NIGHTWATCHMAN
Prasanna Puwanarajah
Authorās Thanks
I am indebted to the following people:
Polly Findlay, Ben Power, Nicholas Hytner, Ben Kidd, Sebastian Born and the NT Literary Department, Namasivayam Puwanarajah, Komales Puwanarajah, Beth Morgan, Dr Seuss Enterprises and the inimitable Stephanie Street.
Prasanna Puwanarajah
Setting Notes
The action takes place in an indoor cricket net.
The conceit here is of a bowling machine delivering imaginary balls towards Abirami. We donāt see this machine and we donāt see the balls it delivers. We hear in turn, and in precise detail: the workings of the machine; the ball hitting the AstroTurf; the ball hitting the bat; and the ball hitting the side netting after it is struck. In fact, the theatricality of the conceit depends upon the machine and its delivered balls being not visible, but nonetheless immaculately rendered both sonically and in Abiramiās physical actions.
Metal, indoor cricket stumps behind Abirami should respond to being hit by deliveries as indicated in the text.
A number of settings are possible, the following two feeling particularly distinct:
Traverse: this places the audience down both sides of her, with the cricket strip being slightly raised to form a specific catwalk, and un-netted save for the portion of a floor-to-ceiling net directly behind her, which may respond to balls that pass her by billowing backwards.
Proscenium: a floor-to-ceiling net which is the back portion of an indoor cricket net, possibly with the beginnings of the side netting running downstage towards the audience, stage left and stage right (leg side and off side respectively for a right-handed actor). As Abirami looks out towards us, the bowling machine is, as it were, embedded within the audience.
Black.
An echo in the air, initially suggestive of a sports hall.
The sound of switches being turned on. A catwalk of AstroTurf appears, audience on both sides, as strip lights hum to life overhead. Above one end of the AstroTurf, visible to the audience, is an electronic counter with the units SPEED/MPH.
Below this, ABIRAMI strides out. She is British Sri Lankan, late twenties/early thirties, in England Cricket squad training kit, holding a kit bag and a set of cricket stumps.
She looks at us and nods appreciatively.
ABIRAMI
Not a bad turn-out for womenās cricket.
She places the stumps down. She marks out the batting crease using her bat, placed on the ground as one would in the back garden, and chalks a line. She plonks down her kit bag and begins to pad up. During this:
Garden cricket with Dad
Down the park
Tennis ball to hard ball
First set of pads
Club cricket
League cricket Lancashire
Phone call.
āAbi, weād love for you to come up to Lordās for the Test Match this Thursday.ā
Beat.
And theyāve probably said the same thing to people since they invented this fucking game, you know
WG Grace getting a call while he was doing his doctoring:
āHello, is thatā¦ Wā¦Gā¦ (whatever his fucking names are, fuck knows)
Weād love for you to come up to Lordās for the Test this Thursday.ā
As though they were asking you to a birthday party.
But I bet no oneās heard those words without thinking
That they were the closest theyād ever get to pure, pure bliss.
Ha!
If Lordās burned down now, Iād be the last new person theyād asked.
A fucking Lankan.
Hilarious!
Yeah, manā¦
WGā¦
Right through to me.
Now that is a fucking family, Dad.
Not like your lot.
She fishes out a remote control, which she points back the way she came at an unseen bowling machine at the other end of what is now clearly a cricket strip. She hits a button. A mechanical ping sounds from the machine. ABIRAMI steps to one side and watches a ball as it goes past. She sees it but we donāt. The ...
