Act Two, Scene Six

Pg 99 – Dolly -"relaxing in a hot bath with a fireman"

A "fireman" is a classic rum-based cocktail. Knowing Dolly/Columbina, however, it's likely the double entendre was intentional.

 

Pg 99 – Dangle - "Magnum Bonum"

"A great good" 

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Pg 100 – Dangle - "RADA"

RADA is the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts -- an institution of great renown, with an extremely notable alumni list. Its quality and extremely competitive admissions process may give us pause from a character development standpoint--throughout the rest of the play, lines suggest that Alan is an underwhelming actor, though his status as a RADA student might suggest otherwise. Is he that one hack that makes it into the program, or is it that the "new" acting style brought forward by the Angry Young Men movement (see notes throughout!) are simply viewed as "bad," in the same way that Antoine's efforts were viewed as "mumbling" by critics used to grand flourishes? Whichever the case, however, it would certainly be an accomplishment that, he feels, should be taken seriously. The fact that Charlie doesn't fits in well with their "Seagull" conversation.

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Pg 102 – Charlie - "My best china"

This is an example of rhyming cockney slang -- "my best mate" becomes "my best china plate," (which, yes, suggests a special and cherished friend, though I'd argue there's also the potential for an element of "the friend that I show off to others"). In any case, Charlie takes the "my best china plate" colloquialism and shortens it.