Sunset at the Villa Thalia E-Book

Alexi Kaye Campbell

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

Seitenzahl: 120

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

A funny and passionate play from the author of The Pride and The Faith Machine. April 1967. Greece is in political turmoil. Charlotte and Theo have retreated to a small island in search of peace and inspiration. But when they meet a charismatic American couple at the port they are seduced into making choices with devastating consequences. Alexi Kaye Campbell's play Sunset at the Villa Thalia spans a decade as it explores the impact of foreign influence, planned and unintentional, on a nation and its people. It premiered at the National Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by Simon Godwin.

Leseprobe

Alexi Kaye Campbell

SUNSET AT THE VILLA THALIA

NICK HERN BOOKSLondonwww.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Original Production

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Characters

Sunset at the Villa Thalia

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Sunset at the Villa Thalia was first performed in the Dorfman auditorium of the National Theatre, London, on 1 June 2016 (previews from 25 May). The cast was as follows:

THEO

Sam Crane

CHARLOTTE

Pippa Nixon

HARVEY

Ben Miles

JUNE

Elizabeth McGovern

MARIA

Glykeria Dimou

STAMATIS

Christos Callow

ADRIAN

Thomas Berry/Billy Marlow/

Ethan Rouse

ROSALIND

Sophia Ally/Dixie Egerickx/

Scarlett Nunes

AGAPE

Eve Polycarpou

Director

Simon Godwin

Designer

Hildegard Bechtler

Lighting Designer

Natasha Chivers

Music

Michael Bruce

Movement Director

Jonathan Goddard

Sound Designer

Tom Gibbons

Company Voice Work

Jeannette Nelson

Dialect Coach

Charmian Hoare

Staff Director

Caroline Williams

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Maria Stathakopoulou, Susan Powell, Marianna Fanshawe, Sandra Robinson, Vasilis Karathanos, Stathis Garifallos, Anastasia Ravi, Sebastian Born, Ben Power, Simon Godwin and everyone at the National Theatre Studio.

A. K.C.

To Laurie Stelios Markos

με αγαπη

Characters

THEO, English, in his thirties, then forties CHARLOTTE, English, in her thirties, then forties HARVEY, American, in his forties, then fifties JUNE, American, in her forties, then fifties MARIA, Greek, seventeen STAMATIS, Greek, in his fifties ADRIAN, English, eight years old ROSALIND, English, seven years old AGAPE, Greek, in her sixties or seventies

Note on Play

The play takes place in two different time periods:

April, 1967 August, 1976

The play takes place entirely on the terrace of a small house on the island of Skiathos, Greece.

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

ACT ONE

The terrace of a simple peasant cottage in Greece, on the island of Skiathos. The few pieces of furniture which are scattered around the space are genuinely rustic, the furniture that a local Greek family would have used.

Somewhere on stage there is a small table with a chair in front of it. On the table there is an old Corona typewriter and a typed manuscript by its side, with a large stone placed on it to prevent the loose pages from blowing away.

It is early evening in April, 1967.

THEOstands on the terrace, dressed casually in slacks and an open-neck shirt, sandals. He stares out at the sea, and the sunset.

THEOis a dreamer.

CHARLOTTE(offstage).Theo!

CHARLOTTEemerges from the house. She is dressed in a simple but bohemian style of the period. She is carrying two small wooden chairs and seems slightly flustered.

There’s only whisky and something Greek that smells lethal.

THEO. He seemed like the whisky type. And she’ll drink lighter fluid. She got through that bottle of retsina on the port as if it were water.

CHARLOTTE. There’s Greek folk music on the radio, it’s quite pleasant in a plaintive sort of way. Why are you just standing there?

THEO. Oh, you know, trying to think where it should go next, that kind of thing.

CHARLOTTE. They can sit on these. I found them in the basement.

THEOnotices she’s carrying the chairs and goes to her, takes them from her.

