Love and Other Acts of Violence (NHB Modern Plays) E-Book

Cordelia Lynn

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

Seitenzahl: 90

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

A young Jewish physicist and an activist poet meet at a party and fall in love. As society splinters around them, the couple's struggle to survive erupts into violence. Cordelia Lynn's play Love and Other Acts of Violence is a subversive and intimate love story about inheritance and the cycles of politics and history. It premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in October 2021, directed by Elayce Ismail.

Leseprobe

Cordelia Lynn

LOVE AND OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

Contents

Epigraph

Original Production Details

Characters

Love and Other Acts of Violence

Appendix

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

The violent event persists like crushed glass in one’s eye. The light it generates, rather than helping us to see, is blinding.

— E. Valentine Daniel

The past generations are our dybbuks. They sit within us and usually remain silent. But suddenly one of them cries out.

— Isaac Bashevis Singer

Love and Other Acts of Violence was first performed at the Donmar Warehouse, London, on 7 October 2021, with the following cast:

HIM/MAN

Tom Mothersdale

HER/BABA

Abigail Weinstock

TATTE

Richard Katz

BROTHER 1

Finley Glasgow, Daniel Lawson

BROTHER 2

Alexander Fitzgerald, Charlie Tumbridge

Understudies

HIM/MAN

Josh Goulding

HER/BABA

Ailsa Joy

Director

Elayce Ismail

Designer

Basia Bińkowska

Lighting Designer

Joshua Pharo

Sound Designer

Richard Hammarton

Movement, Fight & Intimacy Director

Yarit Dor

Hebrew Consultant

Yoav Oved

Casting Director

Anna Cooper CDG

With thanks to Rabbi Eryn London and Professor Michael Berkowitz.

Love and Other Acts of Violence is the recipient of the Berwin Lee New Play Commission.

Characters

PRESENT, EUROPE

HER, mid-twenties–mid-thirties

HIM, mid-twenties–mid-thirties

1918, LWÓW/LVIV, POLAND/WEST UKRAINE

BABA, young, great-grandmother of Her

MAN, young, great-grandfather of Him

TATTE, father of Baba, fifties

BROTHER 1 of Baba, little

BROTHER 2 of Baba, little

Notes

The play takes place over roughly a decade, roughly now. The Epilogue takes place during the pogrom of Lemberg. Interludes, in bold, are heard and not tied to narrative action. Her/Baba and Him/Man must be doubled by the same actors.

Three languages are spoken in the Epilogue, two of which are represented by English. The family speak Yiddish, the Man speaks Polish. The Traveller’s Prayer should be spoken in Hebrew as scripted. Translations are provided in an appendix.

Set, etc.

My instinct is that there should be as little as possible, possibly nothing, so the play can feel like it hangs out of time. Conversely, the Epilogue should be rich in naturalistic, period detail. A working stove and bubbling pot would be delightful. It should look, sound and smell, suddenly, like Life.

This text went to press before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.

HIM

(Loud.) which is obviously bullshit because if they’re able to pay middle management whoever the fuck they are proper salaries then they should also be able to actually fuck that fuck middle management the Vice Chancellor our beloved leader takes in a salary of and I’m not exaggerating two hundred and fifty thousand a year that is actually two hundred and fifty thousand so as far as we’re concerned if the university can afford to pay the Vice Chancellor two hundred and fifty thousand they can afford to pay the cleaners proper wages but the problem at least what the university is pretending the problem is even though they are of course responsible for this so-called problem is that the cleaners are not officially employed by the university it’s outsourced ridiculously and pointlessly and I might also add inefficiently to a private company which means that the university can claim not to be responsible for the cleaners including pay and sick leave and benefits and I’m being ironic saying benefits

HER

sorry

HIM

the way these private companies of exploitative twattery work is that the cleaners are on zero-hour contracts

HER

sorry could you

HIM

then what happens is the company

HER

could you please

HIM

sorry what?

HER

could you stop leaning

HIM

I can’t hear you

HER

I said could you please stop leaning over me!

HIM

oh!

HER

it makes me nervous

HIM

I didn’t hear you

HER

it’s fine it just makes me nervous when you lean over me like that

HIM

sorry it’s loud

HER

it’s fine just.

Don’t.

HIM

So that’s why we’re protesting.

HER

That’s good

HIM

You think so?

HER

I suppose so

HIM

You suppose?

HER

I

HIM

Oh let me guess we’ve disturbed you

HER

No

HIM

I do appreciate that I appreciate we’ve disturbed other students that there’s some anger about that are you angry about that?

HER

I

HIM

Because there has been some anger because of the noise and picketing and occupying the libraries and some students say we’re disrupting their studies and although we sympathise with that our response is that disruption is necessary is essential in fact to create positive political change and we have to be the disruptors because the cleaners are disempowered because of their zero-hour contracts and mostly immigrant status so it is actually our responsibility as students to disrupt on behalf of the cleaners and we would also say that the pressure from some students for us to stop protesting is in fact an effect of the capitalist-consumerist hegemony in that fees are so extortionate it creates this sense that you’re paying for a product and so the students are actually feeling that their access to a product is – are you following me?

