Amelia Szulc

FREEDOM

Cast:
Randy
Dave
Seymour
Vivienne
Frank
Cathy

Scene 1

The entire action of the play takes place in a bar. It’s 8 pm, winter. On the stage there are only a counter and few chairs next to it. A man is sitting on one of them. He’s sitting showing his left profile to the audience. We can see only a half of his body. On the other side, there is a barman, wearing white shirt and a black waistcoat. The stage is a bit foggy, and pretty dark. There are only few strews of colourful lights which are lightening the bar. The other part of the stage is darkened. Randy’s sitting with his head down, looking at his glass filled with whiskey.

RANDY: Have you seen the weather forecast for tomorrow, Dave?

Barman seems to ignore him. He mixes some drinks, washes the glasses etc. Randy continues.

RANDY: Gosh… I’m so down with that weather. It doesn’t mean I expect the sun in the middle of the winter, but there’s something sad about the snow. You see, I just miss the soil. The pure, dry soil with green grass on it. Yesterday I dreamt about the Boyne Valley. I was so excited about it. But when I woke up I realised that there’s something absolutely different behind my window. And it made me more sad than I had been in the evening. You see, sometimes good dreams make people more devastated than nightmares. Don’t you think so? That’s how it works with me.

Barman still doesn’t look like someone interested in Randy’s words.

DAVE: Yeah, Randy. Don’t you want something else except the whiskey?

RANDY: People are laughing at me. You think I can’t see it? Sure I do. But I don’t let them know I know. Then I can secretly laugh at them. He makes a little pause.

Somebody enters the bar. A man in his early forties. He sits next to Randy. They both reveal only the half of their bodies, to be seen by the audience. They are not fully hidden behind the counter. The man looks very nervous. He’s in a coat, which he takes off and puts on a stand hanger. The coat falls down. The man is doing it again, looking even more nervous.

SEYMOUR: Hello chaps. What’s the time?

DAVE: 8.15. Anything for you?

SEYMOUR: Give me one Blue lagoon. I’m here just for a couple of minutes. I’m meeting Julie at 9.

He speaks very nervously, he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.

SEYMOUR: Do you have a watch Randy? Please, control the time for me.

RANDY: Poor Seymour. She’s doing whatever she wants with you. Why did you agree to meet her?

Dave brings the drink.

SEYMOUR: She called me yesterday at 4 pm and said she wanted to talk. What’s the time? I need about 20 minutes to get to Luke’s Café. She’s my life.

DAVE: She betrayed you.

SEYMOUR: And this is what we should talk about. I’ve realised now it was my fault. I didn’t give her enough love. I mean, I didn’t show her how much she means to me. So she had a right to search for it with another guy. What’s the time for god’s sake?

DAVE:8.25 Guys, I’d say. You shouldn’t go there. She is destroying you.

Seymour gets even more nervous.

SEYMOUR: Don’t say such things Dave! You’ve got no right.

He takes his glass but his hands are shaking so much that he splits the liquid on his shirt. He looks frightened, he has got a big stain on his shirt. He looks like about to cry.

DAVE: Go to the bathroom and try to wash it.

SEYMOUR: Are you kidding me?? I have no time.

He goes to the corner where he has left his suitcase, he stumbles and takes something from the suitcase.

DAVE: What’s that?

SEYMOUR: I took another shirt. You never know what’s going to happen. Julie can’t see me in a bad condition. I’d rather die. Gosh, TIME!

DAVE: I wonder if he carries another pair of pants.

Seymour disappears for a second, and shows in a new shirt. He dresses himself very quickly and leaves the bar very fast.

DAVE: Why you are so silent?

RANDY: That’s crap. He’s so naive. He’s always been so impatient. He doesn’t really love her. I doubt he even loves himself. And it all makes me so tired. I will never get marry. Neither have children.

DAVE: Yeah, yeah (saying that with irony). So what you are going to do?

RANDY: Travel maybe. That’s a good idea. I’ll go to Brazil. You remember when I told you about my voyage to Africa? When I saw all of these pyramids and sphinxes. I think that Seymour’s exactly like such a sphinx. Stony keeper of something which doesn’t need any security at all. And he is there just because he couldn’t exist anywhere else. That would be peculiar.

DAVE: (laughing) ha ha. You’re so funny today, bro. One positive thing with the whole situation with you is what you always make me laugh. But the sad thing is that it’s not a laughing matter at all.

Scene 2

A lady enters the bar. She’s young, doesn’t take off her nice coat. She looks sophisticated. She sits next to Randy.

DAVE: Anything for you miss?

