The Twin Lovers
I used to greet you
At ten to nine
We left each other
Rightly half way
Between the twin towers
We both work
At the 87.th floor
You in the norther
Me in the souther
Ten minutes
For the lift
To get me up
And see you again
Through the windows
Of the twin towers
But on that 9/11
I had to
wait
Twenty minutes,
Twenty long
horrible
Bloody minutes
Watching the smoke,
The flames,
The hell!
And now we rejoined
For ever
As powder and ashes
In God’s
Heaven!
Twelfth Scene
The French Revolution
(Robespierre, Sylvain Maréchal, Georges Couthon and other
revolutionary French men; twelve dwarves: : Wheezy, Sneezy and Freezy; Slippy,
Drippy and Nippy; Showery, Flowery and Bowery; Hoppy, Croppy and Poppy. Apart:
Dante and Virgil).
When the curtain opens the
dwarves are pulling a double decked circular carousel, segmented in ten parts,
each one of them, up and down has an open guillotine; on the first level any
segment has a revolutionary man, kneeling, with his head locked, ready to be
executed; the upper side, which has a
circle of lower diameter, hosts a wax dummy, in the same position of the men
below, also ready to be executed; the lower and upper segments are connected by
a slide in order to allow the cutting heads to descend right on the down
standing bodies. Six dwarves are in the bottom round, the other six are in the upper
round.
Wheezy: (pushing
the carousel and singing a sort of mocking rhymes): When it’s Duodi, whose turn will be? When Decadi, it’ll round for him?
Robespierre (in a
bossy voice): Hey you, half citizens, stop the roundabout!
Sneezy: (stops
moving): What do you bloody want monsieur?
Robespierre: I
want to claim on my defense!
Freezy: You are
not allowed!
Robespierre ( in a brash way): My last speech!!!
Slippy: Come on!
Let’s hear your spell!!!
Robespierre: The springs of popular government in
revolution are at once virtue and terror: virtue, without which terror is
fatal; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing other than
justice, prompt, severe, inflexible... Yes, as the sword that gleams in the
hands of the heroes of liberty resembles that with which the henchmen of
tyranny are armed!!!
Drippy: (shouting to the upper guys): Poppy hero, low
the blade!!!
(a dry cut sounds in the air and a wax head falls down
together with a wax cast, right over Robespierre who will shout of pain loudly)
Nippy (collecting the wax head and showing it to
horrified Robespierre): Watch this!!! Next time could be yours to fall down!!!
All the dwarves will resume singing loudly.
Dwarf Chorus: Napoléon is coming, Napoléon is coming,
Napoléon is coming to save our homeland!!! (twice)
Thirteenth Scene
(Dante and Virgil)
Dante(scared and outraged) : What does all that mean,
master? And whom are those poor guys?
Virgil: The dwarves, I might suppose, impersonate the
twelve months of the Republican Revolutionary Calendar: maybe you know them
with their real names; Brumaire, Frimaire, Germinal, Prairial, ‘you know?
Dante: Now I do.. and the guys?
Virgil: The guy who made the speech is the King of Terror, Maximillien
Robespierre! The other guys were his partners ruling the reign of terror!
Dante (l.b.) I’m confused and perplexed, master! I
always thought the French Revolution had been a right movement of justice and
freedom… and now I see its promoters punished so heavily, scoffed and teased by
those funny dwarves…
Virgil: Those guys over there, my son, betrayed
themselves and the other inspirers of the French Revolution. As a matter of
fact we won’t find here, neither in other infernal circles Danton, Murat and
the other heads of French Revolution but only those, like Robespierre, who
transformed the ambitions of justice and freedom into a climax of anger and
fear!!!
Dante: I see you’re right, as usual, master!
Virgil: Do you want see more of this? Napoléon is near
to come, as a matter of fact!!!
Dante: I think I would like to go further than him, if
you don’t mind!!!
Virgil: I don’t mind at all, my son! Let’s go further
then! The following century is full of interesting characters even in this part
of the world!!!
exeunt
ACT 1
First Scene
The Inquisitors of the Holy Inquisition
( Tommaso Cosimo
Caccini, Lodovico
delle Colombe, Niccolò Lorini, Claudio Acquaviva, Benedetto
Mandina , Jacopo Aldobrandini e don Pedro de Vera; one unnamed secretary and four
friars; two soldiers; witnesses: Scipione Prestinace, Giovanni Mocenigo,
Francesco Graziano and friar Celestino from Verona; the Unnamed Witness; Pope Clemens VIII’s envoy Alberto Tragagliolo;
the devils of Loudun: Lucifer, the young Satan, Beelzebub, Leviathan, Elimi, and Astaroth; apart
Dante and Virgil).
