Lord of the Rings

I've been putting in a bit of method acting practice as I have ambitions to play an Uruk-hai in the stage version of Lord of the Rings.

I'm an excellent candidate for wearing an over-muscled body suit, throwing my head back, throwing open my mouth, baring my terrible teeth, and releasing from the debth of my being an utterly bestial roar. I've got the shoulder shake down to a tee. Failing that I would like to play Eowyn, the bit where she stands in the hill in Rohan in the floaty dress, but only if she gets together with Faramir at the end. Oh, valiant Faramir. Also valiant Boromir, Aragorn, Legolas, Eomer and in a good light, Elrond, Gandalf, Saruman and King Theodin, how to choose, how to choose?. And the arousing music, the march of the Elves to war: deeply sad, nobly determined, always glorious, the horns of the Rohirrim, the beat of Saruman's army of 10 000, I could go on.

Now, onto more important matters. This book has something to say to every one of us, and here a very important moment:

Frodo, suddenly aware of himself again...free to choose
'And suddenly he felt the Eye. there was an eye in the Dark Tower that did not sleep. He knew that it had become aware of his gaze. A fierce eager will was there. It leaped towards him, almost like a finger he felt it, searching for him. Very soon it would nail him down, now just exactly where he was. Amon Lhaw it touched. It glanced upon Tol Brandir - he threw himself from the seat, crouching, covering his head with his grey hood.


He heard himself crying out; Never, never! Or was it: Verily I come, I come to you? He could not tell. Then as a flash from some other point of power there came to his mind another thought. Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the ring!


The two powers strove in him. for amoment, perfectly balanced between their piercing points, he writhed, tormented. Suddenly he was aware of himself again. Frodo, neither the Voice nor the Eye; free to choose and with one remaining instant in which to do so. He took the Ring off his finger. He was kneeling in clear sunlight before the high seat. A black shadow seemed to pass like an arm above him; it missed Amon Hen and groped out west, and faded. Then all the sky was clean and blue and birds sang in every tree.


Frodo rose to his feet A great weariness was on him, but his will was firm and his heart lighter. He spoke aloud to himself. 'I will do now what I must', he said.


As Elrond said to Frodo, 'I think that this task is appointed for you Frodo, and that if you do not find a way, no-one will'


And the Lady Galadriel adds, 'For the fate of Lothlorien you are not answerable, but only for the doing of your own task...'


The only problem is, time is getting on a bit, what have I come here to do?