VIVIENNE: I’ll take a brandy. Don’t pretend you don’t recognize me! It’s me. Vivienne O’Shea.

Dave looks like it doesn’t say anything to him. Randy keeps looking in his glass all the time, he doesn’t drink.

DAVE: Dave Vaughan. Nice to meet you. Gives her a drink.

VIVIENNE: You fool! I’m an actress. The most famous actress in town.

DAVE: Sorry miss, maybe I’m dumb but I don’t recognize you at all. So tell me, in which movies did you star?

Vivienne looks a bit confused.

VIVIENNIE: In many.. ehhm I took a lot of episodes… a lot of small but very significant roles.

DAVE: All right. But what movies? Give me the titles. I’m a great fan of a cinema.

VIVIENNE: Movies! Who cares for movies?! That’s for silly heads!

DAVE: Ha ha. So you perform in a theatre?

She’s getting more confused, she almost shouts. Drinks the whole drink and continues:

VIVIENNE: Nope! Who goes to the theatre nowadays! I want to be easy recognizable for every human being. Every NORMAL human being. I take the roles which makes me being in every house, every day. She changes her tone for a very serious one. I want to make people know that there’s so much in this life to live, that there are so many things that they can have they didn’t even know that exist. It’s a kind of a mission. I consider myself as a missionary. That’s why I’m so popular in my craft. I can see we’ve got nothing to talk about. Good bye. I hope you someday realize what the real ART is. The more practical one.

She takes her things and leaves very quickly.

DAVE: What the hell? Did you hear that? Who the fuck is she?

RANDY: I have a good memory for faces. I saw her in a commercial advertising some awesome stickers for cell phones. That’s why I’m never going to get married.

DAVE: To the hell with her. Oh, Randy please don’t start again.

RANDY: Do you remember when I was a dancer in “Dublin Stars”? God only knows how much I loved it. I think I learnt stepping earlier than walking. That’s what mum used to say. I could have everything, everything… It changed when things were getting worse with me. As they said so. They took Matthew for the contest and he won. No one wanted me there anymore. (Dave isn’t listening to him. He’s doing his working stuff. Randy makes a small pause.) I really try to enjoy winter… I really do.( Another pause.) Dave, may I ask about something? Does your wife make you any sandwiches to work? I’m curious. Maybe that would be a good reason to get marry. (Pause.) No. There’re no rational reasons to get marry. I will never get marry. Do you have a cigarette, Dave?

DAVE: You don’t smoke.

Randy gets frustrated. He’s behaving like a kid.

RANDY: But I want a cigar! Now! C’mon Dave! Give me a cigar! Otherwise I’ll never come back here again and tell each of my friends not to do it. Give me that fucking cigar!

DAVE: All right, all right. Just come down.

He takes a packet from his pocket and give one cigar to Randy. Randy is calmer. He looks very calm. Everything’s like it has been before.

RANDY: Thank you.

Dave, have you ever tried drugs? Don’t you think it’s kind of a fascinating, all the matter with them? Heroin, cocaine? Something? You could feel like a rock star then. I’ve never wanted to become one. I only dreamt of stopping being a drug to myself.

Randy starts a story. He speaks very slowly, with a nice, pleasurable tone.

Do you remember that girl whom I saved last autumn? It was so late when I was getting back home. I heard some noises on the bus stop. There were no other people there. And when I got in I saw him trying to rape her. So I took my knife out and started fighting with him. He was very strong, he punched me in my stomach. I felt terrible pain. At first I didn’t want to hurt him so bad. But things went differently. He was stronger than me but fortunately had no weapon. I plunged my knife into his stomach, right under his ribs, and stabbed several times. A few minutes later he felt on to the floor. He was unconscious. I guess I killed him. And that girl was only looking at me without any emotion on her face. She looked terrible. Her hair was tousled and oily, her skinny dress was torn. I guess she was very stoned. I saw it in her eyes. While he was lying so still she just looked me and left so slowly, looking so dignified as if she defeated him only by herself. I was pissed. I just killed a man, and she didn’t even say: “thank you”.

I will never get married.

Dave is not impressed, he looked bored, doesn’t pay much attention to Randy.

DAVE: Humm. Sounds familiar. Have you seen The X-Files recently?

Randy speaks with with irony, grinning.

RANDY: Dave, please let me ask you about something. Do you have any problems? What bothers you? I wonder what problems may have a person like you. Do you have ANY? What kind? Broken washing machine at home? Too high bills for the telephone? Tell me about it.

DAVE: My only problem is your face every evening. Thanks God it’s so smoky here.

