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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. Iâm kicking away, all of a sudden his headâs 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. Youâve got blood on your neck.
RIOTER 2. So! The whole mobâs out. Kicking down shops and throwing pails of cowblood at anyone stands in their way. I wonât look different from anyone else.
RIOTER 1. Come on then. Letâs 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 EMILIAâs 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? Theyâre lying all over the street down there. Silk.
EMILIA. Silk?
MACU. Here, you have it. I donât think itâs my colour. - What are they doing over there?
EMILIA. Theyâre gutting a flower-stall.
MACU. Oh look - thereâs Laura!
MACU waves at LAURA.
She doesnât see me.
EMILIA. Would she not be safer at home? Sheâs 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? Youâll get hurt.
LAURA. Iâm with Wocky and Yanis! You should see what theyâre doing to the stalls. Itâs like watching an accident, only better.
MACU. Well stay next to Emilia then. Iâm going to get myself some clothes.
MACU goes. LAURA is more interested in whatâs happening in the other direction.
LAURA. Look! Theyâre 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 theyâre using to bait and threaten a FLOWER-SELLER. Theyâre enjoying themselves.
FLOWER-SELLER. Please, Iâm new here. What do I know? I only get off the boat yesterday. My brother, this is my brotherâs stall. He ask me to sell the flowers.
WOCKY. I donât 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, youâve 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? - heâs 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 Sullaâs funeral. Good boy, Sulla!
YANIS. Dirty Arab. Kick his head off.
LAURA. Kick his dirty head off. What does he know?
WOCKY. Thereâs Macu. - Macu! Macu! Come here and listen to this. This one talks. - Sheâs coming. This is the woman I was telling you about, Yanis, the one with the temper. Watch this, sheâll tear his head off.
MACU comes on, trying on another new sarong.
Macu. This one here was selling wreaths.
MACU. So heâs a stupid bastard, what do you want me to do? Come here a minute, Wocky.
WOCKY goes over.
Do you think this c...
