The Gift

Roy Williams

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2000
• Print ISBN:
  9780413755902
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781408148358
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

A new play by the award-winning writer, which premiered at the Birmingham Rep in 2000 and transferred to London's Tricycle theatre

"Yu gwan on about love, you can't even si love when it right under yer nose"

Since their childhood, when Heather left Jamaica to start a new life in England, her half-sister Bernice always claimed to have 'the gift' of raising spirits from the dead. Thirty years later, when Heather returns to the island after the murder of her much-loved son, she offers Bernice the deeds to the family house - if she can bring him back...

"Roy Williams shows himself to be a sassy, sophisticated diviner of the human heart" (Evening Standard)

Scene Five

Outside Bernice’s house.

Heather is with Clarkey.

Heather (laughing) No!

Clarkey It trut’.

Heather Stop it.

Clarkey No, listen, Yu remember Teddy Jeffries and him brudda, right? They never get on, right? Yu remember? Argue, Jesus, like cat an’ dog.

Heather I remember them.

Clarkey So when him brudda dead, Teddy carry like he got no care in de world. Tellin’ him wife he go do wat him want, drink and gamble whenever him feel. She say ‘Nossir,’ him say’ Shut yer mout’ woman.’ So, him wife decide she go teach him a lesson. She go si Bernice, give her fifty dollars to tell Teddy she si a vision of him brudda, telling him he must give up him bad ways, oderwise him go come back as a black fowl and follow him everywhere till him drop down dead. So Teddy wife get deh bwoy jody to buy de blackest fowl him si, follow him daddy, no get catch, and mek sure de fowl near him daddy. Den, pass de word all over town, that everybody mus’ pretend deh can’t si de fowl, it’s Teddy’s mind ca’ him drinkin’ too much dat mek him and nobody else si de fowl. It go on fer a whole week, Teddy losin’ him mind.’ Wa gwan, wa gwan, lord help mi nuh, mi lose mi mind!’

Heather So wat did he do?

Clarkey ’Im shoot de fowl! ’Im get him daddy old shotgun an’ blast de ting into de next life. Right in the middle a’ de street. Him scream,’ Yu all si dat?’ Dem si it awright, policeman as well, dem haul ’im arse right into jail. When him find out de trut’, Teddy go after him wife, go after him bwoy.

Heather Bernice?

Clarkey She hide out in mi yard. It tek a whole month fer Teddy to calm down. I tell yu, Header, dat sister a’ yours.

Heather She want tekin’ in hand.

Clarkey Yu talk like I don’t know dat.

Heather Hurry up man, make a honest woman of her.

Clarkey It she mi waitin’ on. Maybe I should mek joke, and say mi want fer marry yu.

Heather Yer mad if yu want do that. She’ll come round Clarkey.

Clarkey When mi dead?

Heather She’ll see you.

Clarkey Si wat?

Heather That you’re a good man.

Clarkey (cringes) Why yu women love to say dat?

Heather But it’s true. You arranged everything for me.

Clarkey Who else go do it?

Heather And yu still know how to make me laugh. Only yu, man.

Clarkey Wat, no one mek yu laugh in Englan’?

Heather shakes her head.

Clarkey Yu nuh laugh at all?

Heather Not for a while.

Clarkey I still can’t believe it.

Heather You telling me that?

Clarkey Him only a lickle bwoy when mi las’ si him.

Heather That’s how I try to see him sometimes, as a little boy. Riding on Ms bike when he was what, eleven. Wearing his Arsenal kit. Do you love your son, Clarkey?

Clarkey Wort’less wretch!

But you do love him?

Clarkey Yeah, so?

Heather When was the last time you told him that?

Clarkey (getting embarrassed) Header?

Heather What?

Clarkey Come on.

Heather Is that such a hard question?

Clarkey Mi can’t remember.

Heather You’ll be surprised how many parents say the same thing. They know they love their children, they feel it every day, but they don’t say it. Where I live right, I see so many parents, yellin’ at their kids, to do this an’ that, fighting with them, throwing them out, swearing. You wouldn’t believe it man, they haven’t got a clue. They don’t deserve to have children. It never occurs to them for one minute in their stupid minds, that might be the last thing they ever say to them. Because an hour from now they might get knocked down by a bus, get hurt in a car crash, or get stabbed …

Clarkey Header …

Heather And when that happens? They try to remember all the good things they did with their children, the nice things they said, but the only thing that keeps coming back is the last thing they said to them, the last time they saw them. So angry, full of hate, just for a moment, a split bloody second, but it keeps coming back.

Clarkey So wat yu want dem parents to do? Tell dem pikne every Masted day deh love dem?

Heather Why not?

Clarkey Ca’ if I tell Neil I love ’im every day right, all him go do is laugh, an’ all I go do is knock off’m head! Children are good, Header, but deh also renk! Dass it. Yu can’t beat yerself up.

Heather He wanted to join a band, Clarkey, he wanted to quit college in his final year, and go join a stupid band, I had to say something …

Clarkey Yes.

Heather I couldn’t just sit there and nod my head.

Clarkey No.

Heather I didn’t raise him to be like his father. He was walking through some seedy little street, thass where Nicholls saw him, where that animal kill him.

Clarkey No, no, don’t.

Heather He took him from me.

Clarkey Mi know.

Heather He got away with it.

Clarkey Yes.

Heather And they all jus’ stood by and let him do it.

Clarkey He’s a bastard, Header, he’s a sunafabitch.

Heather They’re all bastards, Clarkey, they’re all sons of bitches. Thirty-two years of my life man, thirty-two years, paying into their system. All I wanted back was justice, not lies, just justice. Andrew never started trouble in his whole life.

Clarkey Course he didn’t.

Heather I raised him better than that.

Clarkey Course yu do.

Heather He was a good boy.

Clarkey Wat yu go do. Header?

Heather I don’t know. As soon as I heard the verdict, all I wanted was to get out of there, get my boy out of there. He was too good for that country anyway.

Clarkey Is why yu nuh stay? Dis yer home gal.

Heather Don’t let Bernice hear yu say that.

Clarkey Is who yer daddy leave ’im house to? Dis ware yu belong.

Headier I could go back.

Clarkey Go back fer wat?

Heather Get justice for Andrew. I don’t want to feel like I let him down.

Clarkey Shut up, yu nuh let nobody down, right? Yu did yer best.

Heather That’s what my mum says.’I did my best fer yu, Header.’

Clarkey Come on.

Heather I don’t know wat I’m doing man, I don’t know wat to feel.

Clarkey Yu stay which part yu deh. Yu soon see how yu feel, promise yu. Den we go tek all yer problems yu see, roH dem all up in a ball, kick it right up in de sky, let it go, straight past through de cloud dem. Past de sun, pass de moon, outer space! Yu hearin’ mi?

Heather smiles.

Clarkey Wat?

Heather Bernice is such an idiot.

Clarkey Gwan tell her, mi nuh stop yu.

Heather Tell me another story, Clarkey. Come on man, make me laugh again.

Bernice enters, singing. She sees Heather and Clarkey.

Bernice ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Scene One
• Scene Two
• Scene Three
• Scene Four
• Scene Five
• Scene Six
• Scene Seven
• Scene Eight
• Scene Nine
• Scene Ten
• Author Biography
• Imprint