Summary

The prologue begins with “a handful of Young Men sitting around writing” (7) – throughout the play, this “handful” becomes a kind of Greek Chorus, at times providing narration, at other times providing commentary on the action, and at still other times becoming different characters in that story. On some occasions, they fulfill all three functions simultaneously. Throughout this summary, this group of characters will be referred to as the Chorus of Young Men.

One Young Man, sitting by himself, speaks in third person about the struggle to write, how that struggle can be eased by rereading a favorite novel, and what the presence of that novel’s writer might be like. At that moment, E.M. Forster (Morgan) appears. The Chorus greets him, but he focuses his attention on the Young Man, who reveals that his favorite...