Bad Quarto part II

Frances tells Imogen that the student who insists on playing Hamlet is a terrible actor, but they are hoping that the one performance wont ruin their reputation as actors and that the money will solve all their problems. Imogen finds herself reading up on theories about Shakespeare, and is surprised to find that nowadays a lot of critics dislike his plays for being Imperialist, conservative, anti feminist etc. She gets a visit from Samantha, a literature student who is suffering from anxiety about her work and doing her exams. Samantha also complains that Susan, her current room mate, is a difficult girl and adds to her worries. Susan is from a poor background and she got into Cambridge via a scheme to help young people who missed out on education at school level but are bright. She is clever enough but she has a hot temper and a chip on her shoulder about her being poor and ill educated and is always complaining. She also brings in a young male friend who is dirty and seems to be taking drugs. Imogen finds that Susan was brought up largely in care, and that her foster mother adopted her when she got a bit older, to try and give her some stability. Drama happens when Samantha is found unconscious in her room and it seems like she's taken an overdose. Imogen gets her to hospital, but she is suspicious about the overdose. She thinks that Samantha didn't intend to kill herself, she just wanted to make herself ill and if she was ill at the time of her exam, she might be given a pass because of illness.