美国国家公共电台 NPR Who's Got A Plan For Brexit? This Hit Musical Does
时间：2018-12-17 作者：英语课 分类：2017年NPR美国国家公共电台9月
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Many Britons worry that Britain's exit from the European Union will be bad for business. But Brexit has been great fodder 1 for performing arts - a drama at the National Theatre, a spy novel and two musical comedies. NPR's Joanna Kakissis has our story of "Brexit: The Musical" and its unlikely creator.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE 2: I'm having tea with London lawyer Chris Bryant at a cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland. I'll explain why we're in Edinburgh a bit later. But first, let's go back to last summer, when Bryant, who specializes in EU trade law, was counseling clients nervous about Brexit.
CHRIS BRYANT: Queries 3 were coming in from all directions, left, right and center, every single sector 4 of the economy. And, also, it was complicated by the fact that there were a lot of things that we just simply did not know and still do not know.
KAKISSIS: All this turmoil 5 took a toll 6 on Bryant's nerves. But instead of yoga or meditation 7, he turned to his trusted form of therapy, songwriting.
BRYANT: I like to write songs as a way of relaxing so I can focus my mind entirely 8.
KAKISSIS: He'd been doing this since his teens.
BRYANT: A friend of mine made a joke, saying, you write musicals as a hobby. You should write "Brexit: The Musical." And, immediately, it put the seed in my mind that I thought it could be quite a way of helping 9 just to make sense of everything that's going on.
KAKISSIS: He wrote the first song, "Democracy," in just a few hours.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "BREXIT: THE MUSICAL")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (As characters, singing) It's democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character, singing) How we going to keep it where we all get to have our say?
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (As characters, singing) It's democracy.
KAKISSIS: Then came the plot, which included clueless politicians, amnesia 10 and a missing secret plan that would get the U.K. out of this mess. Then more songs, including this one.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VIRGE GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May, singing) They call me a bloody 11 difficult woman.
KAKISSIS: That would be current Prime Minister Theresa May.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May, singing) It's only 'cause I have to deal with bloody difficult men.
KAKISSIS: Bryant had a hunch 12 that this musical would appeal to a wider audience beyond his family and friends. So he showed it to a prominent theater producer.
BRYANT: And she thought, yeah, it's got legs. It's got a great potential. And her suggestion comes was that we come to Edinburgh to do it. She brought in the director, the musical director, casting director, choreographer 13, everybody that we need.
KAKISSIS: His musical was staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last month.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) When I say Brexit means Brexit...
KAKISSIS: That's actress Virge Gilchrist as Theresa May. She confronts fellow conservative politicians Boris Johnson and Michael Gove because they'd campaigned for Brexit to get ahead politically.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) Well...
(LAUGHTER)
GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) ...I hope you two are proud of yourselves. You better have a damn good plan to get out of this mess.
JAMES WITT: (As Boris Johnson) Ah, Theresa, about that...
GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) What?
WITT: (As Boris Johnson) You see, we haven't got a plan either.
KAKISSIS: Actor James Witt plays Boris Johnson as a clown in Union Jack 14 underwear and a platinum 15 blonde wig 16.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WITT: (As Boris Johnson, singing) Everything has blown up in my face. I go from hero to national disgrace.
KAKISSIS: But Witt also wanted to show a darker side.
WITT: So he's a different persona. He's got two personas, I think, which we don't see on TV much because the media is so sanitized. And, really, the stage is the only place where you can tell the truth anymore, I think.
KAKISSIS: In the audience is Les Edwards, a 70-year-old property manager who voted for Brexit and now has doubts. The musical made him laugh.
LES EDWARDS: We have a great gift for making satire 17 and making fun of ourselves. It's good fun to do it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May, singing) By George, that's really something. Looks like you've saved the day.
KAKISSIS: Chris Bryant watched in awe 18 as his musical became a sold-out hit in Edinburgh. Now it's back to reality as a trade lawyer, wondering what the U.K.'s Brexit plan will be.
BRYANT: We do have a plan in the musical, which I won't reveal. And I think our plan in the musical is a better plan than the government has.
KAKISSIS: In "Brexit: The Musical," I'll just say that a song saves the day. Chris Bryant can vouch 19 for that. Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Edinburgh.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WITT: (As Boris Johnson, singing) By George, you're making me stressed...
- Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
- Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。
- His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
- We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
- Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
- Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
- The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。
- His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
- The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
- The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
- The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
- This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
- I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
- People suffering from amnesia don't forget their general knowledge of objects.患健忘症的人不会忘记关于物体的一些基本知识。
- Chinese medicine experts developed a way to treat amnesia using marine materials.中国医学专家研制出用海洋物质治疗遗忘症的方法。
- He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
- He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
- I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
- I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。
- She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
- It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网
- I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
- He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
- I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
- Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。
- The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
- He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。
- The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
- Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。