Halfway down the Danube

Pop Quiz Friday: That Shakespeherian Rag

Two bits of Shakespeare pastiche with Communist transition themes. Can you identify their authors?

Here's the first:

BREZHNEV: What of the brotherlands, of Comecon?

ANDROPOV: The sledded Polacks grumble in their yards.
They hearken to, on shortwave radio
that turbulent priest, Pope Wojtyla,
and bide their time. The Bulgars hard
oppress their Turks. The Czechs
bounce currency abroad and Semtex too
and do protest too much their fealty.
The Magyars boast themselves
the happiest barrack in the People's camp.
Our Germans seethe
with discontent at that dividing Wall.
As to our brother Serbs, what can I say?
Their house of cards may topple any day.

(Uproar.)

and the second:

SIHANOUK: I know perfectly well the United States is immense, but I do not think an ambassador does honor to his country by characterizing the country that receives him as "rinky-dink"!

GENERAL TABER: We didn't say that!

SIHANOUK: Mr. McClintock doesn't stand on ceremony in front of servants, journalists, and even diplomats. Can't you accord us the same treatment as countries much smaller than ours yet which you respect? Do you say "Little Belgium"? "Tiny Israel"? You reserve contempt for Cambodia alone and foreordain its appearance. You're systematically shrinking us. Why, just look at the newspapers. First Cambodia is small, then it's very small, the next day I read that it's extremely small, now it's miniscule, a pocket kingdom, a useless remnant, an eleventh toe, it's a speck of dust on your eye, a scab, it's nothing! Just where is it? It's going to disappear. It has disappeared!

(Lon Nol signals behind his back that Sihanouk is crazy and should not be paid attention to.)

Hint: they're not the same person.

Posted by coyu at June 25, 2004 03:04 PM