The lights get on over a
square table where twelve people form a judge board for heretic sinners, proponents of
deism, scientific searchers, magician, witches, astrologers and fortune-tellers. On the table there are
several ponderous books. The secretary has got a plume ink pen and writes down
the assize’s record. Above the table, with block characters there a festoon
with the write “Pigeon League”. On
the left there is a door with a script “Astronomical Observatory”; still on the left, much closer to the judges
table, another door with the script
“Torture Room”; On the right a third door leads outside. At the table some cardinals, friars and a secretary chancellor.
President Tommaso Cosimo Caccini: Eminent
brothers and members of this holy assembly, we are conveyed to debate and
sentence against all the enemies of Saint Roman Church: heretic sinners, proponents of deism, scientific
searchers, witches, wizards, astrologers
and magicians. But above all we
fear the asserters of reason. They want to destroy the church for they fight
against the pope’s authority which, as we all know, in founded on the sacred
scriptures, the only dogmatic truth. They are the darkness posing as light, the blasphemy pretending to be
science, the falsehood impersonating the truth. In one word they are the
antichrist came on earth to destroy the world! (to the soldiers) Let the first
witness enter!
The First Guard opens the Astronomical Observatory Door
Secretary: (screaming out loudly) Scipione Prestinace!
Second Scene
(all the above said plus Scipione Prestinace)
Scipione Prestinace: Your Eminences! I’ve seen him! The man from Stilo! He’s
building the City of the Sun! (after witnessing, like all witnesses, he will stay on the back of the room)
Card. Caccini: That’s enough! Call the second witness!!!
Secretary: Giovanni Mocenigo!
Third Scene
(all the above said plus Giovanni Mocenigo)
Giovanni Mocenigo (breaks in almost breathless): The friar from Nola is
over there! He’s laughing and mocking like a crazy man! Come yourselves and see
through the Telescope that I’m telling the truth!!!
Lodovico delle Colombe (to
card. Caccini): Shall we go and see?
Card. Caccini (in a angry way): I’ll never look through that devilish
tool! Let another witness come!!!
Secretary: Francesco Graziano!
Fourth Scene
(all the above said plus Francesco Graziano)
Francesco Graziano (comes in timidly): Good day your eminences…
Nicolò Lorini: What can you testify of those heretic people?
Francesco Graziano: I’ve heard many of them saying the earth moves on
along the sun!
A buzz will rise powerful through the accusers
Claudio Acquaviva: What other proves do we need!!”! They are denying the
Holy Books!!!
Card. Caccini: Let’s hear the fourth witness!
Secretary:I call for Frà
Celestino from Verona
Fifth Scene
(all the above said plus Fra’ Celestino)
Fra Celestino: Your Eminences I have heard people saying the pope is not
unfailing and that it cannot be believed
what cannot be demonstrated by means of scientific evidence; and furthermore
the Almighty cannot intervene in human affairs for He has created the world and
nothing more cares of it!!!
Don Pedro de Vera: That’s unbelievable to be heard!!!
Card. Caccini We have a last
witness, haven’t we?
Secretary: Come the last witness!!!
Sixth Scene
(all the above said plus the Unnamed Witness)
The last witness (is a dark, hooded men with a sheepskin on his hands) I bring the
list of the black men with the books of blasphemy they have written against the
unique truth: Galileo Galilei, Hugo Grotius, John Comenius, René Descartes,
Francis Bacon, Johannes Keplero, Isaac Newton, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel
Kant…
Benedetto Mandina: I think that’s enough!
Jacopo Aldobrandini: Let’s them burn all!
Card. Caccini (with imperative voice): Silence please!!It’s time to
issue our sentence!
Seventh Scene
(Enter the
Devils of Loudun: Lucifer, the young Satan, Beelzebub, Leviathan, Elimi,
and Astaroth. They wear spears of
iron, tightens and tridents; all of them are horribly dressed and infuse great
terror in the judges and in all the present people)
Lucifer:
I also have to issue a sentence in the name of all the guilty magicians,
alchemist and witches you have burn through the time and on revenge of those, much
more numerous, you have unjustly condemned.
Card. Caccini (in a desperate attempt): Vade retro Satana!
Satan (laughing). Hey, don’t misunderstand! Satan is me oh man! I could go back if you held the Holy Cross! But you have dismissed it since longtime!
Beelzebub (with a fierce grin): Enough with the talk! Let’s go to have the great orgy on torture!!
