“Julian and I, we burn the midnight oil night after night.”
Why it's great
Long hours sound like a private pact once both names sit under the same lamp.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
My lab partner and I burn the midnight oil before every demo.
00:00 / 02:14
00:00 / 02:14
After Hours in Chambers, Explained
National Theatre Live: Prima Facie · 2022
Chapter 7 of 22 · 2'14"
Two barristers are stuck late on a GBH file: plead and take a shorter sentence, or gamble that the facts do not help the police. The night slides from vodka to a kiss. "Boyish, sheepish, Jules! Who would have thought it?" comes after the kiss and is not a real question.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:02–0:27
❝ Monologue · 33 lines Night After Night with Julian
25s - 0:27–1:14
Pleading Out the GBH Case
47s - 1:19–2:13
Boyish, Sheepish Jules
54s
After Hours in Chambers, explained
What happens
In chambers, the narrator and Julian work night after night, both booked for weeks. He asks about a GBH case: pleading means years because of a past, though a guilty plea cuts the sentence, while the facts may fail the police. She spots officers fixing the file. Vodka in his room turns into a kiss and sex on the office sofa.
What's really going on
She and Julian burn the midnight oil night after night, both booked out for weeks. What she likes is being seen as an equal, a brain to trust. Julian comes in about a GBH case, and they go to his room for vodka. If the client pleads, he will do a few years because he has a past, though a guilty plea gives a discount. On the other hand, there is a strong chance the facts do not work for the police. She spots officers fixing the file to make it look better and calls it a fundamental mistake. The kiss is happening: she finds herself kissing Jules, and he is gentler than she thought. "Boyish, sheepish, Jules! Who would have thought it?" is not a question. Expensive aftershave, son of a QC, he is exactly what she wants right now. They have sex on the corner sofa and laugh at "Barristers doing it in chambers!" He nuzzles close, sure she had a boyfriend.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Julian and I, we burn the midnight oil night after night.”
- Both are booked out for weeks, so the late work repeats night after night rather than one evening that ran long.
- “But I like that he sees me as an equal, a brain to trust.”
- She likes being seen as an equal and as a brain whose judgment can be trusted.
- “He smells of expensive aftershave, son of a QC, but right now, he is exactly what I want.”
- Expensive aftershave and a QC for a father mark him as polished and privileged, yet she wants him right now.
- “We laugh about the cliché we are. 'Barristers doing it in chambers!'”
- They know sex in chambers is a stock barrister story, and they laugh at themselves for living that cliché.
- “It's sweet. How did I become that girl?”
- He has just said he was sure she would have a boyfriend. She calls that sweet, then asks how she became that girl: that kind of girl, with a note of disapproval.
Theme
- Justice — Plead and the client does years because of a past, though the plea discounts the time, while the facts may not work for the police.
- Romance — Vodka, a kiss, and sex on the office sofa, with Jules gentler and more boyish than she expected, and exactly what she wants.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level1/8
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“But I like that he sees me as an equal, a brain to trust.”
Why it's great
She is asking to be trusted with judgment, not to be desired.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
What I like is that the new editor sees me as an equal on rewrites.
“He smells of expensive aftershave, son of a QC, but right now, he is exactly what I want.”
Why it's great
Distaste and wanting share one sentence, and the but lets the want win.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
The plan is loud and expensive, but right now it is exactly what I want for the show.
“We laugh about the cliché we are. 'Barristers doing it in chambers!'”
Why it's great
They turn the affair into a joke title before anyone else can.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
My sister and I laugh about the cliché we are, calling our mother from the same parking lot.
“It's sweet. How did I become that girl?”
Why it's great
Sweetness gets a beat, then the question puts her on trial.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
The note on the fridge is sweet. How did I become the person who keeps it?
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ An after-hours confession
Julian and I, we burn the midnight oil night after night. We are both booked out for weeks. Adam, he seems to somehow go home and work from there. Adam, he has a kid now. I mean, I don't know how he does it. He might just be the cleverest person I know. He can recite whole sections of the Criminal Justice Act. He's a fre-eak! But I like that he sees me as an equal, a brain to trust. Julian comes in, asks me about his GBH case. It's tricky. It looks bad for his client. Should he plead it out and get a lesser sentence? We head to his room, so he can pour us each a vodka. If his client pleads, he'll definitely do a few years, he has a past. But a guilty plea gives him a discount on the time he will serve. On the other hand, there's a strong chance the facts don't work for the police. It's a hard decision. I spot something. Looks like some of the officers fixed something to make it look better. It is a fundamental mistake. We laugh. [CHUCKLES] Jules's eyes are on me. Moves in close. Too much vodka... Woops! I find myself kissing Jules. He... He is more gentle than I thought he would be. Boyish, sheepish, Jules! Who would have thought it? He... He is not a look I would usually find attractive. He's all, er... He's all clean and well pampered. He smells of expensive aftershave, son of a QC, but right now, he is exactly what I want. We fuck on the corner sofa in his office. We laugh about the cliché we are. 'Barristers doing it in chambers!' He nuzzles up close to me afterwards, says he was sure I would have a boyfriend. It's sweet. How did I become that girl?
The same voice prices a guilty plea, then prices her desire, and ends by refusing the sweetness.
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Questions, then the linesWhat stretch of time does booked out cover?
We are both booked out for weeks. It covers the weeks ahead: the diary is already full, and nothing else can be fitted in. That is why the nights still have to keep going.
Why does she want him right now?
He smells of expensive aftershave and is the son of a QC, but the line says right now he is exactly what she wants. The polish is noticed, and she wants him anyway.
What does she catch in the police file?
She spots something: some of the officers fixed something to make it look better. She calls that a fundamental mistake, and they laugh.
Why does Jules surprise her once they kiss?
She finds herself kissing Jules, and he is more gentle than she thought he would be. Right after that, he is boyish and sheepish.