Iron E-Book

Rona Munro

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

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

An intense psychological drama set in a women's prison, in which a mother and daughter try to break through the barriers of time, memory and punishment which separate them. Josie is seeing her mother Fay for the first time in a while – she's never walked into a prison before, and she's been putting it off for fifteen years. Fay is serving life for murdering her husband with a kitchen knife. Her daughter needs to find out why she can't remember anything that came before that terrible night, why her own mother would kill her father. Uncovering the memories they share is going to be more perilous than either of them can imagine... Rona Munro's play Iron was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in July 2002, transfering to the Royal Court Theatre, London, in January 2003. It went on to win the 2003 John Whiting Award.

Leseprobe

Rona Munro

IRON

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Original Production

Characters

Iron

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Iron was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 26 July 2002, with the following cast:

JOSIE

Louise Ludgate

FAY

Sandy McDade

GUARD 1

Ged McKenna

GUARD 2

Helen Lomax

Director

Roxana Silbert

Designer

Anthony MacIlwaine

Lighting Designer

Chahine Yavroyan

Sound Designer

Matt Mackenzie

Characters

JOSIE, twenty-five

FAY, forty-five

GUARD 1, male, fifty-three

GUARD 2, female, twenty-four

ACT ONE

The sounds of a women’s prison just before lockdown. A babble of voices like a school playground, echoing, the thwack of heavy doors slammed, someone shouting, on the verge of madness, talking and laughing pitched over this voice, drowning it out.

GUARD 1 (roars from offstage). Lock down! Lock down!

The echoing sound of door after door banging shut. Silence, darkness, lights up on . . .

Waiting room. A small area outside the visitors’ room. This is where visitors wait for their names to be called. JOSIE is sitting here, alone. She seems unperturbed, pleasantly interested in her surroundings. Her clothes are fashionable but very low key. She wears black. She looks very plain and very expensive. She’s just waiting, perfectly composed.

After a moment GUARD 2 enters, she looks at JOSIE for a moment without saying anything. JOSIE looks back, she smiles pleasantly.

GUARD 2. You’re here to see Prisoner Black?

JOSIE. That’s right.

GUARD 2 (shaking head). Never thought I’d see the day . . .

JOSIE. Is there a problem? You didn’t call my name.

GUARD 2. So who are you?

JOSIE. Josie . . . Josie Kerr? I’m . . . She was my mother.

Pause. GUARD 2 is completely flabbergasted.

GUARD 2. You’re her daughter?

JOSIE. Yes.

GUARD 2. Unbelievable.

I’m sorry darling, you don’t know what’s going on here do you? I’ve known your Mum the best part of four years you see, see her every day I’m working. I know Fay really well.

JOSIE. Right.

GUARD 2. Same with all the lifers, you know them inside out after a while. Never had a daughter in the picture at all.

JOSIE. Well . . . I’ve not visited before.

GUARD 2. No-one has. I couldn’t believe she had a visitor, let alone a daughter.

JOSIE. No. We haven’t been in touch.

GUARD 2. Well don’t think I blame you darling. We know. It’s hard on families.

Pause.

JOSIE. So can I see her?

GUARD 2. Now you see, I’m not explaining myself am I? You’ve not done this before.

JOSIE. No. I wasn’t sure . . . I rang and checked she was here you know and found out the visiting times . . .

GUARD 2. You can’t just turn up. She has to ask to see you.

JOSIE. Oh.

GUARD 2. You didn’t know. It’s not your fault. What you have to do is write to her you see and say you want to visit, then if she’s O.K. with that she asks for a visitor’s form and fills it in and then, if that’s approved we send you a visitor’s pass with the times you can come. That’s how it works. It’s only fair. If they don’t want to see someone they can’t get away from them can they? Have to let them have a bit of control there.

JOSIE. Of course. Yes. I see.

GUARD 2. Were you hoping to surprise her?

JOSIE. I suppose I was.

GUARD 2. Just drop in.

JOSIE. I hadn’t . . . I suppose I hadn’t really thought it through. I was pretty surprised I wanted to see her to be honest. Thought I better just go for it.

GUARD 2. No you can’t do that. Sorry.

JOSIE. Alright then.

JOSIE is about to leave.

GUARD 2. Have you come a long way?

JOSIE. I felt I had to see her.

GUARD 2. ’Cause I tell you what we could do, you could write a note and I could see she gets it.

JOSIE hesitates.

JOSIE. What would I say?

GUARD 2. Tell her you want to visit.

JOSIE. I don’t know. I thought I’d do it today.

GUARD 2. Better this way, believe me. A surprise is a great idea but you never know how it’ll work out. We don’t like the unexpected in here, any of us.

JOSIE still hesitates.

You worried she might not want to see you?

JOSIE. I didn’t think of that.

GUARD 2. You’ve got nothing to lose though really have you?

JOSIE. I don’t know. I suppose not.

