HEART (NHB Modern Plays) E-Book

Jade Anouka

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 49

Beschreibung

A woman, shaken by a broken relationship, finds herself discovering love in the last place – and with the last person – she ever expected. Based on Jade Anouka's own experience, and told through poetry, HEART is a raw and honest exploration of love, loss and self-discovery, celebrating the resilience of the human spirit and the beauty of human connection. It was first performed by Anouka herself, as an Audible Original audio play, before being presented on stage at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and Brixton House in London. This edition of the play also includes a selection of the author's poems. 'Feel the rhythms…Of your own heartbeatAs I tell you a storyMy story' 'A clear-sighted show delivered in the flush of love' - Guardian 'Extra special… There's something for everyone in this hour-long play, and it's well worth taking the time out to make this connection' - Broadway World 'A refreshingly bouncy show that brims with swagger… a dynamic debut' - The Stage 'Poignant… braided with sincerity and heartache… electrifyingly raw' - Time Out 'Powerful, beautiful and full of hope' - Theatre Mania

Leseprobe

Jade Anouka

HEART

A Poetic Play

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Original Production Details

Notes

HEART

HEARTBEATS: Poems

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

HEART was first produced by Audible Theater in association with Kate Pakenham Productions at The Minetta Lane Theatre, NY in July 2022. It was developed with the support of the Kiln Theatre.

In 2023, HEART was performed at Paines Plough’s Roundabout at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival. HEART was first performed in London at Brixton House Theatre on 23 January 2024. The creative team was as follows:

Writer / Performer

Jade Anouka

Composer / Musician

Grace Savage

Stage Manager

Ruby Sevink-Johnston

Lighting Designer

Richard Owen

Notes

Punctuation is rarely used.

Line endings

and

line spaces

determine rhythm

A dash ( – ) on its own line is used to mark a shift in time and/or an interruption of a new thought

A strikethrough text indicates a word is unsaid.

An ellipsis (…) on its own line marks a decision not to speak This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so maydiffer slightly from the play as performed.

Prologue

This story was written by a black woman

But this story has no mention of blackness This story is being performed by a black woman The fact that she is black

And a woman

Is political enough

And she already takes up much of her life talking about it About being black

And how it feels to be a woman

So this is a just a story

Told by a black woman

This is not a black story

Or a woman story

This is perhaps a story

For all the misfits, all those who have ever felt ‘other’

So I invite you to feel

Feel the rhythms

Of your own heartbeat

As I tell you a story

My story

Thanks

Thanks for opening your hearts

And ears

And letting me in

I’m an actor

And a poet

But most importantly I’m a storyteller

And this story begins two weeks after my twenty-fourth birthday…

One

It’s a sunny day but some wished for rain

For rain on a wedding day is lucky

Isn’t it?

We are so smug

I’ve heard that the average cost of a UK wedding is 30.3K!

So we know we’ve nailed it

Made it all happen for a sweet round twelve

White dress

And a James Bond suit

Fancy car

And a reception with a view

First one of my friends to marry

Leading the charge

My parents’ pride

This looks great

We look fantastic

My cheeks are hurting from the relentless smiling.

But I am not relaxed

Neither is he

–

He’s proposed and I’m happy

I’m shocked

But also it feels like duh! Of course

But I don’t cry

I don’t scream

And the ring doesn’t fit

Doesn’t even fit my little finger

Properly

He hasn’t done his research see

He seems not to care too

But he has asked my father

I love that!

Well we are fitting all the bills

All the boxes have been ticked

–

We meet in a bar

Through a mutual friend

Move in after a year

And then a year after that

Engaged

In a couple years we’ll have children

Like all his mates before him

We are handsome

People like us

‘oh you’ll have such cute kids’

And I believe them

‘Yeah we will!’

Saw our picture-perfect future

Full of football, fun and

Fuck it, why not

Four kids!

–

Sure we don’t have much money

And one of us is always touring out of town

But we are handsome!

And people like us!

At barbecues we look the part

The ‘fancy’ couple in his village

My brilliant boyfriend who’s always there

Don’t cross him though, he’s got a temper

The kind of guy you want on your team

Outer shell as tough as iron

But I just don’t care, ’cos, well, I love him

–

I have never felt love before

He’s my first serious boyfriend

I feel well proper and grown up

And he loves me back!

Even in the morning

With my breath all stinking

He looks into my eyes and kisses me

Tells me I am beautiful

Wants to make me feel good

And takes me back to meet his mum

His dad

His sister

His football team

And the whole bloody village

Comes out to meet his bae

No one has ever cared so much before

I fall for that attention

That consideration

His belief in me

Also if I squint in the sunlight

Now he’s let his hair grow out a tad

And I flick the front floppy bit behind

And smooth the edges on the side

Make him frown a little and bite his jaw

Then tell him to just slightly part his lips

Well then he looks like the love child

Of Ben Affleck’s AJ Frost and Tom’s OG Maverick i.e. well fit!

Some people do try to break us though

Try to poison us with doubt

Say his loyalty could be harmful

Whenever his terrier tenacity comes out

And I know he’s got a dark side

But sure haven’t we all

And why does that matter

We’re in love

And he’s wed-ing me

Plus it’s probably just other people

Projecting their own jealousy

Anyway we fight through all that with marriage

I don’t really have a doubt

But we are still in our bubble of honeymoon-phase-love When an old truth for him comes out.

He’s visited by The Beast

And it’s a wedge between us

That we can’t see through

A black dog

That follows him daily

‘I can see it

But it’s not looking at me

It’s with you

Watching you

Wanting you

It is a Beast though

So be careful…

I want to make you see

He won’t be around forever

That I see a future

With him not in it!

You just need to arm yourself with all the stuff

All the stuff that makes it possible