Mad Forest (NHB Modern Plays)

Caryl Churchill

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781780014616
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Mad Forest explores the reactions of ordinary people to confused events, focusing in particular on two families. What emerges is the dreadful damage done to people's lives by repression and the painful difficulties of lasting change.

Caryl Churchill's play about the Romanian revolution was written after she, the director and a group of students from London's Central School of Speech and Drama went to Romania to work with acting students there. The play was first performed in 1990, only three months after their return.

MAD FOREST

On the plain where Bucharest now stands there used to be ‘a large forest crossed by small muddy streams … It could only be crossed on foot and was impenetrable for the foreigner who did not know the paths … The horsemen of the steppe were compelled to go round it, and this difficulty, which irked them so, is shown by the name … Teleorman – Mad Forest.’

A Concise History of Romania

Otetea and MacKenzie

I LUCIA’S WEDDING

The company recite, smiling, a poem in Romanian in praise of Elena Ceauşescu.

Stirring Romanian music.

Each scene is announced by one of the company reading from a phrasebook as if an English tourist, first in Romanian, then in English, and again in Romanian.

1. Lucia are patru ouǎ Lucia has four eggs.

Music continues. BOGDAN and IRINA VLADU sit in silence, smoking Romanian cigarettes.

BOGDAN turns up the music on the radio very loud. He sits looking at IRINA.

IRINA puts her head close to BOGDAN’s and talks quickly and quietly, to convince him.

He argues back, she insists, he gets angry. We can’t hear anything they say.

They stop talking and sit with the music blaring. BOGDAN is about to speak when FLORINA and LUCIA come in, laughing.

They stop laughing and look at BOGDAN and IRINA.

IRINA turns the radio down low.

LUCIA produces four eggs with a flourish. IRINA kisses her.

BOGDAN ignores her.

LUCIA produces a packet of American cigarettes.

FLORINA laughs.

LUCIA opens the cigarettes and offers them to IRINA. She hesitates, then puts out her cigarette and takes one. FLORINA takes one.

BOGDAN ignores them.

LUCIA offers a cigarette to BOGDAN, he shakes his head.

LUCIA takes a cigarette. They sit smoking.

BOGDAN finishes his cigarette. He sits without smoking. Then he takes a cigarette.

LUCIA and FLORINA laugh.

BOGDAN picks up an egg and breaks it on the floor.

IRINA gathers the other eggs to safety.

LUCIA and FLORINA keep still.

IRINA turns the radio up loud and is about to say something.

BOGDAN turns the radio completely off. IRINA ignores him and smokes.

FLORINA gets a cup and spoon and scrapes up what she can of the egg off the floor.

LUCIA keeps still.

2. Cine are un chibrit? Who has a match?

ANTONESCU family, noticeably better off than the VLADUS. MIHAI thinking and making notes, FLAVIA correc...