THEO. I could have fetched them.

CHARLOTTE. It’s fine, they’re light.

She walks over to a small table that has a bunch of wild flowers resting on it, and a vase of water. She starts to work on the flowers, cutting off the rougher bits, and the leaves, before inserting them one by one into the vase.

THEOplaces the chairs down.

THEO. Why did you invite them?

CHARLOTTE. I thought it would be fun.

THEO. Liar.

CHARLOTTE. They’re interesting.

THEO. He inveigled himself. You were an easy target. (Puts on an exaggerated American accent.)‘I knew you were an actress, Charlotte. You have that thing. Like a kind of restlessness. Are you restless, Charlotte? Are you a searcher?’

CHARLOTTE. He’s strange.

THEO.‘What are you searching for, Charlotte?’

CHARLOTTE. My flip-flops, usually.

He walks up to her, drags her playfully away from the flowers, they embrace.

They won’t stay long.

THEO. The duration of their stay is entirely up to us. We have to be rude, make them feel unwanted and unloved.

CHARLOTTE. You’ve had a good day.

THEO. Another good day, yes.

CHARLOTTE. Tell me.

THEO. Seven pages. Strong ones, though. I haven’t torn them up.

CHARLOTTE. It’s flowing.

THEO. Maybe not quite flowing. But trickling with a little more ease than it does in Camberwell.

CHARLOTTE. It’s this place. This magical place.

They kiss.

HARVEYandJUNEwalk on to the terrace butCHARLOTTEandTHEOdo not see them; they are still kissing.HARVEYandJUNEare both dressed quite smartly but there is nothing stuffy about them –HARVEYhas a loose, somewhat preppy style, andJUNEis elegant in an American way. They are a good-looking couple.

HARVEY. Okay, that’s not good, we need to start again.

CHARLOTTE. Hello!

HARVEY.We need to cough, or something. Coughing is always effective, a little clearing of the throat. It’s the oldest trick in the book because it works! June, come with me.

He takesJUNEby the hand and leads her off the terrace again, out of sight.

JUNE. Oh, Harvey, please! Why can’t we just make a normal appearance for once?

Out of sight he starts coughing very loudly, in an exaggerated fashion, almost as if he is choking. Then they reappear andJUNEis laughing.

Now you sound like you’re contagious!

THEO. Or consumptive, or something.

HARVEY. You’re in love!

JUNE. My God, this view!

HARVEY. I can tell, they’re in love! They were kissing, June.

JUNE. I know, I saw them, they were.

THEO. Hello, Harvey.

HARVEY. I know what you’re thinking. The Americans. Were you not having that conversation just before we emerged from the bushes?

THEOandCHARLOTTEare flummoxed; they think they may have been overheard.

THEO.No, we weren’t, I wasn’t…

HARVEY. Were you not saying – (Puts on an exaggerated English accent.)‘What were you thinking, darling, when you invited those blasted Americans? That man is an aberration.’

THEO. No, I promise, nothing like that.

HARVEY. I believe you, Theo.

CHARLOTTE. We’re very happy you’re here.

HARVEY. We’ll grow on you. You’ll see, we do that, don’t we, June.

JUNE. He does. He grows on you.

There is a small pause.

HARVEY. Where is it?

THEO. Where’s what?

HARVEY. Where do you write, Theo? I want to see where you write your plays.

THEO. Well, it varies. I don’t really…

HARVEYwalks up to the table with the Corona on it.

HARVEY. Is this it? This is it, isn’t it? Oh my God, here it is.

THEO. There it is.

HARVEYtouches the typewriter.

HARVEY. The evidence. June, this is it. This is where the man writes.

JUNE. It’s a beautiful spot, Theo.

CHARLOTTE. It’s his private little table.

HARVEY. With a view to the west. He sits here, on the very edge of the European Continent, a messenger and a guard, both at once. Staring out over the wine-dark sea and writing from the very depth of his soul. Sophocles, Euripides and Theodore…?

