Sex with a Stranger (NHB Modern Plays)

Stefan Golaszewski

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781780012186
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Bleak, funny and excruciatingly accurate, Sex with a Stranger examines what it is to be in your twenties, lonely, hollow and uncertain.

Adam meets Grace in a club. They go back to hers. Earlier that day, his girlfriend watches as he prepares for his big night out.

'A dazzling achievement' - Independent

'Wonderfully frank, true and tender.... extraordinarily touching' - Telegraph

'Skilfully constructed, painful-to-watch but very funny... a talent on the move' - Whatsonstage.com

ACT TWO

RUTH and ADAM’s living room. RUTH comes in with two cups of tea. ADAM sits onstage, in clothes different from (looser, less impressive than) those in the first act. He no longer has gel in his hair. He coughs over her first line.

RUTH. Chloe showed me her wedding dress.

ADAM. Sorry. I couldn’t hear you.

RUTH. Chloe showed me her wedding dress.

ADAM. Oh God.

She hands him the mug.

RUTH. Careful. It’s hot. No it was nice actually.

ADAM (taking the mug). Thanks.

RUTH. It’s white.

ADAM. Like she should be wearing a white dress!

RUTH. Yeah! And it’s one of those ones that covers her boobs –

ADAM. She hasn’t got any.

RUTH (laughing). Adam!

She spills a bit of tea.

Shit.

Blackout.

He’s still on the couch. She’s on her hands and knees, scrubbing where she spilt the tea. He drinks from a cup of tea. Hers sits on the floor.

RUTH. So it’s like it covers them so it looks like she’s got them but we don’t have to see them – as if we could! – and there’s these big roses on it –

ADAM. Oh no…

RUTH. Yeah. I mean it’s quite nice – for her – but –

ADAM. It’s so typical.

RUTH. Oh yeah.

ADAM. And fucking roses…

RUTH. Yeah. She’s always liked roses. Unfortunately. And she’s having this garland – she showed me the designs on the internet – like a garland for her hair with roses in it.

ADAM. What is it with roses?

RUTH. Yeah. I know! Weird. It’s pretty though. It’ll look pretty on her –

ADAM. But –

RUTH. – but – yes – stop with the roses, Chloe!

She laughs.

ADAM. What is wrong with her?!

RUTH. I know…

ADAM. All this fuss!

RUTH. I know…

ADAM. It’s just a wedding!

She laughs for him. A beat. As she finishes scrubbing –

RUTH. It’s okay though because we’re going to be wearing these lemon dresses – they’re a bit like my maxi dress – the one with the animals on it – but they’re lemon – and they won’t have any roses on them so I think it won’t be too bad at all really.

Silence. She sits next to him.

What time are you going out?

ADAM. I’m meeting them at seven.

She looks at her phone and puts it down again.

Blackout.

Empty stage.

ADAM (offstage right). What shall we have for lunch?

A beat. RUTH comes on from stage left and crosses the stage to stage right.

RUTH. Did you call me?

ADAM (offstage). What shall we have for lunch?

RUTH. Erm. I don’t know. We’ve got ham.

ADAM (offstage). Yeah.

RUTH. And there’s bread.

He doesn’t respond.

We could use some of my cheese slices and do toasted sandwiches.

ADAM (offstage). What about a salad?

RUTH. Yep.

ADAM (offstage). We could get lettuce and stuff.

RUTH. Shall we talk about it when you’re finished?

ADAM (offstage). Someone was saying if you avoid mixing carbs and proteins you lose weight quicker.

RUTH. Who was saying that?

ADAM (offstage). I dunno.

RUTH. You don’t need to lose weight.

No response.

Well it’s always good to be healthy.

No response.

I mean, I could probably do with shedding a few pounds myself.

No response.

My trousers were really tight this morning.

No response.

Yeah. Chloe goes to the gym at lunchtimes.

A beat as she waits for a reply.

Blackout.

They’re looking round a supermarket. She has a shopping basket with just salad cream in it. He holds a bag of chopped leaves.

RUTH. Or an iceberg?

ADAM. It’s Italian. And it’s already chopped. Save you chopping it.

RUTH. Yeah.

He puts it in their basket. They browse.

ADAM. What else d’you put in a salad?

RUTH. Avocado?

They browse. Silence.

Dressing?

ADAM (negative). Mm.

RUTH. Are you all right?

ADAM. Yeah. I’m fine.

RUTH. Is there anything I can do?

ADAM. No I’m fine.

They browse in silence.

RUTH. Oo. Yeah. I might get a can of Coke.

ADAM. It’s full of sugar.

RUTH. I don’t like Diet, do I.

ADAM. Coke Zero?

RUTH. Yeah.

She doesn’t get one. They browse in silence.

I saw a man the other day who looked like Robert.

Cucumber?

Blackout.

In the queue for the till.

RUTH (whispering). ‘Six items’ means six items. That’s so annoying though isn’t it. Look at her. It just holds everyone up. It’s really selfish though isn’t it?

ADAM. Yeah.

A beat.

RUTH. If it said ‘baskets only’ I’d understand. But look at her. It’s disgusting. What does she think she looks like?

ADAM. Mm.

A beat.

RUTH. It says ‘six items only’. I can’t believe she’s even being served. D’you know what I mean? I can’t believe they’re serving her. It’s ridiculous.

Silence. They queue.

ADAM. Maybe the peppers count as one.

Silence. They queue.

Blackout.

The streets. They’...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Original Production
• Characters
• Act One
• Act Two
• About the Author
• Copyright and Performing Rights Information