Angel E-Book

Henry Naylor

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Serie: NHB Modern Plays
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 46

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Syria, 2014. In the town of Kobane, there's a siege as fierce as Stalingrad. ISIS, having steam-rollered through Iraq, are expecting to take the town easily. But the citizens have found a heroine: a crackshot sniper with 100 kills to her name. And she appears indestructible. She's the legendary Angel of Kobane. Inspired by an extraordinary true story, Angel is part of Henry Naylor's Arabian Nightmares trilogy. It was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016, where it won a Fringe First award.

Leseprobe

Henry Naylor

ANGEL

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

A Few Thank-Yous

Original Production

Dedication

Characters

Angel

Afterword

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

A Few Thank-Yous

First, thanks to Anne Naylor, Deb and Phil – without whom no art would get made! Massive thanks to the Korens: Karen Koren, Katy Koren and Kristian Koren – and Paul Sullivan – all friends as well as co-workers. Love to the wonderful staff at the Gilded Balloon, including Rowan, Lyndsey, Steph, David, Richard, Molly and Daniel. The Arcola team, including Mehmet and Leyla. In Adelaide, Martha Lott and her top gang at Holden Street, including Tracey Mathers; Neil Ward and Angela Tolley, top Aussie publicists, my buddies Heather Croall and Nick Phillips, Michelle Buxton, David Grybowski and Lizzie Hines. In New York, the 59E59 gang, especially Elysabeth and Peter. In Prague, Steve Gove and his posse. To Sam Maynard, I owe a huge thanks, for helping me start on this path. Danny Dougramachi has been great helping me research. The fab directors Michael Cabot and Emma Buttler; the lighting designers Ross Bibby and Andy Grange, the many technicians we’ve worked with, including Alia Stephens, Sofia, Sholto, Holly Curtis and Eric Morel. A massive shout-out to Kathryn Cabot and Kathryn Barker prods for doing a fab tour of The Collector. Sean Gascoine, Amy Sparks, Nicki Stoddart, Hannah Begbie, Kitty Laing, Maureen Vincent and Carly Peters of United Agents – not just top agents, but lovely people. Huge thanks to Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Matt Applewhite and Jodi Gray of Nick Hern Books. Not forgetting the magnificent Rosalind Furlong, Steve Ullathorne and Alan Moyle for some stellar photos. Viv and Leo, obviously. And Phil Goodwin, who’s helped me enormously at various stages. Then there’s the magnificent casts of the three shows – Filipa, Felicity, William, Lesley, Ritu, Rachel, Shireen and Olivia – honoured to have worked with you. Finally, my wonderful, hilarious, beautiful, uber-smart wife Sarah, who has to put up with me when I’m writing! – Love you, love you all.

The photograph of Filipa Bragança as the Angel, taken by Rosalind Furlong, on the front cover was kindly reproduced with the permission of the Bragança family. Filipa was a great friend and inspiration, and the picture is included as a tribute and mark of respect for her performances in both Echoes and Angel.

This is taken from Arabian Nightmares; the collection in which this play first appears.

Angel was first performed at the Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh, on 3 August 2016, with the following cast:

REHANA, THE ANGEL

Filipa Bragança

Director

Michael Cabot

It was co-produced by Henry Naylor and the Gilded Balloon’s Karen Koren and Katy Koren.

In the subsequent tour of Australia (beginning at Mittagong Playhouse on 7 February 2017) Rehana was played by Avital Lvova.

Dedicated to the memory of Filipa Bragança, the first Angel.

A great friend and a wonderful colleague.

Filipa was politically very committed, passionate in her desire to make the world a better place.

And her stunning performance was important in turning this show into a success.

The play was written with Fil in mind, and hopefully it captures some of her wonderful spirit.

May her friends always retain her sun in their hearts.

Character

REHANA, Kurdish, nineteen

The story of Angel is entirely told by REHANA, who tells her autobiographical story directly to the audience, through the ‘fourth wall’.

Lights up on a young REHANA. She’s looking for something. Breathing heavily,panicked; she’s been running.

REHANASnarls and yelps amongst the trees.

A desperate fight for life.

The air hot and fetid in the orchard, like a predator’s breath.

‘Bizou? Bizou?’ I cry.

I am twelve. Running through the pistachios.

‘Where are you, Bizou?’

I find the dog limping, bleeding.

Circled by a huge jackal. Foaming, bloodied muzzle.

The monster twitches. Shakes its head at the sky; sowing drools of madness into the soil.

Then turns fury on me.

Snarling, baring teeth. It charges, leaps.

I flinch expecting its bite.

A zip. Thud.

…suddenly, the jackal’s head explodes in a spray of blood and tissue.

What…??

Am stupid with shock. Gaping like an idiot.

The jackal, leaking red, into the thirsty soil.

‘Angel, Angel! You okay?!’

My father.

Running up, sniper rifle in hand.

He hugs me ferociously.

‘You bitten?’

‘No.’

‘…Bizou?’

Poor Bizou, limping, showing me the whites of his eyes.

‘…Yes.’

‘Aye aye aye,’ he says, sadly. ‘There is nothing we can do for him.’

He holds the gun out, says gently. ‘Shoot him.’

‘What…?’

‘Shoot Bizou. This is a lesson you must learn.’

The lights change. Suddenly REHANA steps out of the scene, addresses the audience directly, and conversationally.

She’s strong, confident, smart – mature beyond her nineteen years: a Kurdish Amazon warrior.

If you haven’t heard of Kobane, it’s okay.

Not many people have.

It’s a bland border town where nothing used to happen.

Like Berwick-upon-Tweed1, in Syria.

And had Kobane been one kilometre further north, in Turkey, nothing would have happened.

For one year Kobane was the most important place on earth: the front line of the battle between Freedom and Tyranny.

The reason you barely know about it?

The journalists all fled, lest they were beheaded.

The sacrifice and heroism of our brave women: trees falling in an unreported forest.

So. Lest it’s forgotten, here’s our story.

I’m Rehana. The Angel. From the village of Tall Ghazal, twenty miles south of Kobane…

And suddenly the lights change. Sunny, optimistic. REHANA is a year younger, infinitely more naive and girlish. Not hard-bitten.

The next time I see the gun, I’m seventeen.