HER

Yes

HIM

Basically it’s capitalism.

(Louder.) Capitalism!

HER

I don’t work in the libraries so it hasn’t bothered me.

HIM

Oh.

HER

I work in a lab.

HIM

We didn’t think to picket the labs…

HER

My lab is underground so I wouldn’t hear you anyway.

HIM

That is a metaphor. For the sciences and their perceived abstract relationship to society, to culture, a perception which serves them. But science does not exist in a vacuum. It is subject to the politics of the time.

Eugenics.

(Louder.) I said Eugenics!

HER

It’s just that the labs are underground.

HIM

When my mum first came here from Warsaw she was a cleaner. As the son of immigrants and the child of a cleaner I identify with the cleaners.

Good party.

HER

Sorry?

HIM

I said good party

HER

Oh

HIM

Busy

HER

Yes

HIM

I just came along

HER

I don’t know who most of these people are

HIM

My flatmate was going said do you want to come to a party I thought fuck it haven’t been to a party for ages it changes when you’re a postgrad more work fewer parties go to a party enjoy yourself.

I wonder who lives here

HER

Sorry?

HIM

In this fancy flat I wonder who lives

HER

Actually

HIM

Some rich cunt

HER

Oh

HIM

It’s obviously not a student flat so unless they’re using their parents’ flat for a party which at our age is unlikely I guess the parents bought them the flat ergo rich cunt. And it’s just one rich cunt living in a flat like this because there’s only one bedroom.

HER

How do you know?

HIM

I snooped. I’m a writer it’s important for me to observe things. I went to observe. Actually I’m just nosy. All writers are nosy. I found the bedroom and went in. It was weird.

I write poetry.

HER

Why was the bedroom weird?

HIM

Hard to tell if it’s a man or a woman, you usually can just because of the things people have but you couldn’t tell at all. Like there was no personality of the person it was just a place for them to sleep in.

It was lonely.

HER

I’m not lonely.

HIM

What’s that?

HER

I said I’m not lonely.

HIM

Ohh…

HER

Yes

HIM

Oh shit

HER

Yes exactly

HIM

This is embarrassing

HER

Not for me

HIM

It’s worse than you realise because the truth is I think you’re really fit and I’m trying to hit on you and I think I’ve probably fucked it

HER

Yes probably

HIM

Actually I don’t think I’ve been doing too well even before now because I’ve been talking too much I do know that I know I’ve been talking too much when I’m nervous I talk a lot and I’ve leant over you and made you nervous too which I’m sorry about because I do think men should be more aware of the space they take up but I also broke into your bedroom and called you a cunt and in fact maybe just give it to me straight on a scale of one to ten ten is great how badly am I doing?

HER

Two.

HIM

That bad!

HER

Two.

HIM

A lesser man would probably give up at this stage beat a graceful retreat but I’m a very positive person I don’t believe there’s any situation that can’t be salvaged particularly in the pursuit of love so I’m going to start with the promising stuff and take it from there if that’s alright with you?

HER

Okay.

HIM

What are the two points for and I can expand on that.

HER

Your eyes.

HIM

My eyes?

HER

I like your eyes.

So I gave you a point, one for each eye.

***

HER

Muscle deep and bone deep, marrow deep the fever when it comes cold sweat and hot sweat and sheets still semen-stained and me too sick to change them for – oh – I have begun to shiver and I have begun to ache.

Then comes Knowing, such as comes rarely: This man has made me ill.

***

HER

…

HIM

…

HER

…

HIM

…

HER

…

HIM

Hi.

HER

…

HIM

It’s been a while.

HER

…

HIM

How are you?

HER

Fine thank you.

HIM

It’s my birthday.

HER

Happy birthday.

HIM

Thanks.

Actually it was my birthday yesterday but I haven’t been to bed so it feels like it’s still my birthday which raises the question if you never go to sleep does your birthday never

HER

It’s five in the morning.

HIM

Yes. Yes I guess it must be something like that.

HER

…

HIM

This must be a bit weird. Come to think of it this must be a bit weird for you scary even don’t be scared I don’t want you to be scared you’re not scared are you?

HER

No

HIM

That’s good because it has just occurred to me if I were a woman and a man I’d once slept with turned up at my flat at five in the morning then I might be a bit scared I might even feel threatened

HER

I don’t feel threatened

HIM

I want you to know I’m a very unthreatening person.

HER

Okay.

HIM

I’m really high.

HER

…

HIM

I shouldn’t have said that that probably makes it worse does that make it worse?

HER

Yes

HIM

I thought it might not at the time or I wouldn’t have said it but in retrospect I think it might have made it worse I’m not doing very well are you scared now?

HER

A little

HIM

Don’t be scared like I said I’m a very unthreatening person and I left you a note.