A single Act in nine scenes
By Ignazio Salvatore Basile
Dramatis Personae
Max Sailor: A young man looking
for his own way
Brenda Parnell: Max’s girlfriend
George Tender: Good friend of
Max’s and Brenda’s
Jonathan Close: A good Jewish boy from England
Elvira Giusti: Former Jon ’s girlfriend
Hamed Farsiwill : Iranian student refugee-Escaped from Iranian Revolution
Rocìo Peròn-Mendoza: Colombian
student
Francesco Soggiu: Italian
Theologian Student
Inspector Green: Head of local police
Jim Cope: Inspector’s Green first man
Roy Elther: Inspector ‘s Green Second man
Vincent and Norman: pushers from Jamaica (do not appear)
(The drama is laid in London at any week-end between 1979 and 1980 in the
Hampstead Max ’s parents house)
Scene I
(Max, Brenda, George in a large bedroom)
Max (lying on the bed, in a dreaming voice)
-Tonight
I would like to fly!!
Brenda (getting closer to hold the smoking pipe
Max is handing to her, in a very sensual voice through the smoke she will take
from the pipe)
-Why
waiting tonight, my dear?
Max (getting up and giving the pipe Brenda is
handing to George)
-Not in that sense, Brenda!!! George have you got
me???
George
-Of
course I have! You would like to be some kind of flying bird, wouldn’t you?
Brenda (after passing the pipe George is handing
to Max, miming a bird with open arms)
-Oh,
yes! Let’s be a crow! Or even better, as we say with the Irish word, let’s be a
Préachàn (draws a crow’s sound
from her tongue)
George (also laughing )
-I would
prefer to be a dog sail!
Max (putting down the pipe on a bedside table)
-Great!
I would also like it! A dog sail following the wake of a ship! For ever!
(The phone bell breaks on afterwards)
Max (picking up the phone)
-Hello!?
(pause)
Max
-Sure!
It’s right today!
(pause again)
Max
-Any
time you like in the afternoon!!
(another pause)
Max
-I’ll
see you later, then! By, by!!
Brenda
-Who was
it?
Max
-He was
Francesco, ‘you know? The italian guy who is following our philosophy term at
College….
Brenda
-Ah, the
Jesuit priest? What did he want?
George
-He’s
not a priest yet!
Max
-I had
formerly invited him to the party…and he just wanted a confirmation….
Brenda
-He’s
not a priest yet then?! That’s why he ‘s joining the party!! He has told me
anyway he is graduated in theological sciences or something like that…..
Max
-Actually
is doing a sort of sabbatical time
before taking the final votes!
George
-That’s
the way Jesuits are unlisted…..…..
Max
-They
are supposed to experience in all things
of the life before becoming a priest….
Brenda (laughing maliciously)
-Even
going with women?
George
-I think
they are! The things of life also
include screwing, don’t they?
Max(taking again the pipe in his hands)
-And
also smoking I might suppose……
Brenda
-I
expect a priest would not copulate neither smoke…
Max
-‘ you
catholic! You’re always living among prohibitions!!! Is not the same for the
orthodox, is it George?
George
-I think
is not at all! As far as I know they can even get married!!!
Brenda
-As
matter of fact: they have to get marry before any carnal relation!!
Max
-But
Francesco is still a laic man!!
Brenda
-And
laity are not supposed to go with any woman before they get marry with them!!
George
-All
this matter looks like a dog trying to catch
its own tail, doesn’t it?
Max
-Quiet a
difficult matter to face on my birthday!!!
Brenda
-Oh, by
the way, did you enjoy my birthday’s present?
Max (watching up the pipe’s bowl and searching
somewhere around)
-Where
is the rest of the grass?
Brenda (handing him a small silver wrapping paper
)
-Here
you are!
Max (filling up the bowl and
passing to George the lighting pipe)
-Of
course I did! What about you George?
George (tasting a long blow and passing the pipe
to Brenda)
-That’s
really a special stuff! I’m stoned as hell!
Brenda (taking a blow)
-Why do
we say ‘ stoned as hell’? I actually feel stoned as heaven!!!
Max
-Do we
have anymore to share with our guests?
Brenda
-Don’t
worry about. We’ll have plenty of it!!
Vincent, my pusher, has promised to come along with a large pound of the
same stuff, this afternoon; this was only a free sample (shows the empty
tinfoil)
(A heavy sound hits the time)
George
-Goodness!
It’s one o’clock!?!
Brenda (laughing and mocking a famous song)
-And
time for lunch! Onky-tonky!!!!
Max (laughing too)
-And
we still have to set the catering on the tables for the guests! They might be
coming soon!
Brenda
-Let’s
go upstairs then!
EXEUNT
... to be continued...
