Dixon and Daughters E-Book

Deborah Bruce

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

Seitenzahl: 95

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Mary has just been released from prison. She wants to come home and forget all about it – but Briana has other ideas. Over two tumultuous days, a family is forced to confront not only their past, but everything about themselves. Because the truth doesn't go away, even if you refuse to hear it. A powerful story of family and forgiveness, Deborah Bruce's play Dixon and Daughters was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in April 2023, directed by Róisín McBrinn and co-produced with Clean Break.

Leseprobe

Deborah Bruce

DIXON AND DAUGHTERS

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Original Production Details

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Characters

Dixon and Daughters

About the Author

About Clean Break

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Dixon and Daughters was first performed in the Dorfman auditorium of the National Theatre, London, on 25 April 2023 (previews from 15 April). The cast was as follows:

MARY

Bríd Brennan

BRIANA

Alison Fitzjohn

ELLA

Yazmin Kayani

JULIE

Andrea Lowe

LEIGH

Posy Sterling

BERNIE

Liz White

Director

Róisín McBrinn

Set and Costume Designer

Kat Heath

Lighting Designer

Paule Constable

Sound Designer

Sinéad Diskin

Movement Director

Sarita Piotrowski

Fight Director

Bethan Clark

Casting

Bryony Jarvis-Taylor

Dialect Coach

Michaela Kennen

Company Voice Work

Shereen Ibrahim

Wellbeing Practitioner

Samantha Llewellyn

Associate Lighting Designer

Mildred Moyo

Staff Director

Monaé Robinson

Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank

Clare Barstow

Nina Steiger and Rufus Norris

Everyone at Clean Break especially Anna Hermann, Maya Ellis and Lorraine Maher

Giles Smart

Róisín McBrinn

Big thanks to Posy Sterling

Love and thanks to Jeremy, Barney and Nell Herrin

D. B.

To the Members of the Clean Break Writers Circle.

With my thanks to each and every one of you for your wholehearted generosity and inspiration. You have changed the way I write.

Characters

MARY, sixty-four, widow of Ray Dixon

BERNIE, forty-one, daughter of Mary and Ray Dixon

JULIE, forty-three, daughter of Mary and Ray Dixon

ELLA, twenty-one, daughter of Bernie

BRIANA, forty-six, daughter of Ray Dixon

LEIGH, mid-twenties

Note on Text

A forward slash (/) within a line indicates an interruption. A forward slash at the end of a line means the next person comes in straight away. A forward slash at the beginning of a line means that the next line is spoken at the same time as that line.

Note on Play

The play is set in a whole house comprising of a front room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, a staircase and a hallway with a front door.

This can be presented in a naturalistic or unnaturalistic way.

Action often takes place in more than one room at a time. The dialogue in the play are the only words the characters speak, as in, there is no mimed conversation while a scene is taking place in another room.

The play should run straight through with no interval.

This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.

1.

Lights up on a modest house in Bradford – maybe like a doll’s house with the back taken off.

The house is still and empty, and tidy.

The front door opens, MARY enters with BERNIE.

BERNIE. In you come.

MARY has a quick glance around before going straight into the downstairs toilet.

BERNIE goes into the sitting room.

You hiding, because I wouldn’t bother.

Pause.

Ju.

JULIE steps out from behind the curtain.

JULIE. Where is she?

BERNIE. Toilet.

JULIE. Stop talking to us then.

BERNIE. I just said. Don’t bother! She’s in a right mood.

The strap on that bag broke, you’ll have to take it back, hope you’ve got the receipt.

JULIE. You know I haven’t, it’s off the market.

BERNIE. Well the strap broke.

ELLA stands up from behind the sofa.

ELLA. Mum. Stop talking to us.

BERNIE. I’m telling you, she’s not in the mood.

JULIE. What are we doing then?

ELLA. Go out!

BERNIE exits and closes the door.

JULIE and ELLA laugh.

JULIE. So. We hiding or what?

ELLA. Might as well.

They hide again.

BERNIE takes off her coat in the hall and adjusts her hair in the mirror.

