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THAT ALMOST UNNAMEABLE LUST
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
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Characters
KATHERINE, a prisoner, lifer, seventy, slight, northern
LIZ, a prisoner, lifer, fifty, robust, from Norfolk
A SINGER/ A WRITER, twenty-five, from London
Setting
The action takes place in a prison and in the minds of Katherine and Liz. Katherine and Lizās cells should be inhabited and quietly kept alive by them whilst other actions are going on so that we have a sense of them spending constant time in their respective cells. Their cells might be suggested simply by a floor plan created by yellow tape which delineates realistic dimensions of a modern prison. The room might be the same, yellow lines that suggest wallsā¦ or a crime scene.
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Scene One
A space.
Night. A SINGER stands at a microphone, a flower in her hair. She mouths the words to a 1940ās version of a man singing āYou Always Hurt the One You Loveā ā¦ A glitter ball lights the room. LIZ and KATHERINE dance, by themselves, within their cells, but as though they had partners, late-night, close, but to no one.
Scene Two
A room.
KATHERINE sits in a chair and makes strange, almost whistling sounds through her teethā¦ a bird-sounding noise, hardly perceptible.
A WRITER walks in. And sits down.
WRITER. Katherine?
KATHERINE stares at her.
Your Support Officer said that you might want to talk to me. Outside of the group. He said that you often write. And that you might want to show me some of your work. He said that you can talk but youā¦ prefer not to. Is that right?
KATHERINE nods.
The WRITER hands KATHERINE a pad and pencil.
If youād ratherā¦
KATHERINE takes it and does nothing with it.
Does it hurtā¦ Katherine? When you speak?
No reply. KATHERINE stares at the WRITER.
But you can hear me?
KATHERINE nods. She makes the bird sound again.
Scene Three
The garden.
LIZ kneels down. She weeds and takes dead leaves off a plant.
LIZ. You want some more light there, donāt you?
She looks up towards the sky, inspects the shadows.
No. Thatās your lot. You wonāt have no more today.
Scene Four
Katherineās cell.
Sounds of metal doors. KATHERINE sits alone. She takes a cigarette out of a pack. Considers it. Counts in her head and checks how many are in the pack. She puts the cigarette back in the pack, perturbed that she has miscounted. The lights go out sharply.
Scene Five
A room.
KATHERINE and LIZ sit in a circle with six other women who are represented by chairs. A WRITER leads a workshop. The WRITER waits for LIZ to introduce herselfā¦
LIZ. Lizā¦
WRITER. Yesā¦ but with an animal. Like Lou just did. Louā¦ lizard. You say your name with an animal so that we can remember it better.
LIZ looks around the circle, LIZ and KATHERINE have a moment, undecided. LIZ can start a revolt and diminish the WRITER or not. She smiles. Slaps her knees.
LIZ. Lizā¦ tigerā¦
WRITER. Greatā¦ andā¦
It is KATHERINEās turn. LIZ nods, waits. The WRITER looks at her notes.
Katherineā¦ something with a K?
Gina says, Ku Klux Klan.
LIZ. Youāre soft, Gina. The Ku Klux Klan isnāt an animal.
WRITER. Noā¦ Katherine?
KATHERINE looks at her, canāt speak. LIZ nodsā¦ waits.
LIZ. Katieā¦ kitten.
WRITER. Good. If thatās fine with you, Katherine?
KATHERINE looks down at the floor, cannot reply, she instinctively makes the bird sound. The WRITER feels awkward.
Are youā¦ alright?
LIZ watches KATHER...
