Our Few and Evil Days

Mark O'Rowe

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2014
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780015057
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

A chilling yet deeply human story about the limits of devotion.

Adele and her parents have always been close. But recently, that closeness has been tainted by an increasing sense of mistrust. Tonight, a visit from a stranger will force them to confront the terrifying reality of their relationship.

Mark O'Rowe's play Our Few and Evil Days premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in September 2014 as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, in a production directed by the author and featuring Sinéad Cusack and Ciarán Hinds.

ACT ONE

Scene One

Early evening. The doorbell rings. MICHAEL enters from the utility area, then exits to the hallway. We hear the front door open.

MICHAEL (offstage). Hey.

DENNIS (offstage). Hey.

MICHAEL (offstage). Dennis.

DENNIS (offstage). Yeah.

MICHAEL (offstage). Good to meet you. Come in.

DENNIS (offstage). You too.

We hear the front door close.

MICHAEL (offstage). You found us all right.

DENNIS (offstage). Yeah.

MICHAEL (offstage). In here.

As they enter:

DENNIS. This is odd.

MICHAEL. What? You coming up here?

DENNIS. Yeah.

MICHAEL. I suppose it is a bit.

DENNIS. On my own, like.

MICHAEL. Gimme your jacket, there, and I’ll hang it up.

DENNIS removes his jacket. As MICHAEL takes it and exits again to the hallway:

I suppose it is a bit odd, but probably better here than on your own in the pub all night.

DENNIS. Yeah.

MICHAEL. Or is it?

DENNIS. No, it is, all right.

MICHAEL (calling up the stairs). Margaret?

MARGARET (offstage). Yeah?

MICHAEL. Dennis is here.

MARGARET (offstage). Okay.

MICHAEL (returning; to DENNIS). Which one were you in, The Tower?

DENNIS. Which pub?

MICHAEL. Yeah.

DENNIS. Horan’s?

MICHAEL. Horan’s, and, what, she rang?

DENNIS. Who?

MICHAEL. Belinda.

DENNIS. Oh, is that her name?

MICHAEL. Yeah.

DENNIS. Right. No, Adele didn’t say who it was. Just, you know, that a friend of hers needed help or whatever.

MICHAEL. And how long were you sitting there?

DENNIS. An hour? I dunno…

MICHAEL. An hour?!

DENNIS. You mean after she left?

MICHAEL. Uh-huh.

DENNIS. Yeah, about an hour. She rang then and said to come up.

MICHAEL. Right.

DENNIS. Here, like. Said she’d be another while…

MICHAEL. Which she will.

DENNIS.…and that she’d just spoken to you?

MICHAEL. That’s right. Which she had. But, listen: we’re not gonna let the awkwardness of the situation get to us, are we?

DENNIS. No. Well, we’ll do our best not to anyway.

MICHAEL. Exactly. Can I get you a cup of tea?

DENNIS. Yeah, sure.

MICHAEL. Or a beer?

DENNIS (beat). I’d love a beer, actually.

MICHAEL. Good man. Take a seat there.

DENNIS sits down in an armchair as, over the following, MICHAEL goes to the kitchen area, takes two bottles of beer out of the fridge and opens them.

She’s a bit of a pain, to be honest.

DENNIS. Who’s that?

MICHAEL. Belinda.

DENNIS. Right.

MICHAEL. Well, she’s not, she’s fine, but she’s one of those people, there’s always a bloody crisis going on.

DENNIS. Uh-huh.

MICHAEL. You know the type?

DENNIS. I think I do, yeah.

MICHAEL. And she and Adele have that kind of friendship, every time there’s a new one, that’s who she calls.

DENNIS. Adele is.

MICHAEL. Yeah. And she has to come running every time like it’s life or death, which, of course, it never actually is…

DENNIS. Okay.

MICHAEL.…though you never know, you know? (Returning.) And that’s the thing, I suppose. It’s like the boy and the wolf…

DENNIS. Who cried wolf?

MICHAEL. Huh?

DENNIS. The boy who cried wolf?

MICHAEL. Exactly. (Giving DENNIS his beer.) …the very time she does refuse to come running, that’ll be the time it really is a crisis, a real one…

DENNIS. Right.

MARGARET enters from upstairs.

MICHAEL.…like, a proper emergency, you know? Anyway…

MARGARET. Hi.

DENNIS (standing up). Hello.

MARGARET. Dennis.

DENNIS. Yes.

MARGARET. It’s very nice to meet you.

DENNIS (as they shake hands). It’s very…

MARGARET. I’m Margaret.

DENNIS. Margaret. It’s very nice to meet you.

MICHAEL. We were discussing Belinda.

MARGARET. Right.

MICHAEL. Do you want a glass of wine?

MARGARET. Eh… yeah.

MICHAEL. White?

MARGARET. No, a glass o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Original Production
• Characters
• Our Few and Evil Days
• About the Author
• Copyright and Performing Rights Information