The phone starts ringing. It’s Randy’s cell. He looks like nothing’s happening, he doesn’t react as if he was dead.

DAVE: I guess you should answer.

Randy seems to wake up now. He takes his cell out of the pocket and stares at the screen. Still he doesn’t answer. After a while the phone stops ringing.

DAVE: Who was that?

RANDY: Cathy.

DAVE: So why didn’t you answer?

The phone starts ringing again. The situation looks the same.

DAVE: Dude, you should talk to her, she’s your wife. She’s surely worried.

RADNY: What’s the time?

DAVE: 11.

RANDY: am or pm?

DAVE: Gosh… pm of course.

RANDY: So she has got no reasons to be worried.

DAVE: Talk to her. Call her back.

RANDY: I switched it off.

DAVE: To be honest, I don’t know why she’s still with you. She must love you very much.

RANDY: I’ll never get married.

DAVE: Yeah, I’ve heard it.

RANDY: I want to go for a picnic. I’ve always wanted to do it. I remember when I was a kid I always hoped that one Sunday we would just forget the world and go for a picnic. First 5 years of my life were the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me.

(He makes a pause. While talking he is staring at his glass, he still doesn’t drink, and holds the cigarette in his hand).

I am a good man Dave. Don’t you think so? Do you think that one day I’ll get a candy from God as a reward for being such a great man? If yes, then I’ll keep on being good but what if not? Does it make sense to be good for free? I don’t know if I am so noble as to do everything just out of my pure goodness.

Pause.

Just kidding. Never mind.

Scene 3

A man enters the bar. He is a bit drunk. He is in his late fifties. He’s got nice, expensive clothes, but they’re in chaos, he looks scruffy. He’s devastated.

He sits near the Randy, in the same place where others did. He doesn’t say anything, just sits with his head down. Randy is staring at him, also doesn’t say a word.

DAVE: Anything for you mister?

FRANK: Give me a bottle of the most expensive vodka. And the strongest one.

He sounds drunk. Dave looks at him at first, is a bit confused, but after a second, Frank throws out on the table few banknotes.

FRANK: (to Randy) Is it open for the whole night? Tell me young man. Is it? I’ve got nowhere to go, so I thought I just could stay here.

RANDY: You don’t look like a homeless.

FRANK: What do you know about life, young man?

Dave brings a drink, he’s getting into a conversation. Frank continues.

FRANK: What do you know… What worries can a man at your age have? You don’t know anything about life. Anything. How could you know if you’re so young. You never experienced the real pain.

Frank is very excited about his words. He sounds very serious. Randy looks as if he didn’t listen. He’s deep into his own thoughts. He looks as if he was in a different world.

Frank continues, the more he says the more weepy his voice is.

FRANK: What shall I do now? How should I live? The world has just stopped existing for me. I’ve got such a big house, but why should I come back there? This makes no sense. I don’t want even to think about things which would remind me of her. That house is full of her presence. She made the curtains in our living room herself. I don’t even remember the colour. I see them every day for 10 years and I don’t remember the colour… I told her that she shouldn’t have done it, that I could have bought her the prettiest curtains in the world. But she insisted on making them by herself. What shall I do with them now?

DAVE: But what has happened? What’s wrong with her?

FRANK: She’s just died. There was a funeral today. She left me completely alone. We didn’t have children. …. She has just passed away. Do you understand it? She just passed away… I’m sure she did it on purpose. She was tired of me, of our big house. She wanted to move to a smaller cottage in the country. But how could I leave all the life here? My job? I’m the most important financial adviser in the town. So after 20 years she decided to leave me here alone. Don’t you think it’s so cruel of her? We couldn’t have children so I wanted her to have everything. And she has just gone, took her things and went to heaven. I’m sure she’s in heaven now, laughing at me with the Saints. I’ve always taken care of everything and now I can’t even take care of myself.

(Striking silence.)

RANDY: I will never get married.

DAVE: I see it’s very hard for you. But you have to face it. You won’t escape it, God’s will.

After a few drinks, Frank looks terribly drunk, no contact with him.

FRANK: I won’t come back home. I want to disappear. You don’t understand me…

He starts weeping. There is an awkward silence, only the wept of Frank is to be hear. It sounds terrible. After few seconds he stands up, and walks out without a word.

