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ACT ONE
Scene One
Broad daylight. Two RIOTERS come on running, spattered in blood.
RIOTER 1. Scatter!
RIOTER 2. We kicked his head off.
RIOTER 1. Move!
RIOTER 2. Iām kicking away, all of a sudden his headās like a slack tooth. We kicked his head off!
RIOTER l. I was holding them back. They climbed over me!
RIOTER 2. We were all kicking at him, you too.
RIOTER 1. Wipe the blood off your neck. Youāve got blood on your neck.
RIOTER 2. So! The whole mobās out. Kicking down shops and throwing pails of cowblood at anyone stands in their way. I wonāt look different from anyone else.
RIOTER 1. Come on then. Letās get out of here.
They go.
Scene Two
Daylight. A street. MACU comes on, trying on a sarong. She sees EMILIA.
MACU. Emilia! Emilia!
Having caught EMILIAās attention, she mouths the next bit silently.
Come and see what I found.
EMILIA enters. MACU shows off her new sarong.
MACU. Do you like it? Theyāre lying all over the street down there. Silk.
EMILIA. Silk?
MACU. Here, you have it. I donāt think itās my colour. - What are they doing over there?
EMILIA. Theyāre gutting a flower-stall.
MACU. Oh look - thereās Laura!
MACU waves at LAURA.
She doesnāt see me.
EMILIA. Would she not be safer at home? Sheās only eight, Macu.
MACU calls LAURA.
MACU. Laura! Laura!
LAURA comes in, carrying a battered wreath. The flowers in the wreath are white, the colour of mourning and death.
LAURA. Look what I got, mammy, do you think I can sell it?
MACU. A wreath?
LAURA. Then I could buy something proper. Sweets or something.
MACU. Should you not be at home? Youāll get hurt.
LAURA. Iām with Wocky and Yanis! You should see what theyāre doing to the stalls. Itās like watching an accident, only better.
MACU. Well stay next to Emilia then. Iām going to get myself some clothes.
MACU goes. LAURA is more interested in whatās happening in the other direction.
LAURA. Look! Theyāre chasing him over here.
EMILIA. Come here out of the way, Laura.
WOCKY, YANIS and one or two others come on with poles and sticks etc, which theyāre using to bait and threaten a FLOWER-SELLER. Theyāre enjoying themselves.
FLOWER-SELLER. Please, Iām new here. What do I know? I only get off the boat yesterday. My brother, this is my brotherās stall. He ask me to sell the flowers.
WOCKY. I donāt see any flowers, do you, Yanis?
YANIS. All I see are wreaths.
WOCKY. A whole stall and nothing but wreaths. Does he always sell nothing but wreaths, your brother?
WOCKY holds up a wreath on his pole while YANIS smashes it with a stick.
FLOWER-SELLER. You stupid fucks. You are the worst of men. You throw unclean blood over my shop, youāve polluted the streets, by the way. You have no respect even for your own gods and this why you turn everything upside down. Yahweh protect me from you, God protect me. Sulla dies - who is this man? - heās the greatest man in all Rome - yes, the greatest man. Do you cry, do you stay inside and say prayers? No, you turn the streets into like - shipwrecks - and you say this man Sulla, this your - king, this man will not even have a funeral. Yaaah - and women do this, and little girls, by the way. You are nothing but dirty fanny. Yes I sell wreaths - Sulla dies and many people buy wreaths for him, today and tomorrow they buy for Sullaās funeral. Good boy, Sulla!
YANIS. Dirty Arab. Kick his head off.
LAURA. Kick his dirty head off. What does he know?
WOCKY. Thereās Macu. - Macu! Macu! Come here and listen to this. This one talks. - Sheās coming. This is the woman I was telling you about, Yanis, the one with the temper. Watch this, sheāll tear his head off.
MACU comes on, trying on another new sarong.
Macu. This one here was selling wreaths.
MACU. So heās a stupid bastard, what do you want me to do? Come here a minute, Wocky.
WOCKY goes over.
Do you think this c...
