Far Away

Caryl Churchill

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781780011141
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

A brilliant and unsettling play from one of the UK's leading dramatists. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2000.

At the opening of the play, a young girl is questioning her aunt about having seen her uncle hitting people with an iron bar; by the end, several years later, the whole world is at war - including birds and animals. Far Away is a howl of anguish at the increasing – and increasingly accepted – levels of inhumanity in a world seemingly perpetually involved in conflict.

'You know you are in the hands of a master' The Sunday Times

'Churchill was expected to produce something explosive, but... she has exceeded the critics' highest expectations' The Observer

1.

HARPER’s house. Night.

JOAN		I can’t sleep.
HARPER		It’s the strange bed.
JOAN		No, I like different places.
HARPER		Are you cold?
JOAN		No.
HARPER		Do you want a drink?
JOAN		I think I am cold.
HARPER		That’s easy enough then. There’s extra blankets in the cupboard.
JOAN		Is it late?
HARPER		Two.
JOAN		Are you going to bed?
HARPER		Do you want a hot drink?
JOAN		No thank you.
HARPER		I should go to bed then.
JOAN		Yes.
HARPER		It’s always odd in a new place. When you’ve been here a week you’ll look back at tonight and it won’t seem the same at all.
JOAN		I’ve been to a lot of places. I’ve stayed with friends at their houses. I don’t miss my parents if you think that.
HARPER		Do you miss your dog?
JOAN		I miss the cat I think.
HARPER		Does it sleep on your bed?
JOAN		No because I chase it off. But it gets in if the door’s not properly shut. You think you’ve shut the door but it hasn’t caught and she pushes it open in the night.
HARPER		Come here a minute. You’re shivering. Are you hot?
JOAN		No, I’m all right.
HARPER		You’re over-tired. Go to bed. I’m going to bed myself.
JOAN		I went out.
HARPER		When? just now?
JOAN		Just now.
HARPER		No wonder you’re cold. It’s hot in the daytime here but it’s cold at night.
JOAN		The stars are brighter here than at home.
HARPER		It’s because there’s no street lights.
JOAN		I couldn’t see much.
HARPER		I don’t expect you could. How did you get out? I didn’t hear the door.
JOAN		I went out the window.
HARPER		I’m not sure I like that.
JOAN		No it’s quite safe, there’s a roof and a tree.
HARPER		When people go to bed they should stay in bed. Do you climb out of the window at home?
JOAN		I can’t at home because – No I don’t.
...