Sunset at the Villa Thalia

Alexi Kaye Campbell

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781780017709
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

A funny and passionate play from the author of The Pride and The Faith Machine.

April 1967. Greece is in political turmoil. Charlotte and Theo have retreated to a small island in search of peace and inspiration. But when they meet a charismatic American couple at the port they are seduced into making choices with devastating consequences.

Alexi Kaye Campbell's play Sunset at the Villa Thalia spans a decade as it explores the impact of foreign influence, planned and unintentional, on a nation and its people.

It premiered at the National Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by Simon Godwin.

ACT TWO

The scene is now nine years later and there have been some alterations to the terrace – an awning, a painted door, an outside light, a splashing of tiles. And the furniture that is scattered across the space –a couple of tables, some sunloungers, are all new too. Even though underneath the more Europeanised feel of the place one can still discern the rustic quality that the house once had, it can now be categorised quite easily as a 1970s holiday villa, albeit of a slightly bohemian quality.

And there is nothing luxurious or ordered about this villa – at this moment in time, it appears very lived in, almost messy. The terrace is scattered with the usual summer-holiday paraphernalia – beach towels, random flip-flops, two rackets and a ball, a beach umbrella leaning precariously against
a wall. There is a clothes horse in a cornerwith lots of summer clothes drying on it. And somewhere on the edge, there is also a cassette recorder too, and a box of cassettes by it.

And on a small table somewhere, THEO’s Corona, and next to it, pages under a large stone.

It is a late afternoon in August, 1976.

ADRIAN and ROSALIND are stretched out on the ground in swimsuits and T-shirts, reading children’s books.

JUNE walks on. Her clothes and hair are of a very different style to when we last saw her – very seventies now, and casual, summery. But whatever it is she is wearing, her shoulders are bare. She is holding a small bottle of nail varnish in one hand and a glass of Bacardi in the other.

JUNE. Hello, sweetnesses.

The children look up.

ADRIAN. Hello, Mrs Parker.

JUNE. Honey, how many times have I told you to call me June, I’m not a schoolteacher, I’m your friend.

ADRIAN. Hello, June.

JUNE. That’s better. Look at you both reading your books, aren’t you just the most adorable things! What’s that, what are you reading, honey?

ADRIAN shows her the cover of the book.

ADRIAN. Five Have a Mystery to Solve, I told you earlier.

JUNE. Oh, that’s right, you did, but you know, sweetheart, you have to be told things more than once when you’re my age and you like Bacardi.

She positions one of the sunloungers so that it faces the sun, aims for the right angle, moves it around a bit.

Just ignore me, I’m going to do my nails, God knows they need it.

ADRIAN. All right, we’ll ignore you.

JUNE sits down, unscrews the bottle of nail varnish, rests one of her feet on the edge of the sunlounger and begins working on her toenails.

CHARLOTTE strolls on, holding an empty basket. She is there to take the dry clothes off the clothes horse – for the next few minutes and as she chats, she takes the items off one by one, folds them on the table, and places them all into the basket.

THEO follows her on, but he carries a tray with a large jug of something red and some floating fruit in it, and a few glasses. He rests the tray on the table.

CHARLOTTE. Children, time to get out of your swimsuits and get dressed for supper.

ADRIAN. But Harvey promised he’d take us for a swim, Mummy!

JUNE. Well, maybe you should go remind him, sweetheart, he needs a nudge.

ROSALIND. Can we go, Mummy?

CHARLOTTE. Maybe Harvey’s changed his mind, darling.

JUNE. A promise is a promise, go get him, kids.

CHARLOTTE. Are you sure?

JUNE. I’m positive, he needs to be dragged out of that room, he’s being morose.

CHARLOTTE. All right then, but it will be a quick one, five minutes, it’s gone six o’clock.

ADRIAN. Yes, Mummy!

The children start to run off in a state of some excitement, ROSALIND grabs a pair of armbands as she goes and hands them to THEO.

ROSALIND. Blow them up for me, Daddy!

THEO. Please, yes I may.

ROSAL...

Table of contents

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