BANG BANG

Kat Sandler

• Publisher: Playwrights Canada Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781770919822
• eBook ISBN: 9781770919846
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Canadian Drama
• Index: Literature

Lila, a young Black ex-cop, has been on leave from the police force ever since she shot an unarmed Black youth. She's moved back in with her mother, Karen, and is drinking beer for breakfast. So when Tim, a white playwright, shows up at her door to casually inform her that his play inspired by her experience is being adapted into a movie, Lila's trauma is dragged out for speculation once again. The star of the film, their ex-cop bodyguard and Karen are pulled into the fight, leading to an epic metatheatrical standoff in a living room play about a living room play about gun violence, police, art and appropriation.

This dark, fast-paced dramedy by the author of Punch Up and Mustard traces the responsibility we have as artists in storytelling and the impact of what it means to be inspired by true events.

Act 1

Darkness. The kind that gets into your bones. Lights fade up. We are everywhere and nowhere. The Woman, in full police regalia, comes down the aisle of the theatre, looking at us. She climbs stairs heavily to the stage, where a spotlight illuminates her. She faces the audience. Beat. The mood is sombre, accompanied by sombre music. Although the performances are earnest, this should feel like a play that’s trying really hard to be meaningful. As she speaks, The Woman meticulously “proves” the gun (Point, Remove, Observe, Verify and Examine).

The Woman: The first thing is that it’s heavy. Not . . . heavy — it’s easy to lift, but in the movies people pick them up so easily you don’t think about it. It’s only two pounds, maybe three, but it’s got . . . weight to it. And it should. You should feel it. You should be able to feel it.

She takes her gun out of her holster. Looks at it. Beat.

This is the Glock 22. Fifteen rounds in 2.5 seconds.

She raises it up and down.

It’s definitely heavier than, say, the Glock 19, which is easier to conceal, but the 22 combines the flexibility of a 9mm with the power of a .45. That’s why cops prefer it — more bang for your buck.

A candle is lit by The Mother as a spotlight illuminates her. She’s in a black coat and looks mournfully out at the audience. She says nothing.

My dad was a cop. He gave me my first gun. “This is power and you treat power with respect.” He was a good cop. (beat) It’s funny: it looks like it does in the movies. It looks like a prop. And the first time you fire it the recoil is surprising, but once you know what to expect, you get used to it.

A spotlight comes up on The Boy, who’s in an oversized red hoodie. We can’t see his face.

The real surprise, the thing they don’t tell you, the thing you can’t guess until you shoot it is . . . it’s loud. And you don’t want to get used to that. It’s really. Fucking. Loud.

The Mother begins to cry. The Woman raises her gun and the spotlight on The Boy grows brighter as he raises his hands, in time with dramatic, climactic music. Lights come up, blinding the audience. The sound of a loud gunshot: bang! We snap to black. Then another louder gunshot: bang!

Music from a film soundtrack rises again, this time cheerful, adventurous, swashbuckley, maybe a more recognizable theme, e.g. Indiana Jones. Lights fade up. We’re in a nice living room. Karen comes out of the bathroom, checks her watch, goes to her computer, turns down the music that she was listening to while working at the computer and goes to the stairs.

Karen: (yelling up the stairs) Lila? Lila, would you like some lunch? (beat) Lila! I’m making lunch!

Lila: (yelling from upstairs) I’m not hungry!

Karen: Are you sure? You didn’t have any breakfast.

Lila: I’ll eat when I’m hungry, Mom!

Karen: (to herself) Fine, eat when you want.

Lila: And can you please keep your music down?

Karen: (to herself) Oh, absolutely, I just live here.

Karen goes over to the computer, hesitates, then defiantly turns up the music. She heads off to the kitchen. There’s a moment, then a loud knock at the door. Beat. A louder knoc...

Table of contents

• Foreword by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
• Author’s Preface
• A Whole Bunch Of Notes On Punctuation And Overlapping Dialogue
• Note On Pace
• Characters
• Act 1
• Act 2
• “Your Face” From BANG BANG
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author