Strangers in Between

Tommy Murphy

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2016
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780017945
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

An unflinching and constantly surprising drama about how we make sense of who we are through our often fraught relations with others. Winner of the Best Play Award at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.

Shane, sixteen and scared shitless, has fled small-town Australia for downtown Sydney. Adrift among the lonely hearts and heady thrills of Darlinghurst Road, Shane attempts to navigate the troubled waters of his past toward a brighter future.

Tommy Murphy's Strangers in Between was first performed by Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney in 2005, and received its UK premiere at the King's Head Theatre, London, in 2016, directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher.

ACT ONE

A bottlo on the strip. SHANE is at work. WILL is a customer choosing alcohol to buy.

SHANE. Sorry.

WILL. What?

SHANE. I wasn’t staring.

WILL. Okay.

SHANE. You look like someone.

WILL. Right.

SHANE. Sorry. Yeah. Do you need a hand?

WILL. Nah, just grabbing some grog.

SHANE. Let me know if you need a hand.

WILL. Thanks.

WILL surveys the drinks.

SHANE. What type of grog do you like?

WILL. All of it.

SHANE. Well, maybe you should get a selection.

WILL. Oh no. I’ll just get this.

WILL selects some pre-mixed bottles.

SHANE. Good choice. Let me take that to the register for you.

WILL. I’m right.

SHANE. Cool. This way. Um. Okay. ‘Vodka Black Ice.’ I think there’s a button for that. Six-pack?

WILL. Four-pack.

SHANE. Four-pack of Vodka Black Ice. No. I can’t see the button for it.

WILL. Maybe you scan it.

SHANE. No. No I think there’s a button. Do you know how much it is?

WILL. About seven or eight bucks.

SHANE. Is it?

WILL. Nup. Let me check.

SHANE. Oh no. I’ll check. I have to learn the prices. It’s twelve ninety-five.

WILL. Cool.

SHANE. Twelve ninety-five? Is that a rip-off?

WILL. No. I mean they’re like six-fifty each in a bar.

SHANE. Really? Sounds like a rip-off to me. Okay. Twelve ninety-five.

SHANE examines the cash register.

Oh, how does this thing work?

WILL. They usually scan it.

SHANE. Oh, have you been here before?

WILL. Yeah, heaps.

SHANE. Oh okay. Let’s see. I thought I typed in the prices or something.

SHANE scans the drinks.

Oh yeah, no, that’s right. It must be the wines I have a button for. You’d think there’d be a button for these too because buttons are easier, hey.

WILL. Yeah.

SHANE is waiting for the register to open.

SHANE. I might practise scanning stuff later.

WILL. Cool.

SHANE. Ooh, hang on. I’d have to clear each sale, wouldn’t I?

WILL. I wouldn’t know.

SHANE. Yeah. Now it hasn’t opened. I thought the register just opened when you scan it.

WILL. I want to pay with EFTPOS anyway.

SHANE. Oh Jesus. You haven’t got cash?

WILL. Just shrapnel.

SHANE. The manager will be back soon. Do you mind waiting a second?

WILL. I kind of have to go.

SHANE. Oh, okay. I don’t know how to open the register, that’s all. Why did he, ohhh. I mean, why did he leave me here? I can’t do this. I’ve been here one day. This isn’t even my shirt. My name’s not Michelle.

SHANE’s shirt is embroidered with the name ‘Michelle’.

I mean this is… look I’m really sorry. Err.

SHANE checks his pockets.

I don’t have… how much is it? Yeah see I don’t have any change in my pocket.

WILL. Oh, that’s okay. I’ll just wait.

SHANE. He won’t be long.

WILL. Cool.

SHANE. Sorry, hey.

WILL. So you’ve just started here?

SHANE. Yeah. Yesterday. I worked next door before that.

WILL. Maccas?

SHANE. Yeah. Just for a week.

WILL. Right. And is it good here?

SHANE. Well, yeah, I think so. Um, some of the guys are arseholes. The manager’s a bit of a cock. He just thinks I’m so dumb.

PETER enters.

WILL. Is this him?

SHANE. No. I don’t know who this is. (To PETER.) Evening. Do you need a hand?

PETER. Oh well, that’s good service. Just looking for a wine.

SHANE. Can I help you?

PETER. Oh yes, well, I think so. Just in the market for a reasonable Chardonnay, I think.

SHANE. Red or white?

PETER. Let’s try white.

SHANE. Okay then.

PETER. Keep it cheap and cheerful. Just off to a family thi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Original Production
• Dedication
• Characters
• Act One
• Act Two
• About the Author
• Copyright and Performing Rights Information