The Southbury Child (NHB Modern Plays) E-Book

Stephen Beresford

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

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Raffish, urbane and frequently drunk, David Highland has kept a grip on his remote coastal parish through a combination of disordered charm and high-handed determination. When his faith impels him to take a hard line with a bereaved parishioner, he finds himself dangerously isolated from public opinion. As his own family begins to fracture, David must face a future that threatens to extinguish not only his position in the town, but everything he stands for. Stephen Beresford's play The Southbury Child is a darkly comic drama exploring family and community, the savage divisions of contemporary society, and the rituals that punctuate our lives. It was co-produced by Chichester Festival Theatre and the Bridge Theatre, London, in 2022, starring Alex Jennings and directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Leseprobe

Stephen Beresford

THE SOUTHBURY CHILD

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

Contents

Original Production Details

Dedication

The Southbury Child

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

The Southbury Child was first co-produced by London Theatre Company and Chichester Festival Theatre, and performed at Chichester Festival Theatre on 17 June 2022, before transferring to the Bridge Theatre, London, on 1 July. The cast was as follows (in order of appearance):

DAVID HIGHLAND

Alex Jennings

LEE SOUTHBURY

Josh Finan

NAOMI HIGHLAND

Racheal Ofori

JANET ORAM

Hermione Gulliford

SUSANNAH HIGHLAND

Jo Herbert

MARY HIGHLAND

Phoebe Nicholls

CRAIG COLLIER

Jack Greenlees

JOY SAMPSON

Holly Atkins

TINA SOUTHBURY

Sarah Twomey

Director

Nicholas Hytner

Set Designer

Mark Thompson

Costume Designer

Yvonne Milnes

Lighting Designer

Max Narula

Sound Designer

George Dennis

Casting Director

Robert Sterne

Costume Supervisor

Rosemary Elliott-Dancs

Props Supervisor

Lily Mollgaard

Assistant Director

Isabel Marr

Production Manager

Chris Hay

For my mother, who first took me into a church

And for the gentleman at St Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood, who unlocked the door again, forty-odd years later

Characters

DAVID HIGHLAND, late fifties/early sixties, vicar of the Parish of St Saviour’s, Dartmouth

MARY HIGHLAND, late fifties/early sixties, his wife

NAOMI HIGHLAND, early thirties, their (adopted) daughter

SUSANNAH HIGHLAND, mid-thirties, their daughter

LEE SOUTHBURY, late twenties/early thirties, uncle of Taylor Southbury

TINA SOUTHBURY, early thirties, mother of Taylor Southbury

JOY SAMPSON, thirties, police officer, pregnant

CRAIG COLLIER, late thirties, new curate

JANET ORAM, fifties, doctor’s wife

Note on the Text

Stage directions are intended for the reader, and not for the actor. Although it wouldn’t do any harm for the actor to take a look too.

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

ACT ONE

1.

Kitchen of the vicarage. Slightly Gothic, maybe – large, anyway – a hangover from when this was a place of prestige. The room is filled with more than just kitchenware – books, art, piled-up ashtrays – and is dominated by a huge dining table, loaded with paperwork, newspapers and magazines. LEE SOUTHBURY sits, in his anorak, slumped in a seat at the dining table. DAVID HIGHLAND is opposite him, examining papers. A pot of tea and two mugs on the table. It’s a brutal night – wind outside, rain.

DAVID picks up a sheet of paper.

DAVID. I christened you… You and your sister… Southbury… Your father, wasn’t he a Seale Arms man?

LEE. That’s putting it mildly.

DAVID. He had a nickname –

LEE. Whizz.

DAVID. That’s right. First time I encountered a christening party before the service. Paralytic, we were. I’m ashamed to say, I had to be guided through the whole thing by my verger – Virtually pointed me at the font. The redoubtable Mrs Irene Hammond. Scourge of the Sea Cadets. Much missed.

Silence. DAVID smiles, kindly.

And now we are here.

LEE nods. Looks down. Quite a long silence.

There was a time when we all thought… When we all very much believed that Taylor had turned the corner… I remember the collection for Disneyland. We had a service here. Blessings and prayers – And there was a search, wasn’t there? For a donor?

LEE. She got bad again very quick. They were back in hospital on the Monday, then –

DAVID. Is that usual?

LEE. I’m sorry?

DAVID. With the disease. The speed, I mean –

LEE. When you’re little. When you’re Taylor’s age… When you’re older it can take a longer time to work through the body. That’s what they told us. But when you’re a little kid –

DAVID. I understand.

He makes a note.

By the way – I’ve been meaning to ask you – Taylor’s father.

LEE. What about him?

DAVID. Should I mention him?

LEE. If you do, you’ll be the only fucker who knows who he was. Pardon me. My sister’s the only one who knows, and she’s not telling.

DAVID nods, scribbles a note.

DAVID. We’ll leave him out of it, then.

LEE. I was more of a father to her than anyone else –

DAVID. Of course.

LEE. Father and uncle. Only stable figure in her life. Probably.

DAVID nods. Sure. Back to the diary.

DAVID. Shall we talk about dates? The dreaded river blessing is, of course, next Saturday.

LEE (quietly). Fucking grockles.

DAVID. And – Yes – Since we don’t want to have the hearse involved in a three-mile tailback… I’m going to suggest the beginning of the following week. The seventeenth for example. That’s a Tuesday. Ten a.m.? I think that’s best. That way you don’t have to… I think it’s the waiting that’s hard. Waiting around all day for it to start.

