Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics

David Bowie, Enda Walsh

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781780018348
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

'I'm a dying man who can't die.'

Thomas Newton came to Earth seeking water for his drought-ridden planet. Years later he's still stranded here, soaked in cheap gin and haunted by a past love. But the arrival of another lost soul brings one last chance of freedom...

Inspired by the book The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis and its cult film adaptation starring David Bowie, Lazarus brings the story of Thomas Newton to its devastating conclusion.

Written by Bowie with the playwright Enda Walsh, and incorporating some of Bowie's most iconic songs, Lazarus was first performed at New York Theatre Workshop in 2015, starring Michael C. Hall and directed by Ivo Van Hove. The production transferred to London in 2016.

LAZARUS

A musical by David Bowie
and Enda Walsh

Inspired by The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

Characters

MICHAEL

NEWTON

ELLY

ZACH

JAPANESE WOMAN / MAEMI

TEENAGE GIRL 1

TEENAGE GIRL 2

TEENAGE GIRL 3

GIRL, later MARLEY

VALENTINE

BEN

List of Songs

‘Lazarus’ Newton

‘It’s No Game (Part 1)’ Japanese Woman, Newton, Teenage Girls

‘This is Not America’ Teenage Girls, Girl

‘The Man Who Sold the World’ Michael

‘No Plan’ Girl

‘Love is Lost’ Valentine, Teenage Girls

‘Changes’ Elly, Teenage Girls

‘Where Are We Now?’ Newton

‘Absolute Beginners’ Newton, Elly, Valentine, Teenage Girls, Girl

‘Dirty Boys’ Valentine

‘Killing a Little Time’ Newton

‘Life On Mars?’ Girl

‘All the Young Dudes’ Ben, Teenage Girls, Maemi

‘Always Crashing in the Same Car’ Elly

‘Valentine’s Day’ Valentine

‘When I Met You’ Newton, Teenage Girl 1

‘Heroes’ Newton, Marley

This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.

In the darkness a sudden cacophony of televisual sounds is heard.

It lights NEWTON – he sits detached – staring into a screen – the television switching between channels – Ricky Nelson’s ‘Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)’ skips/repeats in broken pieces.

The sounds mix, distort and escalate – until suddenly they snap into silence.

MICHAEL. I’m sorry I haven’t been around – it’s been on my mind – but what with work and life and – you know. (Slight pause.) So I was looking through old photographs and it’s weird – all these years I’ve known you – I find only the one photo of us from work together – this snap someone took.

Handing the photo to NEWTON –

You’re the exact same – but I’ve got all this hair on me – the darkest, blackest hair – like it’s been painted on.

ELLY hands NEWTON his Lucky Charms.

NEWTON (to ELLY). Thank you.

ELLY. You wanna bowl of something?

MICHAEL. Of cereal?

ELLY. Yeah.

MICHAEL. No, I’m good.

ELLY turns away.

So you okay? – you look all right – you don’t look too bad – maybe a little scruffier. It’s one of the many benefits of being retired, I suppose. So what do you do all day in here? Read all those books you always wanted to?

NEWTON. I watch television and drink gin.

MICHAEL. And that’s it – you don’t do anything else?

NEWTON. I walk around and try to locate the Twinkies.

MICHAEL. So a little bit of exercise too.

NEWTON. Yeah a little.

MICHAEL. But don’t you miss the business at all?

NEWTON. No.

MICHAEL. Yeah you do.

NEWTON. No I don’t. You wanna drink?

MICHAEL. It’s 9.30, Mr Newton.

NEWTON. Is it?

MICHAEL. Yes, it is.

NEWTON. Oh.

MICHAEL. In the morning – 9.30 in the morning.

NEWTON. So late.

NEWTON pours himself a gin.

MICHAEL. Anyway I’m sorry it’s taken me forever – I feel bad. I could swing by next week – if you wanted it? I’d like to – you wouldn’t mind me looking in?

NEWTON. I was sitting here in the middle of the night and the television went off and I saw something come out from the darkness. It’s a scene I couldn’t think about for years – and it came to me the way a lot of these things do – in these pictures. (Slight pause.) It was morning time and I was sitting at home with my wife and son and daughter – and nothing special happened – just small talk between us that I can’t remember now – but I was there at home for a few moments with them. It was cruel in a way.

MICHAEL. You need to talk to someone – a doctor –

NEWTON. No.

MICHAEL. Don’t you remember the person you were? – your life outside…

NEWTON. That was before.

MICHAEL. And it’s gone? All of it?

NEWTON. Of course it’s gone.

MICHAEL. But this isn’t living for a man like you – eating Lucky Charms, living on gin and fucking Twinkies…

NEWTON. There’s nothing of the past. It left. This is it now.

MICHAEL. Right. (Slight pause.) So you never see her?

NEWTON doesn’t answer.

Did you hear me, Thomas? Do you ever see Mary-Lou?

A slight pause.

NEWTON. Only...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• ‘This Way or No Way, You Know I’ll Be Free’ Introduction by Enda Walsh
• David Bowie
• Enda Walsh
• Walter Tevis
• Original Production Details
• Lazarus
• ‘The New Colossus’ by Emma Lazarus
• Acknowledgements
• Copyright and Performing Rights Information