The sound of a toilet flushing.

BERNIE opens the sitting-room door again.

JULIE jumps up.

JULIE. Surprise!

BERNIE. She’s just flushed.

ELLA stands.

BERNIE goes out and closes the door again.

JULIE. For fuck’s sake.

They hide again.

MARY comes out of the toilet, she undoes her coat but doesn’t take it off.

MARY. It smells funny in there.

BERNIE. Does it?

MARY goes into the sitting room.

JULIE and ELLA jump out.

JULIE/ELLA. Surprise!

BERNIE enters behind her, rolling her eyes, her face a mixture of ‘don’t bother’ and ‘I told you’.

MARY. What surprise, your coat’s over the banister.

BERNIE. Are you going to have a sit-down before you unpack your bag?

Look, Ella’s here to see you!

ELLA. Surprise!

BERNIE. That’s nice, isn’t it?

ELLA. Welcome home, Nana!

MARY. Yeah, well.

ELLA kisses her, MARY lets her.

BERNIE. You’re not in the mood, are you, Mum? / Didn’t I say she’s in a mood.

MARY. I told you, I’m car sick.

JULIE. I took the afternoon off work you know! / I can’t take pay for that

MARY. I’m not deaf, I can hear you.

JULIE. I know, I’m telling you, aren’t I?

MARY. What you shouting for?

JULIE. Who’s shouting? You’d know if I were shouting.

No one speaks for a moment. MARY looks around the room.

MARY. What’s gone on in here?

BERNIE. Nothing.

We’ve got you your favourites in, for your tea and your snacks. Julie tidied round for you.

MARY doesn’t say anything.

Gave it a hoover.

ELLA. Shall I make you a cup of tea, Nana?

BERNIE. She wants something to eat I expect. Shall Ella put a slice of toast in for you?

MARY. In a minute.

BERNIE. That’s it, no rush is there.

Just taking it all in, aren’t you? Adapting to being home.

JULIE rolls her eyes and leaves the room.

She goes into the kitchen.

MARY. She been staying here?

BERNIE. No.

MARY. She has.

BERNIE. Only for the odd night.

MARY. What’s wrong with her house?

BERNIE. I don’t know. She’ll have to tell you that herself, won’t she?

ELLA. Why don’t you sit down, Nana?

BERNIE. Yeah.

MARY leaves the room.

MARY goes upstairs into her bedroom, looks round the room and inside the wardrobe.

BERNIE and ELLA look at each other.

She doesn’t miss a trick, does she? God’s sake. She’s like bloody Poirot.

ELLA. What was it like? Did you have to wait ages?

BERNIE. Only half an hour or so.

ELLA. She looks old, doesn’t she?

JULIE comes in the room.

JULIE. She’s gone upstairs.

BERNIE. You better of put it all back the same.

Where you going to stay tonight?

JULIE. Here.

BERNIE makes a face ‘really?’

Just till I get sorted.

BERNIE. You won’t last five minutes.

JULIE. Jacko said I could stay at the pub if I’m desperate.

BERNIE. Jesus Christ, you’d have to be.

You can’t stay at ours I’ve got no carpet upstairs till end of the month and Sanj is using the back room for bubble wrap.

ELLA. She’s coming down.

No one says anything.

MARY comes back in.

JULIE. Alright, Mum?

MARY. No I’m not ‘Alright, Mum’ what’s been going on in my house?

JULIE. Nothing, what do you mean?

MARY. Well, you’ve been living here for a start, he kick you out, did he?

JULIE. No.

ELLA leaves the room.

ELLA goes into the kitchen and makes a cup of tea.

MARY. Who’s been messing about in my bedroom?

JULIE. No one.

MARY. Well, someone has, everything’s been moved around and put back wrong.

JULIE. No it hasn’t, like what?

MARY. All my pictures! All my bits and pieces. All my dresses and skirts have got mixed up in the cupboard, what’s been going on?

BERNIE. You must of remembered it wrong.