GUARD 2. Just write her a note and let her know your address and everything so she can get back to you.

JOSIE. Right. You see I’m staying in a hotel here.

GUARD 2. Well it takes a while for all the paperwork to come through. Just put your home address.

JOSIE. Right. You see I’m sort of homeless right now.

GUARD 2. Well you’re not sleeping in a ditch are you?

JOSIE. I don’t know where I’m sleeping to be honest.

GUARD 2. Oh . . . well as long as you’ve got a contact address. A friend, another relative?

JOSIE. No.

Do you know this probably just shows that this wasn’t such a great idea.

She hesitates.

GUARD 2. Are you alright darling?

JOSIE. Yes, I’m fine.

I’ve been abroad you see.

GUARD 2. Oh, O.K. I understand. (She doesn’t really.) Do you want to leave things till you’re more settled?

JOSIE. Well . . . I think it’s now or never to tell you the truth.

Pause.

GUARD 2. Can she write to your work?

JOSIE. I’ve all that to sort out.

GUARD 2. There must be someone.

JOSIE. No. I haven’t got anyone.

GUARD 2. Everyone’s got someone.

JOSIE. No.

Pause.

JOSIE. Tell you what . . . I’ve got a job interview tomorrow, she could send it there?

GUARD 2. I don’t know that it’ll get to you in time for that.

JOSIE. No but I think I’ll get the job. I’m pretty sure.

GUARD 2. But suppose you don’t?

JOSIE. I will. And if I don’t it’s not meant is it?

GUARD 2. That’s one way of looking at it.

JOSIE. Let’s do that then. Have you got a bit of paper?

GUARD 2 sorts her out. JOSIE takes a pen out of her bag and starts to write quickly. GUARD 2 watches her.

GUARD 2. You look like her.

JOSIE (startled). Do I?

GUARD 2. A bit.

I’ll tell you something, the nicest people in here are the long termers. Your Mum included, she’d probably be surprised to hear me say that because I can’t say we don’t have our moments but they’re all very well behaved. Nice women . . . calm as cows in a field. I can’t work it out really.

JOSIE finishes writing. She hesitates then hands the note to GUARD 2.

Now don’t worry. I’ll make sure she gets it.

JOSIE. Thank you.

GUARD 2. You’ll be glad you did that.

FAY’s room. A very small room. A prison cell. FAY is on her hands and knees, cleaning. She dusts under the bed. She rubs at the floor with a cloth. She straightens up, looking round. She checks out her meagre possessions, straightens something, everything is lined up with obsessive neatness. She sits staring into space. GUARD 1 stands in the doorway, offering the note.

FAY. What’s that?

GUARD 1. It’s from your daughter.

Pause.

FAY. Who?

GUARD 1. Your daughter Josie.

Pause.

FAY. No it’s not.

GUARD 1. She’s signed it, look. Come on, take it Fay.

Slowly FAY takes the note, she peers at it suspiciously.

FAY. What does she want?

GUARD 1. I don’t know. I don’t read your letters.

FAY. Course you do.

GUARD 1. I think she wants to visit.

FAY. So how would you know that then?

GUARD 1. She came to visit. No visitor’s order. We couldn’t let her in.

FAY. What? Why not?

GUARD 1. No visitor’s order!

FAY. You can’t keep her away from me! She’s my daughter!

GUARD 1. I’m glad that you want to see her. Of course you want to see her. Just fill in the form.

FAY. Oh I don’t know about that . . .

She looks at the note for a moment.

GUARD 1. What does she say?

FAY. I don’t know. It’s not her handwriting.

GUARD 1. When did she last write to you?

FAY. She’s never written to me.

GUARD 1. Maybe her handwriting’s changed.

FAY. What do you care!? Nosy bugger.

GUARD 1. I think it’d be good for you to see her. It’s only natural.

FAY. I don’t know.

She considers the letter a moment.

What does she look like?

GUARD 1. I didn’t see her.

FAY. Lovely handwriting.

She strokes the paper as if she can feel the words.

What does she want?

GUARD 1. Read it.

FAY puts it aside.

FAY. I’ll read it later.

GUARD 1. I’ll leave the visitor’s request form here shall I?

FAY. What for?

GUARD 1. For you to fill out.

FAY. I don’t know how to do that.

GUARD 1. I can help you.

FAY. I don’t know.

GUARD 1. Have a think about it.

FAY. Alright.

GUARD 1. You’ll be sorry if you don’t see her.

FAY. Will I?

Visiting room. It’s day. JOSIE stands at the edge of the visiting room, looking for FAY. A great buzz of conversation around them.

JOSIE sees FAY. She crosses over to her and sits down.

The GUARDS stroll through this, there’s a concentrated area where FAY and JOSIE are, outside that, the sense of a great crowd of people talking round them.

The GUARDS are not there the whole time, they walk through the scene occasionally, patrolling the waiting room.

FAY looks at JOSIE.

A blank moment.