Sir, the last of the great breed of English actor/managers, is in a bad way tonight. As his dresser tries valiantly to prepare him to go on stage as King Lear, he is having great difficulty remembering who and where he is, let alone Lear’s lines. With a Herculean effort on the part of Norman, the dresser, Sir finally makes it on stage and through the performance – no thanks to the Luftwaffe – in a World War II era English provincial theatre during an air raid. Backstage in his dressing room after the performance, the worn out old trouper dies, leaving his company and his loyal dresser alone.
