way to end our friendship! Arc-man, tell me your last words, and know that I still love you, even in death.

Arc-Man– Emilia, Pala-Man, the Gods are calling me.

Pala-Man– Cousin, what are you saying!?

Arc-Man– Pala-man, think about the prayers made before the battle. I prayed to win the battle and Mars granted my wish, so I defeated you. Emilia prayed that her husband would be the man who loves her the most. Pala-man, that is you.

Pala-Man– I don’t understand.

Arc-Man– Cousin, you were the one who loved her the most, you were the one who was willing to die for her. You prayed to Venus to marry her. You didn’t care about the battle; all you cared about was her. Pala-man, Emilia is yours.  Since the gods are calling me, you are the one who is going to marry Emilia. The gods granted Emilia’s wish by making the man who loved her most become her husband, and Venus granted your wish by giving you Emilia.

Pala-Man– It is true, the Gods always listen. All our wishes have been granted!

Arc-Man– I loved Emilia because she made me regain my superpowers. I care about her but I don’t think its love. You deserve her Pala-man.

Pala-Man– I don’t know what to say. I know I adore Emilia unconditionally and will always keep her happy but…

Arc-Man– But nothing. That’s all that matters.

 Pala-Man– Why do you have to leave us!? 

Arc-Man– I don’t need to be here on Earth. Earth has you. The gods need me up there.

Pala-Man– Heaven has a plan for you.

Arc-Man– Cousin. Emilia. I wish you both all the happiness in the world. Love each other like you do and remember, I’ll be watching.