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- 96 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Ciphers (NHB Modern Plays)
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About This Book
A smart and provocative thriller about spies, double agents, and the opaqueness of the human soul.
A young woman is found dead. Her sister sets out to find out what happened - and stumbles into a world of secrets and subterfuge that makes her question who Justine really was. How well can you ever know someone who lies for a living?
An Out of Joint, the Bush Theatre and Exeter Northcott Theatre co-production, Ciphers premiered at the Exeter Northcott Theatre in October 2013, directed by Blanche McIntyre, before embarking on a UK tour.
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Yes, you can access Ciphers (NHB Modern Plays) by Dawn King in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Drama. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
1.
SUNITAās office. JUSTINE knocks on the door.
SUNITA. Come in. Justine? Iām Sunita.
JUSTINE. Hello.
They shake hands.
SUNITA. Take a seat.
JUSTINE sits.
JUSTINE. Thank you.
SUNITA looks at JUSTINEās file. Thereās quite a long pause. JUSTINE is uncomfortable.
SUNITA. Have you spoken to a family member about your application?
JUSTINE. No. I, uh, I thought Iād wait. In case I donāt get through.
SUNITA. Youāve done well to get this far. You must have impressed someone.
JUSTINE. Uhm, thank you.
SUNITA. Youāre not married. Is there a partner?
JUSTINE. No.
SUNITA. So you havenāt spoken to anyone about your application?
JUSTINE. No.
SUNITA. And youāre comfortable with that.
JUSTINE. Yes. I am.
Pause.
SUNITA. You have a lot of languages. How did you end up working in marketing?
JUSTINE. Uh. I was lucky. Or not. It depends how you view marketing.
SUNITA. You fell into it?
JUSTINE. Kind of. I didnāt really know what I wanted to do.
SUNITA. But now you do?
JUSTINE. Yes.
SUNITA. Okay. You fell into working for a marketing company, but you were made redundant.
JUSTINE. Uhm, yeah. The company was struggling. I was the last one in so I was the first one out.
SUNITA. Did you like it there?
JUSTINE. I did, but... I was starting to realise that it wasnāt really very fulfilling. That there could be more to my working life than helping people sell things.
SUNITA. You planned to leave?
JUSTINE. Yes, eventually. When Iād figured out my next move.
SUNITA. But you didnāt have time to do that, because you were made redundant anyway. Youāve been job-hunting for... several months.
JUSTINE. Yes.
SUNITA. Why apply to work here?
JUSTINE. Iāve always been interested in it but I never really considered it seriously. Then when I realised that marketing wasnāt for me, I started thinking about other things I could do, and I thought that I could use my languages here, which Iād not had much of a chance to do since I left uni. And... I wanted to do something to help my country.
SUNITA looks at JUSTINE.
SUNITA. Nice speech. Did you practise that?
JUSTINE. Uh...
SUNITA. You applied because youāre out of work and out of money and youāre desperate for a job. Any job. Thatās right, isnāt it?
JUSTINE. No.
Pause. SUNITA looks at JUSTINE.
Okay, yes, I need a job and I knew Iād have to think laterally... because ā
SUNITA. Weāve had a lot of applicants like you through here in the last year or so. Recruitment usually weeds them out earlier.
JUSTINE. No, I really do want to work here.
SUNITA. And youāve really always been interested.
Pause.
JUSTINE. No. Iām sorry. I donāt know why I said that.
SUNITA. Because you thought it would persuade me to give you the job. You were trying to be what I wanted. Am I right?
JUSTINE. Err... yes. Sorry.
SUNITA. Why donāt you tell me what really happened?
JUSTINE. I saw an ad in the paper. Iād never even thought of it before.
SUNITA. So... you saw this ad and you thought, thereās a way for me to pay my rent? Thereās something else I could... fall into?
JUSTINE. No. I...
SUNITA. It takes a lot of effort to train someone new. People who arenāt truly committed are just wasting our time.
JUSTINE. I thought Iād rather be doing something that mattered, than working for another anonymous company doing the same old... stuff.
SUNITA. Why didnāt you say that in the first place?
JUSTINE. I donāt know. It doesnāt sound impressive enough.
SUNITA. If you work here, youāll never get recognition for it from anyone outside this building. The vast majority of the people in your life wonāt know what you do. Youāll only ever be Clark Kent to the rest of the world, not Superman.
JUSTINE. Iām fine with that.
SUNITA. You donāt want to be a hero. What do you want to be?
JUSTINE. Um. I...
SUNITA. Donāt tell me you donāt know.
JUSTINE. I want to be... someone. More important.
Pause. SUNITA nods.
SUNITA. If you make it to the next stage youāll have to pass various security checks.
JUSTINE. I know.
SUNITA. Youāll be asked a lot of very personal questions about your past, your career, your politics, sexual history, drug and alcohol intake... does that bother you?
JUSTINE. No. Thereās nothing much to find out. Iām quite boring, really.
2.
The office of a Russian diplomat, KOPLOV. A knock at the door.
During this scene, KOPLOV and JUSTINE speak perfect Russian (except when they are speaking English).
KOPLOV. Come in.
JUSTINE enters.
Julya?
JUSTINE. Yes.
KOPLOV. Sit down, sit down.
She sits. He looks at her.
Did you have a good journey here?
JUSTINE. Yes, thank you.
KOPLOV. Youāve done well to get to this stage.
JUSTINE. Iām very pleased to be here, to meet you.
KOPLOV. It falls to me to choose betwe...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- Original Production
- Characters and Notes on Text
- Ciphers
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Copyright and Performing Rights Information