THEO. Manning.

HARVEY. This is the only place for you to write, Theodore Manning.

CHARLOTTE. He has been having a creative time, haven’t you?

THEO. It’s been fine.

AndHARVEYnow sees the manuscript.

HARVEY. Oh my dear Lord. And this… can I? May I? Can I?

THEO. I’d rather you didn’t. I’m a little…

HARVEY. Superstitious. Of course you are, and you have every right to be. You are communing with the gods, my friend, make sure those sullied, mortal hands stay firmly tucked away.

He puts his hands in his pockets, like an admonished boy.

JUNE. He envies you.

HARVEY. I don’t envy him, June, I admire him.

JUNE. The two often go together.

HARVEY. How can you not admire a man who does this for a living?

THEO. Tries to.

HARVEY. Even more worthy of my admiration.Triesto. Sweats it out. Excavates. Digs with his bare soul to make life a little more bearable for the rest of us even though he can hardly pay the bills.

CHARLOTTE. That last part is true.

THEO. You’re getting carried away.

JUNE. He does that.

HARVEY. No, I’m not. And I know you’re good.

THEO. How do you know?

HARVEY. I just know these things. You’re both good. A fine playwright and a fine actress.

CHARLOTTE. Why are you flattering us, Harvey?

HARVEY. I’m not, Charlotte. That’s my gift. Sniffing people out. Identifying. It’s what I’m good at.

JUNE. He means it.

HARVEY. I do.

JUNE. After you left us on the port he said to me, ‘Those two are talented. You can sense it. They have it.’

THEO. ‘It’?

THEOandCHARLOTTEfeel awkward.CHARLOTTEbreaks the moment with a clap of her hands.

CHARLOTTE. What shall I get us to drink?

JUNE. Oh, thank God, I thought you’d never ask.

THEO. I’ll get them.

CHARLOTTE. We’re very low on provisions, I’m afraid, and didn’t have a chance to get the bus into the village.

JUNE. And we’ve come empty-handed.

HARVEY. Siesta time. The shops were all closed. Or should I say,theshop.

CHARLOTTE. There’s whisky. And something Greek.

JUNE. Something Greek sounds good.

HARVEY. I’ll come with you.

THEO. Darling?

CHARLOTTE. A very small whisky.

THEOheads off, withHARVEYin tow.

HARVEY. They gave the world civilisation, now they sleep all afternoon.

THEO. They’ve earned it, I suppose.

They go.JUNEis hovering by the table with the flowers, and notices them.

JUNE. They’re beautiful.

CHARLOTTE. From the garden. I was just arranging them when you arrived…

JUNE. Let’s finish the job together.

CHARLOTTEjoinsJUNEat the table and together they continue pulling the leaves off the flowers and arranging them in the vase.

It’s very kind of you to ask us over.

CHARLOTTE. We wanted to. It’s been… we’ve been living in some isolation.

JUNE. That’s romantic.

CHARLOTTE. I’ve been reading paperback novels and Theo’s been writing his play.

JUNE. What’s it about?

CHARLOTTE. Oh, he never tells me. But we’ve been spending so much time on our own so it’s nice to talk to people.

JUNE. We forced ourselves onto you.

CHARLOTTE. You did no such thing.

JUNE. Well, Harvey did. It’s what he does. He spots people he likes and then he goes for them like a torpedo.

CHARLOTTE. How can he like someone without knowing them?

JUNE. Well, appearances, you know. He liked how you were dressed and we saw the book you were reading, Truman Capote.

CHARLOTTE. Oh, that.

JUNE. And then we overheard some of the conversation you were having.

CHARLOTTE. You did?

JUNE. Oh, that sounds creepy. But you were sitting two tables away, we couldn’t help it. You were talking about the theatre –

CHARLOTTE. I was talking about a friend of ours who’s performing in a play in the West End, yes.