 

RANDY: That’s funny, isn’t it? He shouldn’t have got married. This is his fault he misses her. We can’t prevent ourselves from losing things but we can avoid getting them. The less you have the less you can lose. Have you ever wondered Dave why people search for other people’s affections? What for? Do you think that they just don’t want to be lonely? But having other people doesn’t make you less lonely. No one can change your loneliness except yourself. It’s a state of mind. And that knowledge makes me smarter than the whole rest of these assholes. They would never discover it. They’re too busy with thinking how lonely they are.

DAVE: Nice talk, pal. If I didn’t know you I’d recommend you studying psychology.

When he notices what he has just said he laughs.

DAVE: Ha ha what an irony.

Randy still doesn’t move, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke.

RANDY: Dave, could you make me some coffee?

DAVE: You don’t like coffee.

Randy gets frustrated.

RANDY: How do you know for God’s sake?!

DAVE: You often say that your piss smells terribly after drinking some coffee. Calm down.

DANDY: It’s not your business. I want to have a coffee now.

Scene 4

Dave makes a coffee, brings it, Seymour enters.

DAVE: I can’t believe my eyes! Look who’s here! How was your date? And why so fast?

Seymour’s face is much different that it was in the previous scene, he’s calmer.

SEYMOUR: I didn’t go.

DAVE: What???!!! Why???

SEYMOUR: You won’t believe.

DAVE: Oh, don’t be silly. Hit me.

SEYMOUR: When I left from here, I went straight to the restaurant where we were supposed to meet. I was so nervous. My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking. In my head I saw thousands possible versions of that meeting. My imagination kept telling me what would happened in many different ways. I thought I had predicted everything. While I was walking down the street, a cab passed me athuge speed. I was close to an incredible puddle and it spattered me. My perfect suit was completely dirty. I got furious and started crying. I couldn’t let her see me in such a shape so I returned home. I wanted to call her but my mobile had just gone dead. I gasped for breath. When I got home I sat down, and something immediate happened. I thought: “Seymour, what the hell are you doing? Why are you so restless all the time? Man cannot be so restless. It’s way too much for you. Why don’t you try to be less restless?” And later many of answers came to my mind: “I just can’t control it. It’s something which comes to me from a different world, and just settles down in my head, keeping it in such an unhealthy state.” All of my nights were so restless. Because of her? Yeah, I think that she was the reason for 80% of my anxiety. I took a bath, dressed up and didn’t go there. I have always less powerful than she was. I just don’t want to destroy myself any longer. In a relationship there is always one person who is more powerful. Now I’m taking control.

DAVE: Sounds pretty reasonable.

RANDY: How about your other 20% of anxiety?

Seymour is confused .

SEYMOUR: Don’t know. Came here with it.

RANDY: Well I think that these proportions are exactly reversed. He said that she’s 80%. Bull shit. She’s the 20%. So why did he say something else? The answer is easy. Because it is the only one reason of his anxiety that he can name. He doesn’t realise that he’s harmful to himself not she. It’s she in his head who makes him so restless not she in herself. The real reason stays in subconscious.

He immediately pauses. He is now excited with something else

RANDY: Oh Dave! It has just crossed my mind that I’ve forgotten to tell you about my new favourite activity. Well, I think I’ve always liked it but I never realised. So, do you know what is it?

DAVE: No idea.

RANDY: The best thing in the world is to sit in a silence and start dying. Very slowly, very quietly, very nice. And as you sit dying you experience every little feeling or emotion more intensively. And at the end of that process you let them go, they die. Leaving a terrible emptiness inside you. However it doesn’t last long. Every death brings new birth

Dave interrupts him.

DAVE: Randy please, could you just shut up for a little second? Let him talk.

SEYMOUR: I’ve finished.

Randy shouts:

RANDY: No! I can’t shut up! You shut up and listen! Look what she left for me this morning.

DAVE: Who? Cathy?

Randy takes a little note from his pocket and gives it to Dave, he reads aloud:

DAVE: “(…) and when the boys said to her, Sibyl, what do you want? She replied: I want to die”. What’s that?

RANDY: I’m fed up with her being so poetic. That kills me. And that’s not the kind of death I enjoy. And I also think she thinks of herself as a Sybil and she doesn’t mean that kind of dying I mention to you. With her head in the clouds she reads all of that shit, oh, she would rather say she contemplates, and this just makes me sick. Her soul flies somewhere else, you see, I can’t follow it anymore. She’s got that romantic image of perfectness and does everything to maintain it. She keeps crying all the time, saying that I am slipping away, that I should go to that fucking hospital again. One thing I don’t get is why she persuades me to do it? Why? The most up-to-earth person I know? She allows herself to stay in that world of fiction with destroying mine. Why can’t have my own world of fiction? “You’ve lost your balance” – she said. What’s the balance? She’s the last person who could teach me about balance. Little pause. Randy thinks, deep in his thoughts. All right, she’s the master of balance.

