 Welles continued to adjust the play throughout its short production , and at one point moved Mistress Quickly 's speech about Falstaff 's death to the very beginning of the play . Welles finally abandoned the entire project in late March 1960 , when his friend Laurence Olivier offered him the chance to direct him in Eugène Ionesco 's play Rhinoceros on London 's West End . According to Keith Baxter , Welles ended the play 's run because he was bored with it , and at one point told Baxter " This is only a rehearsal for the movie , Keith , and I 'll never make it unless you play Hal in that too . " Five years later , Baxter was the only cast member from the play to appear in the film . Chimes at Midnight was Welles 's final performance in a theatrical play . 