(forced and planted by the arms’ devils all
the judges, the guards and the witnesses are pushed into the room of torture;
the devils will do that with outrages and obscene phrases against the religious
men. After all the men are inside the
torture room appear on the stage Dante and Virgil.)
SIXTH SCENE
(The foresaid and prof Aldo Scalia)
De Lussu
(addressing with a smile to her colleague Scalia who is entering the
classroom)
- Lupus in fabula! We were just talking
about COBAS Syndicate!!!!
Scalia (in a very
professional way he will greet the colleagues)
-Hello, everybody! (then addressed to
De Lussu) What’s the matter?
De Lussu
- Don’t you know anything about the
news?
Scalia (like
before)
- What news are you talking about?
Nugnes (handing
him the Circular)
- I’m Speaking of Prime Time TV's
Reality...
Scalia (c.s.
without even taking the Circular)
- Ah, yes! We've already appealed to a
Judicial Court for stopping the operation!!!!
De Lussu
- Ah, good! Finally we're talking in
the right way! I'm ready to sign!!!!
Scalia
- There's someone in the teachers'
lounge collecting signatures and money!
Nugnes
- But then it's not so regular? How did
they come to this?
Scalia
- They're always trying; then if no one
pursues them...
De Lussu
- Sure, they're sons of bitches!!!!!
I'm going to sign... (She's going to get out)
Scalia
- And they've got a big wad of cash to
hand out in the affair! The TV’s boss has even offered to pay the teachers involved to
stay at home and handle the whole thing themselves...
De Lussu (coming
back)
- What, what? Did I hear you right?
They give you a paycheck and you stay at home?!?!?
Scalia (c.s.)
- It seems so! And they put one of them
on the desk!
De Lussu.
- But then things are quiet different!
A lot different I would say!
Nugnes
- What do you mean by that?
De Lussu
- That I mean I'm sick of suffering!
And if they give me the money to stay at home, they can make a circus out of
this fucking school for me!!!! (goes out)
Prof Loi (in
sarcastic tone)
- She shows so much an affection to her
job…
Scalia (c.s.)
- Oh, yeah!Surely she does
Nugnes (rushing
out of the classroom)
- Bruna, wait for me! Don't run away!!!
(the bell rings
and the students, little by little, begin to return to class)
Scalia
- Are you staying here?
Prof Loi
- Yes, I have another hour...
Scalia
- Well, bye, then!
Prof Loi
- Bye Aldo, see you later.
FIFTH SCENE
(The foresaid and prof. Nugnes)
Nugnes (entering the classroom)
- Privacy, Bruna! In British it's
pronounced pree-va-cy! Is that clear?
De Lussu
- Hi Mariano! Did you hear the last news?
Nugnes (taking the
Circular that hands him De Lussu)
- The boys were mentioning it, down in
the yard! How does exactly work the all story?
De Lussu
- It sucks indeed! I'll go straight
away to syndicates for protesting!
Prof Loi
- Of course, if the Unions decide to
interfere they could even stop such an initiative...
Nugnes
- Oh,do you think so?
Prof Loi
- Well, the Workers' Statute explicitly
prohibits the use of audio-visual equipment for the purposes of remote control
of workers...
Nugnes (pointing the Circular on the desk)
- But I understand here that there's no
purpose of control over us...
De Lussu
- What the fuck are you saying, oh
Mariano? Get a grip on yourself, will you? Five hours under the watchful eye of
the cameras... Isn't that right, Loi?
Professor Loi.
- I don't know... As the school is going on in this time...
Nugnes
- Suppose the school had to close
without that funding... I'm just saying...
De Lussu
- Never the less... (noticing a
colleague at the door calling him out loud) Aldo! Come here for a minute
Aldo...
...to be continued...
FOURTH SCENE
(Prof Loi and his colleague De Lussu);
(while the teacher
is immersed in the compilation of the justification enters the colleague De
Lussu)
De Lussu (in a concise tone)
- Look, Loi, what's this matter about
cameras in class? This is a student prank, isn’t?
Prof Loi (hand
over the Circular)
- Read it by yourself.
De Lussu (after reading
, quickly, the Circular)
- But this is bullshit-! We must rebel!
What do you say?
Prof Loi (in
hesitant tone)
- I haven't been able to make a precise
idea yet... the Circular says that they will come to explain the rules and
procedures today!
De Lussu
- If they come during my teaching time I won't even let them in!
Prof Loi
(indicating the Circular)
- It seems there is a lot of money at stake...
De Lussu (throwing
the circular on the desk)
- And thanks the hell! What a pity the money goes to the school and not to us, while
we get the cameras instead. So much for the privacy policy!