DAVID looks up. LEE isn’t making notes.

We will, I’m afraid, have to talk about one aspect of the service – as suggested by your sister. It’s just one small thing, but I would like to explain it to you. If I may. Why I feel that it’s perhaps not the best idea.

LEE. Do you ever think… I don’t know –

DAVID. What?

LEE. I don’t know. It’s a funny job, isn’t it? Yours. I’m not being rude.

DAVID. It is, yes. That’s a very accurate description. And I don’t think it’s rude at all.

LEE. I’m not… anything.

DAVID. Right.

LEE. That’s not to say – You know – I’m just – I’m not religious.

DAVID. That’s perfectly okay. I am.

DAVID smiles. LEE doesn’t. He nods.

LEE. That’s funny.

DAVID. What do you do, Lee?

LEE. Nothing.

DAVID. Nothing?

LEE. I was a carpenter. Sand Quay.

DAVID. Ah.

LEE. They laid us all off.

DAVID. And how are you getting on with all this?

LEE. I’m fine.

DAVID. It’s a very hard task you’ve been given.

LEE. I’m fine. Honestly.

DAVID. We can go as slowly or as briskly as you like.

LEE. I’m fine. Briskly. Or slowly. It makes no odds to me. I’m fine.

A little silence.

DAVID. Tina has no particular preference when it comes to hymns. Your mother has asked for ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’, which, of course… And for a couple of pieces of secular music – both of which are fine –

LEE. They don’t want –

DAVID. Yes?

LEE. I don’t know if they said anything –

DAVID. Go on –

LEE. They don’t want it to be – too – ‘Funeral’. They want it to be a celebration of her life.

Beat.

DAVID. Lee, your sister has asked about some balloons – about tying some helium balloons to the pews and the altar –

LEE. She doesn’t want it to be like church… She wants it to be more – Taylor loved cartoons, and all that – Disneyland. The Disney princesses –

DAVID. Yes –

LEE. She thinks that’s what she would have wanted.

DAVID. Yes. I understand that Taylor loved Disney. I did myself, as a child. My daughters did.

LEE. Make it less scary.

DAVID. Yes. I want to suggest something, Lee – I hope I can make myself clear. I don’t think it’s a good idea to hide the church behind balloons. I hope you understand what I mean by that.

LEE. It’s just a bit more – For a little kid –

DAVID. When was the last time you were in the church?

LEE. I don’t know –

DAVID. Don’t worry, that’s not a test.

LEE. School or something. Wedding. My little sister’s wedding.

DAVID. You see, the church is already decorated, Lee. Beautifully decorated. ‘Decorated in exuberant local style’ if you’ll forgive the breathless prose of One Hundred Devon Churches… Decorated with a very specific and sacred purpose – by men just like you. Men born in the town, and bred in it. Carpenters.

LEE. I bet they didn’t get laid off with twenty-four hours’ notice. Not so much as a meeting or a conversation.

DAVID. Indeed… (Beat.) I mean, I don’t suppose the medieval bishops were the high watermark of industrial relations, but – Yes. Your point is taken. What I’m trying to say, is that the decoration in the church is there for a reason –

LEE. It’s not about Disney.

DAVID. It’s not. It’s not about Disney. That’s it, exactly.

LEE. No happy endings.

DAVID. No easy endings. No narrative closure. Magic, yes. Mystery – Of course – in abundance.

And the church can be brightened up. It needn’t be sombre. Flowers – my wife will arrange flowers. Or you can arrange them yourself… That’s – It’s not about being gloomy… Are you sure you don’t want any tea?

LEE. I thought you’d have something stronger.

DAVID. Ah… Yes… To tell you the truth I’m on a bit of a – I don’t know if you heard about my little prang – ?

LEE. Up Jawbones?

DAVID. Yes –

LEE. It’s a nasty bend.

DAVID. It is. It really, is.

LEE. Especially if you’re pissed.

A little beat.

DAVID. Well, I’ve rather promised myself that I’m going to… Only for a week or two…

LEE. S’alright.

DAVID. I mean, obviously – that doesn’t mean you can’t. I just… I think if Mary came in –

LEE gets up, walks around the room a bit.

LEE. I suppose people are always coming in here, telling you things. ‘Confess to their sins’?

DAVID. Well. Confession is a… (Beat.) Formalised confession is a Roman Catholic tradition, but…

LEE. What do they do? Kneel down?

DAVID. No.

LEE. ‘Beg for forgiveness’?

DAVID. No. That’s – No. They don’t do that. They don’t beg.

LEE. It’s all Henry VIII, isn’t it? Henry VIII wants to get his end away so we end up with a new religion. I mean – If he’d kept his cock in his trousers we’d all be Catholics. Wouldn’t we?

DAVID. That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose.

A little silence while LEE examines the bookshelves. DAVID watches.

LEE. Tights.

DAVID. Sorry?

LEE. Tights. Not trousers.

DAVID. Ah.

LEE. He would have worn tights.

DAVID. He would, yes.

LEE. He should have kept his cock in his tights.

DAVID. Yes. His codpiece. This conversation seems to have taken a rather independent turn –

LEE. I’m into history. I watch a lot of it. The thing about Henry VIII is – people forget – That was his nature. He couldn’t help himself. They’re like that –

DAVID. What?

LEE. Single-minded. Stubborn.