Charged

Six plays about women, crime and justice

Chloë Moss, Winsome Pinnock, Rebecca Prichard, E V Crowe, Sam Holcroft, Rebecca Lenkiewicz

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781848421295
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780013923
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Six plays by some of the most exciting and distinctive female voices in British theatre, exploring the heartbreaking truth about the lives of women in the criminal justice system.

The plays were commissioned and premiered by Clean Break, a theatre and education company working with women whose lives have been affected by the criminal justice system.

Included in this volume:

Fatal Light by Chloë Moss, about a young mother's inability to cope with separation from her daughter.

Taken by Winsome Pinnock, about a mother confronted by the child she had to give up.

Dream Pill by Rebecca Prichard, about two children forced into prostitution.

Doris Day by E V Crowe, about two police officers and their different expectations of the job.

Dancing Bears by Sam Holcroft, about the twisted loyalties and violence in teenage gangs.

That Almost Unnameable Lust by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, about a writer holding workshops with older women in a prison.

The plays were first performed at Soho Theatre, London, in November 2010.

DREAM PILL

Rebecca Prichard

Characters

TUNDE

BOLA

Setting

A basement.

TUNDE is silently weeping into an old cushion shared between two mats. BOLA is concerned and looks between TUNDE and the audience, caught between a feeling of exposure and the possibility of help.

BOLA	I don’t know why she’s crying
	She just has days like this (Shrugs.) she’s just having a bad day
	(To the audience.) Why are you here?
	BOLA moves her mat a little farther from TUNDE.
	Tunde, I’m putting my mat over here
	Tunde, I’m going to put my mat here but you can still touch it
	You want me to comb your hair?
	Why are you crying?
	There’s a room she doesn’t like. Someone called her a bad name de.
	BOLA sees an empty chair in the audience.
	Are we allowed to sit here? Tunde. Tunde. We can sit with them.
	TUNDE doesn’t move, and BOLA is unsure. BOLA comes forward but then retreats a little to wait for TUNDE.
	Yeah. Those mats are hard (To TUNDE.) Do you want to come and sit?
	TUNDE is curious but does not move, she remains watching BOLA however.
	You didn’t do nothing to them. Sometimes the men that come are angry but you didn’t do nothing to them
	Want me to paint your eyes?
	(To the audience.) You can ask her a question She might come over here
	BOLA approaches the audience, TUNDE follows a little distance behind.
	I’m nine she’s ten Do you know what her whole name is? It’s Yetunde. If you call her Tunde she says she doesn’t mind but really she does
	TUNDE shrugs.
	She’s quiet. I’m loud
TUNDE	(Quietly.) I’m loud too
BOLA	I look after her sometimes
	They look at one another, smile a bit.
	But it depends. Sometimes she looks after me.
TUNDE	Yeah
	BOLA sees someone in the audience who has long hair.
BOLA	(To a woman in the audience.) You got long hair. (To TUNDE.) She got long hair (To the woman.) Can I touch your hair?
	She reaches out almost to touch it then withdraws.
	Why do you have long hair? Does it hurt? I know someone that had long hair but she cut it off because people were always pulling it. Has anyone ever pulled your hair?
	She got long hair
	TUNDE is amazed BOLA almost touched someone in the audience and has not been told off.
	She approaches. She holds a necklace in her hand that’s broken. She shows it to the audience.
	(As if the audience member broke it.)You broke it. You’ll pay! Not really!
	They laugh a little and TUNDE places the broken necklace in a hiding place.
	(To audience member.) I have a big belly
	She mimes a protruding belly.
	It’s got no hairs though
	BOLA and TUNDE approach the audience again.
	Are you spirits?
TUNDE	We’re not spirits
BOLA	We’re real She’s ten. I’m nine
TUNDE	No, I’m nine too
BOLA	When will you be ten?
	TUNDE shrugs.
TUNDE	Soon.
BOLA	What will you get?
TUNDE	Sparkly clothes
BOLA	I’m going to get clothes.
	BOLA nods as if to say ‘Good?’
TUNDE	Yeah, it’s good
BOLA	Yeah.
	BOLA crouches down to inspect the audience’s shoes. TUNDE copies her but is not quite as bold.
	(To the audience.) I like your shoes. They’re nice. I like what you’re wearing. It’s nice.
TUNDE	Are you going to work here?
BOLA	…if you are going to work you should probably change your clothes
TUNDE	Yeah.
BOLA	Get set
TUNDE	Baff up bit
B...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Original Production
• Dream Pill
• Fatal Light
• Taken
• Dancing Bears
• That Almost Unnameable Lust
• Doris Day
• About the Authors
• Copyright and Performing Rights Information