MARY. Don’t be making out it’s me, I’m not going mad /

BERNIE. I never said you were / going mad

MARY. My cushions on the bed are upside down /

JULIE. I changed your bedding, I made it all nice for you!

MARY. Well, it’s not nice is it? /

JULIE. Wish / I hadn’t bothered!

MARY. Being lied to by your own daughters and taken advantage of.

JULIE. You what?

MARY. It’s a miracle I haven’t dropped dead of heart attack the stress I’m under, I’ve been in there over three months you know /

BERNIE. Come on / sit down

MARY. Moved around, treated like a criminal.

BERNIE and JULIE exchange glances.

You wouldn’t last one night, you. You’d be screaming and shouting all sorts.

I get out and now what? I’m being treated like an idiot in my own home /

JULIE. I’ve took the afternoon off work for this.

BERNIE. Come on, / sit down.

MARY. I’ve been dreaming of my own bed, I’ve had no privacy.

BERNIE steers MARY to sit down.

What you been sleeping in my bed for?

BERNIE (to JULIE). Just tell her.

(To MARY.) You should work for MI5, you.

JULIE. I left him.

MARY. What for?

JULIE. Sick of it, weren’t I.

MARY. Sick of what? Oh don’t bother telling me I don’t want to know.

JULIE. Making me feel like shit all the time.

MARY makes a ‘so what?’ face.

MARY. Don’t be thinking you can move in here.

JULIE. It’s only till I get myself sorted.

MARY. Well, you can get yourself sorted somewhere else because you’re not doing it here.

JULIE. Right.

Thanks for your support.

MARY. You’ve had nothing but support, all your life. No one forced you to drink you know, no one lifted the bottle to your lips.

JULIE. Oh my god! Two minutes she’s been home!

MARY. No one’s supported you? / Who paid your car insurance when you nearly lost your job because of it?

JULIE. I never said no one’s supported me, I said thanks for your support.

MARY. Moving all my precious things around.

You drinking again?

JULIE. No.

MARY. That why he kicked you out, was it?

ELLA comes in with a mug of tea for MARY.

BERNIE. Ella’s come all the way across from Leeds, so are you going to behave or what?

MARY takes the tea.

MARY. Thank you, love.

ELLA. Is it nice to be home, Nana?

MARY. Oh yeh.

BERNIE. She’s in her third year now, aren’t you?

ELLA. Yeah. Gone fast.

BERNIE. You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?

ELLA. Yeah it’s good.

MARY. Not working too hard I hope.

ELLA. No.

MARY. That’s good.

BERNIE. Hey, she can come to the graduation, can’t she? You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Mum? Day out in Leeds.

MARY. When’s that then?

BERNIE. Summer, is it?

ELLA. I don’t know how many tickets you’re allowed, but yeah.

BERNIE. We only need three don’t be daft, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Mum?

MARY. If I’m still here.

BERNIE. Where else you going to be?

MARY. Might be dead.

BERNIE. Don’t be stupid.

What you saying that for?

It’s something to look forward to, eh?

MARY. I was looking forward to getting in my bed tonight.

JULIE. Who’s stopping you?

MARY. You. Sleeping in my room.

JULIE. For Christ’s sake, you’d think I’d pissed in it.

MARY. Wouldn’t put it past you.

BERNIE. I thought it were a bath you were looking forward to anyway.

No one will get in the bath with you, how about that?

No one says anything for a while.

MARY drinks her tea.

That’s right, drink your tea.

BERNIE and JULIE exchange glances.

Is it nice?

MARY. Yeh.

BERNIE. Good.

Pause.

MARY (to JULIE, sarcastic). Thanks for coming to visit me.

JULIE. I was working, you know I was. I came when you were at Wakefield.

MARY. That were nearly six weeks ago, you’ve only got one mother, you know.

JULIE and BERNIE look at each other, eye roll, small laugh.

What you laughing for?

JULIE. I’m not.

MARY. What time’s the shop shut?

BERNIE. The garage? It’s twenty-four-hour you know it is.

MARY. I don’t know anything, do I, it’s all changed!

BERNIE. What has?