In the meantime Seymour smiles to himself and leaves.

DAVE: She loves you so much. She has got tired, don’t you understand this? She writes she wants to die because she doesn’t know what to do with you. That’s too much for her. You should go to that hospital.

RANDY: I’m losing my freedom. I’m losing my mind. That’s not a place where I could find it back. I don’t want to be loved. I want to live.

Scene 5

A woman enters the bar. She’s very beautiful. It’s Cathy – Randy’s wife. There’s a sadness in her eyes.

Randy is astonished. He stands up nervously. Now the audience can see his full apparition for the first time. He shows his right profile to the audience. There is a wedding ring on his finger.

RANDY: What are you doing here? You shouldn’t have come here. It’s too late for you to go out.

His voice’s cold and dispassionate.

Cathy’s weeping. She’s desperate. Looks like mad.

CATHY: Look what I have for you. A beautiful sticker for your cell. It’s blue, your favourite. I thought you may love it.

She gives a sticker to Randy. He puts it on the counter without looking. He gets angry. He orders her:

RANDY: Go back to home!

CATHY: No, I won’t go anywhere without you.

He struggles with her but doesn’t hit her, despite he wants it. It the last second he controls himself.

DAVE: Calm down pal. Go back home. It’s late, you should go to sleep.

CATHY: Doctor Hensley called. He said they can take you to that pleasant resort in the Boyne Valley. I know you love that place. That’s a good news Randy. Our heaven will be blue again. I know that. But you have to give me your hand, we have to destroy that bridge between us. We’ll colour our lives once again, I know it, I know you’re tired of black and white. Things will be better soon. But you have to go with me. Tomorrow we’ll get there. Isn’t it grand?

Randy’s listening with his head down, he’s smirking. He doesn’t say anything.

CATHY: Dave, tell him. Isn’t it grand?

DAVE: Oh, sure it is. (He tries to persuade Randy). Look dude, that’s the best thing you could do. You’ll recover very soon and you start your life anew, together.

RANDY: (with a big smile) And what else?

CATHY: We’ll be like one. I’ll be your dream, your wish, your fantasy. You’ll be my desert, my rain, my everything. We’ll be holding on forever.

Randy puts his head in his hands. Still smiling, there’s something terrifying in that smile.

RANDY: (with that smile, he looks very childish). All right then.

CATHY: Do you agree? (with hope, very excited)

RANDY: Yeah.

DAVE: Good choice, pal.

CATHY: I’ll call the doctor that we’re coming tomorrow.

Cathy is so happy that she almost claps her hands with joy. She has got tears in her eyes.

RANDY: But let me first go to the bathroom.

He leaves. On the stage we’ve got only Dave and Cathy. She’s holding him. They don’t move for a couple of minutes. There’s silence. They seem even not to breath. Silent atmosphere. After few minutes Cathy breaks the silence.

CATHY: Where is he? Why does it take him so long?

DAVE: Don’t worry. It’s Randy, he’s probably talking to himself in the mirror (laughs)

Cathy is getting worried. She starts shaking.

CATHY: I think we should check it out. C’mon Dave, where’s the toilet?

DAVE: All right, anything you like.

First time from the very beginning, action switches to another part of the stage (which was darkened earlier). Very strong, striking, white light is put on that part of the stage. It looks like a bathroom, all in white. That “whiteness” is striking. It contrasts very much with the decoration of the bar. There is an open window inside. It’s open very widely. Randy’s not there.

CATHY: Oh my God! (she’s frightened, gets pale, looks like a dead)

Dave notices a little piece of paper lying near the mirror.

DAVE: There’s a little note in there. Look. (he reads)

“Dark too our hearts, O love(?), shall lie and cold

As his sad heart has lain

Under the moongrey nettles, the black mould

And muttering rain.”

Forever yours,

Joyce

Kathy is terrified, she starts crying, asking Dave: “why?”. She looks like mad. Finally she runs away from the bar. Striking silence on the stage. Dave leaves the bathroom. A person gets out of the shower unit. It’s Randy. He was hidden inside not to be seen by anyone. He sits next to the wall, he’s calm and he smiles. He’s got a book in his head. He sits below the open window. He looks at the book very carefully. Suddenly throws it out through the open window and starts laughing. He takes out a vial with pills from his pocket. He empties it and swallows everything. He still smiles. After few seconds he closes his eyes. The light gets darker and darker until the complete darkness comes.

THE END