“Quartet” quotes

“Opera is: when a guy's stabbed in the back, instead of bleeding, he sings. It seems to me, after much research, that rap is when a guy is stabbed in the back, and instead of bleeding, he talks. Er, rhythmically, even with feeling. But because rap's spoken, the feeling is sort of held in check: all on one note.”
Tom Courtenay - Reggie Paget

“I'm going to say something very rude to you: fuck you.”
Maggie Smith - Jean Horton

“- Jean Horton: Are you telling me to go out and smell the roses?
- Cissy Robson: Oh no. We're telling you the roses are long gone. But the chrysanthemums are magnificent.”
Maggie Smith - Jean Horton
Pauline Collins - Cissy Robson

“- Jean Horton: Why do we have to get old?
- Reggie Paget: That's what people do.”
Maggie Smith - Jean Horton
Tom Courtenay - Reggie Paget

“- Nigel: The way you play you probably will. You forget I saw your Barber of Seville, your singing brought tears to my ears.
- Wilf Bond: Saw you in Carmen. I'll never forget it, but I'll try.”
John Rawnsley - Nigel
Billy Connolly - Wilf Bond

“- Wilf Bond: I read somewhere that the average man thinks of sex every seven seconds.
- Reggie Paget: Do you?
- Wilf Bond: I wish, it was only every seven seconds.”
Billy Connolly - Wilf Bond
Tom Courtenay - Reggie Paget