Synopsis - Act I
If you would like to listen to the music, you can now purchase
the Remember! Remember! CD
The show opens on a modern Bonfire Night celebration, with the chorus singing
No 1 – Remember! Remember! During the number we gradually move back to the beginning of the seventeenth
century and the coronation of King James the First. In No
2 – The Queen is Dead, the congregation mourn the death of Queen
Elizabeth and hail the accession of the new king.
Attending the ceremony is a young Catholic nobleman, Robin Catesby. While James
promises a lessening of the repression that Catholics suffered under the old
queen, Catesby is sceptical and, in No
3 – All of Our Fathers, warns his friends and comrades not to
be fooled by the new king’s promises.
Meanwhile, in Flanders, two soldiers run for cover from the cannon fire of
a battle. They are Tom Wintour and Guys Fawkes – both Catholic mercenaries.
Wintour tells Fawkes of the new optimism for men of their faith back home in
England, but Fawkes is sceptical. Left alone, Fawkes expounds his views on life
in No 4 – No Prayer at All.
Back in England – at White Webbs, the home of Catesby’s friend
Anne Vaux – the household is preparing to hold a secret Mass. Two Jesuit
priests – Henry Garnet and John Watt – lead the service and Catesby,
Vaux and the others join in with No 5 –
Credo. After the ceremony, the house is suddenly invaded by soldiers
in search of Catholic priests. In No 6 –
Deception, Catesby and Vaux desperately try to distract the soldiers,
while another of the worshippers, Nicholas Owen, conceals the two priests in
separate priest-holes that he has previously built in the house. They are hindered
by the maid, Jane Finwood, who, unknown to them, is a government spy.
In the end, the soldiers find Watt and take him away, but Garnet remains safe.
The mood darkens and left alone, Vaux sings of the trials of being a Catholic
in a Protestant land (No 7 –
Judgement for All).
In the Tower of London, the king’s chief minister and spymaster, Robert
Cecil, questions the dishevelled Father Watt, who refuses to talk. Cecil goes
to speak to the king, trying to quieten his fears over the people’s reaction
to his increased oppression against Catholics (No
8 – Am I Not King?). Cecil also mentions that his spies have
told him that a number of known Catholic activists have been returning to England
– including one Guy Fawkes.
In a London tavern, Catesby has gathered together a band of men whom he can
trust. It includes Tom Wintour and many others. With the arrival of Fawkes,
just returned from Flanders, the team is complete. Wintour announces that he
has discovered that Father Watt has died under torture. For Catesby, this is
the last straw. He announces his plan to the others – a plan to blow up
King James and the whole of Parliament. Some are sceptical, but Catesby brings
them all round to his point of view with the rousing No
9 – Stand With Me.
Catesby’s plan swings into action. The first step is for Wintour and
Fawkes to rent a house in Westminster from the naïve Susan Whynniard (No
10– Rental). To their delight, she innocently informs them that
it has a cellar that runs right underneath Parliament.
Once she has departed, they are joined by Catesby and the other plotters. In
No 11– Thirty-Six Barrels,
they begin to take the gunpowder down into the cellar.
Back at White Webbs, Nick Owen and Jane Finwood sing of their undying love
for one another in No 12– A Moment
in Time. Owen remains ignorant of her treachery.
Anne Vaux is consoling her friend, Lady Elizabeth Monteagle, who is torn between
her husband – Lord William Monteagle – and her brother – Francis
Tresham. Tresham is a close friend of Catesby and while Lady Monteagle does
not know any details, she suspects that they a plotting something against the
government. Lord Monteagle is one of King James’ ministers and would be
killed in any action the plotters took.
The ladies are interrupted by the arrival of Catesby and Father Garnet. They
leave, but eavesdrop as Catesby confesses his plot to Garnet. Garnet tries to
order Catesby to give up the plan, but Catesby refuses. Garnet – silenced
by the seal of confession – is unable to reveal the plot to anyone. The
men argue and both storm out.
Vaux and Lady Monteagle re-emerge, shocked by what they have overheard and
desperate to find a way to prevent the plot without having the plotters arrested.
They decide to send an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, veiledly informing
him that there is a plot, but without revealing the identities of any of the
plotters. In No 13 – The
Monteagle Letter, they begin to write the letter and hand it to Finwood
to deliver. Instead, she takes it straight to Cecil who reads it before allowing
her to take it to Monteagle, who in turn hands it straight to the king.
While he knows nothing for sure, Lord Monteagle suspects that Catesby –
whom he still counts as a friend – may have something to do with the letter.
He warns Catesby that a plot could only end badly for him.
Catesby tells the other plotters what Monteagle has told him. Suspicion as
to the source of the letter immediately falls on Tresham; of all the plotters,
he is the one with the closest links to Monteagle. Only Catesby remains faithful
to Tresham and brings the others round to his point of view. Even so, Tresham
walks out on the plot.
Finwood is revealed to have been eavesdropping on the conversation. She tricks
Owen into revealing more details of the plot – although he himself has
little idea of what is going on. Owen, however, realises at last that Finwood
is a government spy. She runs off and he is left alone to sing of his betrayal
by her (No 14 – You’ve
Never Been in Love).
No 15 – The Fuse is set on
the eve of November 5th and shifts from scene to scene as all the protagonists
prepare for the day to come. Catesby and the other plotters make ready to seize
power once the king is dead. Owen warns Catesby of what he has discovered about
Finwood, but Catesby brushes off his concerns.
Vaux, Garnet and Lady Monteagle worry about their friends and families, while
in London, Cecil tries to calm James’ fears. They re-examine the letter
sent to Lord Monteagle, and suddenly Cecil realises that the threat will involve
gunpowder. Before he can act, Finwood enters and fills in the details that he
had not yet worked out. He orders a search of Parliament.
Beneath Westminster Palace, Wintour bids farewell to Fawkes and leaves him
to perform the final act of lighting the fuse.
As the number, ends soldiers, led by Cecil, pounce on Fawkes.
Synopsis - Act II
