The Fox of France

Chapter 39: The Premiere in Turbulent Times (2)

The Peterson Theater was packed with people, all eagerly awaiting the start of the premiere of "Spartacus." Located near the Saint-Antoine district, the theater was rather small, with a narrow backstage. To complicate matters, Armand had included a choir in the script for musical accompaniment, and there was no room for them backstage. In fact, the space was so tight that they had to place some instruments in the dressing rooms. As a result, Armand had no choice but to seat the choir in the audience area. The Peterson Theater's audience section was also quite modest, with just over three hundred seats, and there were no boxes to speak of. The choir occupied more than twenty seats, leaving not even three hundred for the audience.

Of course, the small size of the theater had its advantages. It filled up quickly. Armand had been boasting about his new script for a while, and his wide circle of friends ensured a substantial audience. In addition to his friends, he'd mobilized some people, and with a little sponsorship from the Duke of Orleans, he had announced free admission. Consequently, what was originally a theater that could only hold three hundred people was now crammed with nearly six hundred, and more people were still trying to squeeze in. To accommodate them, the theater manager decided to remove all the seats and let everyone stand. However, because it was free, the theater was packed to the brim. Moreover, the lower-class audience members weren't too concerned about decorum, so the whole theater buzzed like a marketplace. One woman even brought a live chicken she'd just bought from the market.

And so, "Spartacus" began amidst all this chaos. The first scene opened with Spartacus and a small group of gladiators facing off in the arena, with Spartacus on one side and his friend Enomaius leading another group. The master of ceremonies announced, "The generous Clasus has decreed that the victor who slays his foe in this battle shall become a free man!" The battle for "freedom" began, and the two sides clashed. People fell one by one, and soon only Spartacus and Enomaius were left standing. However, Enomaius had been wounded and could barely stand. He had also lost his small shield in the earlier fights, rendering him almost defenseless. In contrast, Spartacus, his best friend, was almost untouched. The outcome seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

"Kill him, kill him!" shouted the actors portraying the gladiatorial spectators.

"Spartacus, come on, kill me, and you'll be free," Enomaius said. He knew that, even at his best, he was no match for Spartacus, who had won over a hundred battles in the arena. Moreover, he was wounded.

"This is a rare opportunity," Enomaius continued, "Clasus has been unusually generous. If you miss this chance, you won't have another opportunity to become a free man, especially with your new owner, the stingy Aquinus."

"No," Spartacus replied, "I won't kill my friend. If I'm willing to wield a sword against a friend, I might as well be a Roman citizen by now."

With those words, Spartacus ignored the cries around him, sheathed his sword, and prepared to leave.

"Kill him! Or you'll be flogged!" someone yelled.

"You wretched slave!" someone cursed.

"I knew he was a sissy!" an audience member sneered. Louis, a friend of Armand, played Spartacus in the premiere. He had the physique, but his face was too handsome, almost resembling a girl, making him an odd choice for the role of Spartacus.

"Go to hell!" Enomaius suddenly shouted, wielding his short sword and stumbling toward Spartacus, who had his back to him.

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Spartacus made a deft move, evading Enomaius's sword and elbowing him in the chest. Enomaius dropped his sword and fell in agony.

"Kill me!" Enomaius gasped.

"No, I won't be fooled. I won't wield a sword against a friend," Spartacus said.

The story continued, with Spartacus and the surviving gladiators receiving lashings and banding together. They questioned why Spartacus didn't kill Enomaius, who would have granted him freedom. Spartacus continued to answer, "I won't wield a sword against a friend." But another gladiator named Cressus coldly pointed out that Spartacus's persistence was futile. Enomaius would soon die in the next round of entertainment combat: "It's said that very few gladiators have a chance to become free or leave the arena. I've never seen such a lucky one, not even you, Spartacus, who's won over a hundred battles, against men and beasts. But do you really think you can survive in the arena indefinitely?"

This statement left everyone silent, and finally, someone said, "Unless we escape!"

"But who can lead us in our escape?" another asked.

In the second act, Spartacus led a group of gladiators in an escape from the gladiator school. They attempted to flee north, out of Rome, but Roman soldiers pursued them. Many gladiators died in the escape, and they were forced to turn south and hide in the mountains of Vesuvius.

