Tambo & Bones (NHB Modern Plays) E-Book

Dave Harris

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 74

Beschreibung

Tambo and Bones are stuck in a minstrel show. It's hard to know what's real when you're stuck in a minstrel show. Their escape plan: get out, get rich, get even. A daring theatrical exploration of the intersection of race, capitalism and performance, Dave Harris's play Tambo & Bones laughs through our past, blows the roof off our present, and imagines an explosive future for our world and for theatre. Tambo & Bones was commended in the 2019 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, and was first performed in a co-production between Playwrights Horizons, New York City, and Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, in 2022. It was first produced in the UK in 2023 by Theatre Royal Stratford East, London, and Actors Touring Company, directed by Matthew Xia. 'Blistering… sobering… lacerating stage poetry' - New York Magazine 'A racially charged metatheatrical satire and "rags-to riches hip-hop odyssey" by slam poet turned playwright Dave Harris' - Time Out New York

Leseprobe

Dave Harris

TAMBO & BONES

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Original Production Details

Epigraph

Characters

Tambo & Bones

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

The UK premiere of TAMBO & BONES was first performed at Stratford East on 16 June 2023, produced by Theatre Royal Stratford East and Actors Touring Company. The cast was as follows:

TAMBO

Rhashan Stone

BONES

Daniel Ward

X-BOT-1

Jaron Lammens

X-BOT-2

Dru Cripps

Director

Matthew Xia

Designers

Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey ULTZ

Lighting Designer

Ciarán Cunningham

Hip-Hop Beats Producer

Excalibah*

Sound Designer & Additional Composition

Richard Hammarton

Movement Director

Kloé Dean

Video Designer

Gino Ricardo Green

Casting Director

Julia Horan CDG

Assistant Director

Danielle Kassarate

Costume Supervisor

Ysanne Tidd

Fight Director

Kev McCurdy

Voice & Dialect Coach

Joel Trill

Magic & Illusions Consultant

Chris Cox

Production Dramatherapist

Wabriya King

Puppetry Designer

Hugh Purves

Assistant Designer

Mark Simmons

Production Managers

Jess Harwood

Luke Child

Deputy Production Managers

Daniel Steward

Simon Godfrey

Stage Manager

Marie-Angelique St. Hill

Deputy Stage Manager

Phyllys Egharevba

Assistant Stage Manager

Anna Townley

Head of Lighting

Charlie Mann

Lighting Deputy

Sam Marshall

Head of Sound

Jeremy George

Company Manager

Vanessa Sutherland

Wardrobe Manager

Shereen Maungoo

Stage Crew

Emily Forbes

Amy Le Sage

Scenic Carpenters

Bartosz Chmielak

India Milla

Puppet Maker

Emily Tupholme

Illusion Builder

Thomas Moore

Illusion Knives

Steven Herbert for Bloody Stuff

Deputy Producer

Sean Brooks

Senior Producer

Catherine Morgenstern

* ‘WAR’ produced by Roly Botha and Excalibah ‘Dollas to Dreams’ produced by Excalibah and Roly Botha

Set and Scenic Artwork by Theatre Royal Stratford East Workshop and Richard Nutbourne Scenic Services.

Thanks to Anna Abenson, Simon Bourne, Felicity Finch, Bradley Hemmings, Charlie Bunker and Gabby Vautier at imPOSSIBLE, and Deborah Linton.

TAMBO & BONES was developed at University of California San Diego School of Theatre and Dance, with Naomi Iizuka and Deborah Stein.

Playwrights Horizons, Inc., New York City and Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, CA produced the Co-World Premiere of TAMBO & BONES in 2022, directed by Taylor Reynolds.

TAMBO & BONES is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

TAMBO & BONES was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference: Robert Egan, Artistic Director/Producer.

TAMBO & BONES was developed with support from SPACE on Ryder Farm and The Black Swan Lab at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

‘Nothing real can be threatened; nothing unreal exists.’

Jay-Z

Characters

TAMBO, a clown

BONES, a clown

X-BOT-1

X-BOT-2

Setting

A pasture.

But like a fake-ass pasture.

Some fake-ass trees and a fake-ass bush.

A fake-ass sky with a fake-ass sun.

A lil bit of fake-ass grass.

Yo it’s fake-ass pastoral out here.

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

PART ONE: A Fake-Ass Pasture

Enter TAMBO, a clown.

He enters with a large watering can.

He waters a fake-ass tree.

It don’t grow.

This irritates TAMBO.

Why won’t the fake-ass tree grow if you give it some real-ass water?

He waters the tree some more and the tree is like nah.

He scratches his head.

He sighs.

AN IDEA!

He goes offstage.

He comes back onstage with a real-ass chair.

It’s a real-ass chair because you can sit in it.

He puts the real-ass chair next to the fake-ass tree.

He uproots the fake-ass tree and puts it on top of the real-ass chair.

Ha! The short tree is now a tall tree.

TAMBO sits beneath the tree and looks around.

TAMBO pulls his hat over his eyes.

TAMBO rests his weary soul.

Enter BONES, a clown.

BONES (to the audience). Y’all got any quarters?

Y’all got any change to spare?

