ONE
Just before dawn in Lavender Menace. The light from the moon or a street lamp filters down to this basement bookshop, and picks out half-filled bookshelves and cardboard boxes, lying open on the floor. Under the window there are a suitcase, and a hold-all bag, poised for departure. At the back of the shop there is a large ghetto blaster, with a front-loading cassette player. Amid the boxes in the middle of the shop floor, stands LEWIS. LEWIS is young, in his twenties, and for this solemn occasion heâs dressed predominantly in black. From the pocket of his coat he takes out a cassette. He puts it in the ghetto blaster and shuts the door. He returns to the middle of the shop floor and stands amid the boxes.
LEWIS
Itâs evening, itâs nearly dark, you wait in a pub on Rose Street for the cover of darkness⌠Itâs evening, itâs nearly dark, you wait in a pub on Rose Street for night-time to come⌠Itâs evening, itâs nearly dark, you sit in a pub on Rose Street waiting⌠You want to go there at the quietest time, when everyoneâs inside having their tea. Your children will be having their tea too. Donât think about them, sip your drink, slowly, you donât want to be drunk. Outside the darkness youâve been waiting for has come. You step out into it⌠That sounds a bit Liza Minnelli⌠You seep out into it. Itâs raining. Good. Even less people about. Walking up Hanover Street you start telling yourself a story. You project the story onto the passersby. Youâre late for a meeting. Thatâs right. A church meeting. A bible study. You skip along the side of the National Portrait Gallery. And as you do its gothic, flouncy stonework provides a commentary to your rapid, delicate steps. âWhere are you going in such a hurry, you wee poof?â, it taunts. âTo the bible study of course. Itâs the book of Job tonight, and if Iâm not on time, every one of those curses will be visited upon me.â The rain begins to pelt and you up the pace.
You reach the mouth of Broughton Street, and as a respectable married man you have every right to be there. Itâs not like walking past the Laughing Duck for fuckâs sake. Youâd have to skulk past that. Stalk it like a duck youâd eat for your tea. Ă lâorange of course. But Broughton Street is fair game. And anyway, itâs not like the Gay Centreâs the only thing in the area. You see the gays in the centre as you pass on the bus, with their helplines, and their leaflets, and their big ideas. You pity them for what they must have walked away from. Well itâs not happening to you. Youâre fine as you are. Stealing a look at an arse whenever you can is enough. Youâve never been up the hill. Too risky to get caught and get a criminal record. And at least in the bogs you can say you were there to piss. And most of the time thatâs all you do. And now youâre passed Broughton Street Lane. Youâre at the Western tip of Forth Street. Youâve penetrated it and no mistake. Youâre tearing it up. Not too fast, slow down. Like maybe you think you forgot something. Thatâs it. Great pretending. Donât over-egg the pudding though. Thatâs strange⌠Thatâs definitely Radio Forth. Itâs supposed to be next to it. In a basement. Tie your shoelaces. Thatâs 11A Forth Street. But itâs not there⌠So where the fuck is it? Someoneâs coming⌠Probably a casual coming to batter the fuck out of you⌠Get up! Get up, but donât run! Youâve got nothing to hide. Youâre off to the bible study remember. Go up Broughton Street Lane. Now you look shifty and no mistake. But you have got to find it. Because tomorrow youâre going in. You fucking are. You fucking have to. You have to find out. You have to see. Letâs do this.
LEWIS darts across to the ghetto blaster and hits play â Vivaldiâs âWinterâ. He goes back to his place on the shop floor.
Weâre back on Broughton Street. Itâs teeming down now. You donât even look like you did when you were here five minutes before. Youâre a different shade of beige. Take a right. Thatâs it. Now youâre doing it like youâre on a Pride march. Thatâll be you in a few yearsâ time, singing because youâre proud to be. And then you see them⌠Shining out through the slats in the shutters⌠Even the spines look⌠Even the spines are telling you itâs okay⌠Itâll all be okay.
LEWIS goes to the ghetto blaster and stops the tape. He quickly searches through a pile of cassettes for another and puts it in. He presses play: The Communards â Donât Leave...