During their escape, Spartacus came to a realization: "Mere escape won't truly grant slaves their freedom. Only by overthrowing the oppressive Roman system, which pits man against man and enslaves man, can slaves truly be free. Our goal shouldn't be merely evading pursuit by Roman soldiers; it should be the destruction of Rome, liberating all the slaves. Only when all the slaves are free can we truly achieve our own freedom!"

As Spartacus addressed his exhausted comrades with these words, the orchestra in the background began to play Joseph's new war song. It began with a somber and solemn prelude, much like the dark clouds before a storm, pressing down heavily. Then the melancholic main theme started, resolute and steady. At the end of each segment, there was a weighty accent, like heavy raindrops falling from the sky and the beat of a war drum.

In this musical backdrop, Spartacus's speech continued: "I know, my friends, my brothers, you may have doubts. You may say, 'Rome has so many well-trained, well-equipped, and organized soldiers. How can we, so few in number, stand against all of Rome?'"

"But I say, don't be afraid, my brothers. What do we have to fear? What do we have to fear? For what could be more painful, more frightening, than the days we've spent as pigs, trampled upon like dirt? What is there left to be afraid of? Can we lose anything more? Is there anything in our lives worth clinging to?"

"Friends, brothers, if we have something to lose in battle, then it's only the chains that shackle us. But once we win, what we gain will be the entire world! A new world where no one oppresses or enslaves another. Take heart, my brothers. Rome should be afraid; the vampire slave owners should be afraid. We, we need not fear!"

The theater fell silent. Even the uncultured, lower-class people stopped talking, their eyes fixed on the actor playing Spartacus, listening to his powerful speech, nodding in silence. Someone whispered, "He's right. What are we, kings? What are we, nobles? Besides chains, what do we have left to lose?"

The remaining gladiators regained their spirits. They continued to raid nearby estates to liberate the slaves, and slaves from other regions flocked to Vesuvius. Spartacus and his friends gained victory after victory. Their numbers swelled to thousands. Even Spartacus's friend Enomaius joined the rebellion. Under Spartacus's leadership, they established a true democracy based on equality for all.

"This is just like a dream, too good to be true," someone in the audience murmured.

"It's as if an archangel is speaking. I get it now, why they chose a girl to play a general," another audience member remarked.

"It's like heaven itself. Nothing can be better than this," another audience member whispered. He quickly crossed himself and said, "Forgive me, Lord."

"Everyone being equal is great, but making men and women equal... Does that mean women can dominate men?" someone else remarked.

However, tension returned to the plot. In an attempt to annihilate them, Rome sent a military officer named Claudius with three thousand well-equipped soldiers to besiege them. With the help of local slave owners, they infiltrated Vesuvius. The rebellion had little weaponry and supplies and struggled to face the Roman soldiers head-on. They retreated step by step, finally ending up cornered on a steep mountain peak, with Roman soldiers in front and a cliff behind them. Spartacus and his rebels appeared to be at a dead end. Even Cressus admitted, "It seems these will be the last days of my life. At least in these days, I'm a free man."

But in their dire straits, a female slave named Agnippe proposed a solution: "There are many wild grapevines on this mountain. We can weave these vines into ropes, and you men can use them to descend from the mountain's rear and attack the Romans from behind."

"Hah, just a while ago, you looked down on women. Without us women, you men would be..." a lady in the audience couldn't help but comment, still clutching the chicken.

Spartacus accepted Agnippe's suggestion. He led his warriors to descend the mountain using these ropes at night, then launched a surprise attack from the rear, crushing the Roman army. Spartacus waved his short sword, leading the slaves in pursuit of the Roman soldiers. He shouted, "Brothers, let's sing our song!"

So, in the midst of the deep and majestic music, the slaves on stage sang a song that went like this:

Debout! les damns de la terre! "

"Debout! les forats de la faim!...

[Note: The lyrics are from "The Internationale," a famous socialist anthem.]

"Stand up, you wretched of the earth"

"Stand up, you prisoners of hunger"

The audience was captivated by the performance, as the powerful words and emotions filled the air. The story of Spartacus was unfolding in a remarkable way, and the audience was swept away by the drama, music, and the powerful message of freedom and equality. It was a night to remember in the Peterson Theater, as the audience was carried away to another world by the performance.

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