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- 64 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
NHB Modern Plays
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Table of contents
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About This Book
A bewitching play by Jez Butterworth, author of the global smash-hit Jerusalem. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012.
On a moonless night in August when the sea trout are ready to run, a man brings his new girlfriend to the remote family cabin where he has come for the fly-fishing since he was a boy. But she's not the only woman he has brought here ā or indeed the last...
'A delicately unfolding puzzle... all of it is wrapped in marvelous language... extraordinary.' The Times
'One of the best productions of the year... a magnetically eerie, luminously beautiful psychodrama.' Time Out
'Strange, eerie, tense... Butterworth possesses a singular talent.' Guardian
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Darkness. The river.
Becomesā¦
ā¦ A cabin. Door off to bedroom at the back. Table. Chairs. Stove. Sink. Spiders. A WOMANās voice, singing, off.
WOMANāS VOICE (singing).
I went out to a hazel wood
Because a fire was in my head
And cut and peeled a hazel wand
And hooked a berry to a threadā¦
Enter THE WOMAN, from the bedroom.
THE WOMAN (singing).
And when white moths were on the wing
And moth-like stars were flickering out
I dropped the berry in the stream
And caught a little silver troutā¦
She turns, and looks towards the window. Stops.
Here. (Calls.) Quick! Come here. Donāt miss this. Quickly.
Enter THE MAN, carrying assorted fly-fishing equipment.
THE MAN (to himself). Torch. Reel. Spare reel. Leader. Fly-box. Fliesā¦
THE WOMAN. Quickly. You must see this.
THE MAN. Forceps. Scotch. Baccy. Gink. Priest. Whereās my priest?
THE WOMAN. You are missing the most incredible thing.
THE MAN. Whereās it gone? It was right here. Here in this drawer. Whereās it gone?
THE WOMAN. Just stop what youāre doing and come here now.
THE MAN. What?
THE WOMAN. Now. Right now. Come over here.
THE MAN. Oh. Iāve seen it.
Beat.
THE WOMAN. What?
THE MAN. Iāve seen it before.
THE WOMAN. Itās never happened before.
THE MAN. Yes it has.
THE WOMAN. No it hasnāt. Not like this.
THE MAN. Just like that. Theyāre all the same.
THE WOMAN. No two sunsets are the same.
THE MAN. Have you seen my priest?
THE WOMAN. Describe it.
THE MAN. Itās a small piece of ramās horn with a leather handle, about yay big with ā
THE WOMAN. Describe the sunset. If youāve seen it before ā
THE MAN. We donāt have time.
THE WOMAN. Before anything else happens. Before this relationship moves on one inch. Describe it. Describe my sunset.
They look at each other.
THE MAN (to himself). August. Low cloud. (Aloud.) Blood red as far as the headland turning to lilac-blue wisps above the bluff. Trails of apricot, feathering out through blue, dark blue, and aquamarine to an iris ring of obsidian and above that the Evening Star. (Finds it.) Yes! You little beauty. Weāre all set.
Beat.
THE WOMAN. That was a magical moment. āThat evening at the cabin. When they watched the sun set. Our sunset he called it. And she remembered the moment for ever.ā
THE MAN. Why arenāt you dressed? Itās nearly dark.
THE WOMAN. Iām not coming.
THE MAN. What?
THE WOMAN. I have sunburn. And my book just got good.
THE MAN. Whatās the date today?
THE WOMAN. To the Lighthouse.
THE MAN. August 21st.
THE WOMAN. Virginia Woolf.
THE MAN. What does that make tomorrow?
THE WOMAN. Itās about these people who go to a lighthouseā¦
THE MAN. August 22nd.
THE WOMAN. Or do they? Will they actually make itā¦
THE MAN. Which isā¦?
THE WOMAN. To the lighthouseā¦?
THE MAN. The New Moon! Tonight thereās no moon. Itās warm. Cumulus cloud. Big sunset ā
THE WOMAN. You donāt say?
THE MAN. Once a year, when thereās no moon. Late summer, when the riverās in spate, thatās when they move. The sea trout. The sea trout are running! The storm last night. No rain for weeks. The pools get low, then whoosh! A million tons of water drops from the sky. In one night. Theyāre out there, right now, with no moon, a neap tide ā
THE WOMAN. Look. You / tried to ā
THE MAN. This happens / once every year.
THE WOMAN. You tried to teach me ā
THE MAN (interrupting). Once!
THE WOMAN. You tried to teach me to cast all day on the beach. All I did was make knots. I couldnāt do it in broad / daylight.
THE MAN. Itās easy. You / just feel it.
THE WOMAN. How am I going to do it in the pitch bloody dark.
THE MAN (interrupting). There are monsters out there. Huge monsters. In the water. Right now!
THE WOMAN. Youāre really selling this.
Pause.
THE MAN. The tableās moved.
THE WOMAN. What?
THE MAN. What? No I was just ā
THE WOMAN. I can move it back.
THE MAN. No, itās fine. I was just sayingā¦ I donāt know why. Itās no big deal.
THE WOMAN. Iāll move it back.
THE MAN. What? Donāt.
THE WOMAN. Itās the work of a moment. Here. (Picks it up.) Oww.
THE MAN. Whatās wrong? Are you okay.
THE WOMAN. Iām fine.
THE MAN. Show me.
THE WOMAN. Itās just a splinter.
THE MAN. Let me look at it.
THE WOMAN. Ow.
THE MAN. Let me see.
THE WOMAN. Itās a splinter.
THE MAN. Show me it.
THE WOMAN. I said Iām fine.
THE MAN. Itās bleeding. Come here. Let me see. (Takes her hand.) Thatās deep.
He takes out a ...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- Original Production
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Characters
- The River
- About the Author
- Copyright and Performing Rights Information