I.
Time: Somewhere in the 1600s
Scene: A narrow alley in Venice, four young men meet in a constrained space.
Enter from left: Alvise, Marco, Lorenzo.
Enter from right: Embriaco.
E: Make way.
L: You make way, filth!
A: Move aside or we’ll break your legs.
M: Gentlemen, please. This is Venice.
E: Amannaman, Venetians, if only you could, you would.
L: What’s that, lil’ baùco?
A: Signor, it seems to me that you — talk funny.
M: You are not from around here.
L: So, go back to where you came from.
A: Why, do tell, do you talk funny? Are you retarded or something?
E: My name is Embriaco. I was born elsewhere, away from this dump.
L: You can hardly call la Serenissima a dump.
E: There is very little serene about it.
M: That’s because you are not from around here. You cannot appreciate the details. Now, move aside.
(Embriaco moves aside. They squeeze past, glaring at him.)