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❝ Monologues · 33 lines · C1

Julian and I, we burn the midnight oil night after night.

An after-hours confession · National Theatre Live: Prima Facie (2022)

Julian and I, we burn the midnight oil night after night.

Line 1 of 33

We are both booked out for weeks.

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1 Julian and I, we burn the midnight oil night after night .
In the sceneSomeone opens by tying herself to Julian through a run of nights, half complaint and half pride.
Everyday exampleThe night nurses burn the midnight oil when two people call in sick.
Everyday exampleMy lab partner and I burn the midnight oil before every demo.
2We are both booked out for weeks.
3Adam, he seems to somehow go home and work from there.
4Adam, he has a kid now. I mean, I don't know how he does it.
5He might just be the cleverest person I know.
6He can recite whole sections of the Criminal Justice Act.
7He's a fre-eak !
8But I like that he sees me as an equal , a brain to trust .
9Julian comes in,
10asks me about his GBH case.
11It's tricky. It looks bad for his client.
12Should he plead it out and get a lesser sentence ?
13We head to his room, so he can pour us each a vodka.
14If his client pleads, he'll definitely do a few years , he has a past .
15But a guilty plea gives him a discount on the time he will serve .
16 On the other hand , there's a strong chance the facts don't work for the police.
17It's a hard decision.
18I spot something.
19Looks like some of the officers fixed something to make it look better .
20It is a fundamental mistake. We laugh. [CHUCKLES]
21Jules's eyes are on me.
22Moves in close.
23Too much vodka... Woops !
24I find myself kissing Jules.
25He... He is more gentle than I thought he would be.
26Boyish, sheepish, Jules! Who would have thought it?
27He... He is not a look I would usually find attractive.
28He's all, er... He's all clean and well pampered .
29He smells of expensive aftershave, son of a QC , but right now, he is exactly what I want .
30We fuck on the corner sofa in his office.
31We laugh about the cliché we are. 'Barristers doing it in chambers!'
32He nuzzles up close to me afterwards, says he was sure I would have a boyfriend.
33It's sweet. How did I become that girl ?

Why it's worth practising

The same voice prices a guilty plea, then prices her desire, and ends by refusing the sweetness.

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Phrases in this speech

burn the midnight oil a brain to trust plead it out on the other hand who would have thought fuck the cliché we are that girl

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