JUNE. Well, Harvey’sobsessedwith the theatre. When we’re in London or New York, he drags me to everything. So he leaned forward and said to me, ‘They’re my kind of people.’

CHARLOTTE. Then he turned around and introduced himself.

JUNE. Yes.

CHARLOTTE. Well, it’s lovely to meet you.

A pause.

JUNE. And it’s part of his job, really.

CHARLOTTE. What is?

JUNE. Being able to make quick decisions about people, that sort of thing.

CHARLOTTE. I don’t think he mentioned what his job is.

JUNE. Oh, Harvey works for the Government. The US Government, I mean.

CHARLOTTE. Of course.

JUNE. He’s like a diplomat.

CHARLOTTE. ‘Like’?

JUNE. Well, it’s complicated. He works for the State Department. He’s a floater.

CHARLOTTE. What’s a floater?

JUNE. No, I mean, we travel. He gets around. My God, Charlotte, the places I’ve lived in.

CHARLOTTE. That’s exciting, to see the world.

JUNE. I married him when we were both quite young. He’d just left Harvard, I was modelling in New York. Six months later, we’re in Persia and I’m curtsying in front of the Shah.

CHARLOTTE. How glamorous.

JUNE. Sometimes it is. But I miss having a base, a home. We do have a little brownstone in Washington but we’re hardly ever there.

CHARLOTTE. And you’ve been living in Athens?

JUNE. For the last few months, yes.

CHARLOTTE. Have you enjoyed it?

JUNE. It’s okay. Harvey’s always busy so I try to find my own things.

CHARLOTTE. What sort of things?

JUNE. Depends where we’re at. So in Athens, for instance, I thought I’d learn something about the ancient history, that sort of thing. So I was taking a course at the American College. And then there’s the embassy people too, cocktail parties, barbecues, you know.

CHARLOTTE. Of course.

JUNE. Sometimes it gets lonely but I can’t complain.

Pause. They have finished with the flowers, andJUNEmoves away from the table.

But we’re moving back soon, things are coming to a close.

CHARLOTTE. What things?

JUNE. I’m not mad about Athens but the islands are divine. Not the arid ones to the south but these northern ones are beautiful and green.

CHARLOTTE. So you’re here for a short holiday?

JUNE. Harvey said we should get out of Athens for a few days. His job is nearly done, and things are heating up a little.

THEOandHARVEYcome out of the house. They are holding two glasses each.

HARVEY. What’s heating up? You’re not talking politics again, are you?

THEOgives one toCHARLOTTE,HARVEYgives one toJUNE.

CHARLOTTE. Thank you, darling.

JUNE. Would I ever?

HARVEY. Don’t bore Charlotte with the boring stuff.

CHARLOTTE. So, darling, June was saying that Harvey works for the Government.

THEO. Oh, right.

HARVEY. That’s what I mean by the boring stuff.

CHARLOTTE. June said you were a floater, Harvey.

JUNE. Geographically, I meant, not in any other way.

CHARLOTTE. Not ideologically, or anything.

JUNE. No, I meant, as in we travel a lot.

HARVEY. We do, we do, we do.

THEO. How wonderful for you.

Pause.HARVEYdecides to change the subject and he does it with a burst of new energy.

HARVEY. So what’s the play about? I will not touch it with my grubby claws but give me something, for God’s sake.

JUNE. He doesn’t say, Harvey, so don’t push him.

HARVEY. Not a word, not a syllable?

CHARLOTTE. No, not a word.

HARVEY. Not a crumb? I don’t know, something like, ‘pain’. Or ‘innocence’, or, maybe, if you’re feeling generous ‘my mother’s fondness for gin’ or ‘the day Uncle Desmond rubbed up against me for just a minute too long’.

JUNE. Harvey Parker.

HARVEY. What was the inception? The trigger?

CHARLOTTE. He really doesn’t like telling people.