Gut E-Book

Frances Poet

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Serie: NHB Modern Plays
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 84

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

'I know my boy. I'd know if something had happened to him.' Maddy and Rory are devoted parents to three-year-old Joshua, committed to keeping him happy and safe. But when an everyday visit to a supermarket café turns into a far more troubling incident, their trust in those closest to them is shattered. Gut is a taut psychological thriller that asks: who can be trusted with our children – and is it more dangerous not to trust at all? Gut was first produced at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, in 2018. It was directed by Zinnie Harris. It went on to win Best Play at the 2019 Writers' Guild Awards.

Leseprobe

Frances Poet

GUT

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Original Production

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Characters

Gut

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Gut was produced by the Traverse Theatre Company in association with National Theatre of Scotland and first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 24 April 2018. The cast was as folllows:

THE STRANGER George Anton

RORY Peter Collins

MORVEN Lorraine McIntosh

MADDY Kirsty Stuart

Director Zinnie Harris

Designer Fred Meller

Lighting Designer Kai Fischer

Composer & Sound Designer Michael John McCarthy

Assistant Director Isla Cowan

Production Manager Kevin McCallum

Chief Electrician Renny Robertson

Deputy Electrician Claire Elliot

Head of Stage Gary Staerck

Lighting & Sound Technician Tom Saunders

Company Stage Manager Gemma Turner

Deputy Stage Manager Gillian Richards

Assistant Stage Manager Shellie Barrowcliffe

Costume Supervisor Sophie Ferguson

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Gary McNair for telling me to write the play and Zinnie Harris for championing it, shaping it and delivering it into the world.

For their support and input, Orla O’Loughlin, Kate Wasserberg, Vicky Featherstone, Caroline Newall, George Aza-Selinger, Rosie Kellagher, Davina Shah, Andrew Rosthorn, Viviene Cree, Kerry Dempsey, Lucianne McEvoy, Anita Vettesse, Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd, Irene MacDougall, John Kazak, Kirsty Stuart, George Anton, Lorraine McIntosh and Pete Collins.

Thanks to all the friends who have navigated the uncharted waters of parenthood alongside me, sharing their stories and fears, especially Hazel, Louise, Rachel, Tim and the NCTers, Heather and Jono, Andrew and Maggie, Beccy and Alex.

Ellie, who should always have a thank-you.

Peter and Elizabeth, who changed me by arriving into the world and let me run away to beautiful Cove Park to write the play even though they and Daddy were ill. And most of all to my live-in dramaturg (I know you hate the word) Richard, for his endless patience, support and love.

F.P.

For Janet and Roger,who did it well and taught me how

Characters

MADDY, thirties

RORY, thirties

MORVEN, sixties

THE STRANGER…

DAD

CHARITY WORKER

POLICE OFFICER

COLLEAGUE

GRIEVING STRANGER

STONER

NURSERY DAD

And JOSHUA

This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.

Maddy and Rory’s Kitchen-Diner

MADDY and RORY, just home from a romantic getaway (overnight bags by their feet) are telling MORVEN about their trip. They are like a double act, enjoying airing their good-humoured arguments for RORY’s mother. MADDY has the baby monitor in her hand and fiddles with it as they tell their story.

MADDY. I’m telling you, it was like a maze.

RORY. A maze? It was a corridor with six doors off it.

MADDY. None of the doors had locks on them so –

RORY. They did have locks.

MADDY. Yes, old-fashioned turn-your-key-in-the-door-if-you’regoing-out-for-the-day locks but not the usual self-locking mechanism that every other hotel in the world has –

RORY. I’d have booked us into a Premier Inn if I’d known the type of lock was the most important feature. You’re the one who wanted a boutique hotel.

MADDY. And there was no en suite.

MORVEN. Oh that’s a shame.

RORY. There were two bathrooms between four rooms. Big beautiful rooms with huge cast-iron baths and walk-in showers. Not some plastic cupboard with a toilet and leaky, push-button shower.

MADDY. And I drank too much wine with dinner.

RORY. We both did.

MADDY. So I wake up in the middle of the night bursting for a pee and I’m disorientated and I go out into this maze of doors.

RORY. Six. Six doors.

MADDY. Pat myself on the back for finding a bathroom. Empty my bladder and go back to the bedroom. And when I get into our room, I trip over what I think must be Rory’s boots and Rory grunts something like ‘What’s happening?’ and I say. Oh God, don’t make me say it.

RORY. Maddy says, all sultry, ‘It’s the girl of your dreams.’

MADDY. And I go to get into the bed and Rory’s on my side.

RORY. But I wasn’t. I hadn’t moved.

MADDY. And I say…

RORY. ‘Hey baby, if you want me in this bed, you’d better budge over.’

MADDY. I should have just said, ‘Move Rory’ like I normally do but I was trying to be… Anyway Rory budges up so I slide into bed beside him and he says in this quite low growly voice.

RORY. ‘You smell good.’

MADDY. Something like that. And it doesn’t sound like him but I’m thinking he’s putting on a silly sexy voice and so I say something like. Do we have to tell your mum this?

MORVEN. You’ve started now!

MADDY. So I said, ‘Come on then if we’re doing this.’

RORY. And she rolls in and caresses my head.

MADDY. Except it’s not Rory’s head. It’s totally bald. And I yelp out, ‘You’re bald!’and reach for the light and –

RORY. She’s gone into the wrong room. She’s only got into bed with a total stranger.

