The rehearsals for the play are hurried. The anonymous sponsor is apparently not a patient person, and strong suggestions about their desire to see the play open with all possible haste have been communicated to Matty.
Nichol fumes when Matty passes along said suggestions, but also quickens the pace of rehearsals. The actors hasten to learn their lines, and you hope they won't mangle them on the night. The props and costumes are mostly recycled from previous historical epics, with the arms of the King of Icemere hastily stitched onto tabards and emblazoned on wooden shields that are so thick with layers of paint that they might indeed turn aside a mighty blow.