It’s for a good cause. I promise.

I gotta uh catch the bus so I can visit my young son, Zippy.

He in the hospital.

All I need is a quarter and I can bring him his birthday gift.

Incidentally, it’s also his birthday.

I just need one, or several quarters. From you.

(Fake-ass desperate.) A son can’t go fatherless on his birthday.

Cuz then he’ll grow up to hate himself.

You don’t want my son to hate himself.

Just give me some quarters so I can see my boy, Zippy.

My sweet sweet.

A deep breath.

(To the fake-ass heavens.) ZIPPY!

TAMBO awakens with a start! His hat flies off his face.

TAMBO. Nigga! What is you doing?

BONES. I’m tryna get some quarters so I can see my boy Zippy. You know. Zippy. My seed. My sweet sweet ZIPPY!

TAMBO. Nigga who is Zippy?

BONES. Yo, man, shh, chill. (The audience.) they watchin.

TAMBO. Like I give a fuck. You ain’t got no son. You ain’t got no family. You got me. Out here interrupting my nap n shit.

BONES. I’m tryna make a living.

TAMBO. AND THEY AIN’T GOT NO QUARTERS OUT HERE. They got them big ol’ fifty-pence pieces.

BONES. I ain’t got time to ask for no fifty-pence piece. (To the audience.) Y’ALL GOT ANY QUARTERS?

TAMBO. You want a quarter?

TAMBO walks to BONES and slaps a real-ass quarter onto the ground.

There.

BONES picks up the quarter.

BONES. Really Tambo? One quarter? You givin me one quarter?

TAMBO. Ain’t that what you wanted?

BONES. How Imma see my fake-ass son with one quarter?

TAMBO. Well whatchu want then?

BONES. I want everyone’s quarters. You just one person. There’s like two hundred and fifty1 quarters in this room. How many more quarters is two hundred and fifty from one? It’s at least two hundred!

TAMBO. You need to learn to be satisfied! I gave you my only quarter out of the generosity of my heart. So take yo one quarter and close yo one mouth.

BONES. I bet you wasn’t even asleep.

TAMBO. I bet I put my foot in yo booty you don’t stop talking.

BONES sees the ‘tree’.

BONES. The fuck is this?

TAMBO. It’s a tree.

BONES. Whatchu mean it’s a tree?

TAMBO. What it look like?

BONES. It look like a fake-ass tree on top of a real-ass chair.

TAMBO. I needed a tall tree to cast a long shadow so I could rest my weary soul beneath its soothing calm.

BONES. Well that don’t make it a tree.

TAMBO. It was a short tree and now it’s a tall tree. Photosynthesis my nigga.

TAMBO picks up the watering can.

I made it rain. I made it grow.

BONES. That some fake-ass water too?

TAMBO splashes BONES.

TAMBO. SPLASH!

BONES. HEY!

TAMBO. It ain’t fake if I believe in it. And now Imma go rest my weary soul.

BONES. Just cuz the tree a little higher than it was don’t make it a better tree.

Matter fact, all you did is ruin a good chair.

Cuz now you can’t sit there

cuz it got a fake-ass tree in it

and I guess that makes it a fake-ass chair

cuz what the fuck you gon do with a chair

that you can’t sit in!

Tryna give me one quarter and tell me to be satisfied. Nigga!

TAMBO is fake asleep under his fake-ass tree.

I know you ain’t sleep neither.

TAMBO snores.

Where you get this quarter from?

TAMBO. Iohnno. I just checked my pocket and there it was.

BONES. It’s a nice quarter.

TAMBO. Yeah. Yeah it is.

BONES. Thank you.

TAMBO. Yeah.

BONES. How come we only got one quarter between the two of us? I know there’s more out there. But we only got the one?

TAMBO. How come you gotta question everything?

BONES. I just –

TAMBO. I tell you something’s a tree and you make it more than that. I say here’s a quarter, and you like nah I need somebody else’s quarters.

BONES. I’m just pondering my purpose n shit.

TAMBO. You ain’t happy wit ya life as it is?

BONES. I read somewhere that happiness is just an illusion like sunlight.

TAMBO. Who taught you to read?

BONES. Iohnno, who taught you to speak?

TAMBO. I… wha… You too much.

BONES. I know.

Quiet. TAMBO pulls his hat over his eyes. BONES watches TAMBO sleep underneath his fake-ass tree. BONES goes offstage and gets a real-ass chair. He uproots another fake-ass tree and puts it on top of the real-ass chair. The tree is now tall. He rests beneath the fake-ass tall tree.

TAMBO. It’s nice, ain’t it?

BONES. It’s lovely.

A pause. BONES tries to sleep. He can’t. He’s mad uncomfortable. He shifts. He itches his toes. He grunts. He sits up!

AHA!

TAMBO awakens with a start! His hat flies off his face.

BONES runs offstage. He comes back and kicks his fake-ass tree off the chair. He puts the real-ass chair center-stage.

He unsheathes A real-ass KNIFE!

TAMBO. NIGGA! WHAT IS YOU DOING?!

BONES. I’m gettin my quarters.

TAMBO. How?!?!

BONES. Wit this knife! Duh!