MORVEN. Oh my word!

MADDY. And the worst thing is he thinks I came into his room deliberately.

RORY. ‘It’s the girl of your dreams.’

MADDY. Because I’m so shocked when I realise that I just jump up and run away without saying anything. No explanation.

So as far as he’s concerned, it was all on until I discovered his bald head.

RORY. And then the next morning.

MADDY. At breakfast.

RORY. He’s sitting opposite us, staring at Maddy.

MADDY. I’m trying not to make eye contact but he keeps looking at me. And then Rory abandons me.

RORY. I wanted more orange juice!

MADDY. And he comes up to me and in this low quiet voice he says. Oh God, you say it.

RORY. No, you. It’s hilarious when you say it.

MADDY. He says… he says…

RORY. ‘I can get a toupee if it’s the hair that’s the problem.’

MORVEN. No!

MADDY. He might have been joking. I’m not sure.

RORY. He wasn’t joking. He passed her his number, scrawled on a napkin. ‘I can get a toupee.’

MORVEN. Oh Maddy!

MADDY. I know! Trust me.

MORVEN. He must have thought Christmas had come early!

RORY. I’ll bet!

MORVEN. You won’t forget that trip in a hurry! Was it all excitement or did you manage to get a good rest too?

RORY. Well we spent a lot of time lying down…

MADDY silences RORY with a look.

MADDY. We had a lovely rest.

Thank you so much, Morven. It was the perfect way to spend our anniversary.

(About the baby monitor.) Is this working?

MADDY passes the baby monitor to RORY.

RORY. Yeah, thanks, Mum.

MORVEN. My pleasure. You should have stayed two nights.

RORY passes back the baby monitor.

RORY. Seems fine to me.

MORVEN. I told you we’d be fine. Though after what I’ve just heard, Rory would be wise to keep you at home from now on.

RORY. Too right. Anyway, careful what you offer. Now we know he’ll settle for you, we’ll have Granny sleepovers every Saturday night.

MADDY is fiddling with the volume button on the monitor.

MADDY. I can’t hear anything.

RORY. He’s sleeping. What’s there to hear?

MADDY. How was he?

MORVEN. He’s an angel.

RORY. Really?

MORVEN. Well, not so much at bedtime.

MADDY. Oh dear.

How many stories did he make you read?

MORVEN. I’m not saying.

RORY. I knew he’d have you wrapped round his little finger.

MORVEN. Tonight’s bedtime did last quite a while.

MADDY. You are a saint.

MORVEN. Nonsense. It was good practice for when you’re at the wedding on the 18th.

Right, well I’ll get a move on. I’ve gone cold sitting here. Where’s my big boy?

RORY. Night, Mum, thanks.

MORVEN. Night, Maddy. You look radiant.

MADDY. Thank you, Morven. It’s done me a lot of good to get away – I really appreciate it.

MORVEN gathers her belongings.

Did he eat all his fish pie?

MORVEN. I decided to take him out for a treat tonight instead. Took him to our café.

MADDY. The one in the supermarket? What did he have?

MORVEN. You’ll be cross with me.

MADDY. Of course I won’t.

RORY. She will.

MADDY. Rory! What did he have?

MORVEN. Pizza with a side order of mixed vegetables.

MADDY. Mixed vegetables is good.

MORVEN. But he only ate the pizza.

In fact, he picked the cheese off the pizza and left the rest. And then he had jelly and ice cream but then as we were leaving, he spotted a chocolate rabbit so he had that as well.

RORY. At teatime? No wonder he was high as a kite when you were putting him to bed.

MORVEN. I tried to persuade him to go for the fish fingers but it all got bit panicked in the queue.

RORY. How come?

MORVEN. He needed a wee just as I was about to pay and I was carrying the trays with our meals and drinks. He was really desperate all of a sudden and I thought ‘Oh God, how do I get out of this muddle?’ But fortunately a nice man in the queue behind us offered to take him. He hadn’t chosen his dinner yet so I took his empty tray and he took Joshua for a wee.

RORY. What?

MORVEN. Joshua was excited that he’d get to go into the boys’ toilet instead of the ladies’ with me.

MADDY. Which man?

MORVEN. Just a man.

RORY. Fuck’s sake, Mum.

MADDY. Alright, calm down.

MORVEN. What have I said?

MADDY. I think Rory’s just worried that you let a man we don’t know –

RORY. A stranger.

MADDY. A stranger. Take Joshua.

RORY. A newly potty-trained three-year-old.

MADDY. Yes, thank you, Rory.

MORVEN. He was fine. He didn’t have an accident or anything. His pants and trousers were dry so the man must have helped him.

RORY. Oh God.

MORVEN. And he’d definitely washed his hands because I checked when they got back.

RORY. Mum!

MADDY. Yeah, Morven, we don’t care about whether Joshua washed his hands. I mean we do but. Who was the man?

MORVEN. Just a man. A nice kind man.

RORY. A total stranger.

MORVEN. Joshua was fine. He gobbled up his dinner, giggling and –

RORY. I’m going to wake him.

MADDY. Don’t wake him.

MORVEN. I’m sorry if I’ve done it wrong. It was all a bit of a panic. I was holding two trays with his meal and my meal and drinks. I’d got my wallet out ready to pay. And when he needs to go, as you well know, you can’t wait around.