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Buggy Baby was first performed at The Yard, London, on 7 March 2018. The cast was as follows:
| NUR | Hoda Bentaher |
| JADEN | Noof McEwan |
| BABY AYA | Jasmine Jones |
| GUNSHOT-WOUND RABBIT | Tom Clegg |
| BURNT-FUR RABBIT | Abrahim Jarman |
| | |
| Director | Ned Bennett |
| Designer | Max Johns |
| Lighting Designer | Jess Bernberg |
| Composer and Sound Designer | Giles Thomas |
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I’d like to thank the following people who helped me figure out this play. Najib Alhakimi, Alice Birch, Georgina Bednar, Bernadette Cahill, Nadia Clifford, Souad Faress, Bettrys Jones, Youssef Kerkour, Serena Manteghi, Hamish Pirie, Ashley Scott Layton, Giles Smart, Louise Stephens, Parth Thakerar, Zubin Varla, Nic Wass. The Royal Court Writers Group.
I’d especially like to thank Ned Bennett and Jay Miller for their extensive dramaturgical support. The Yard gang. The fearless actors and creative team. And lastly Zadie… for more recent inspiration.
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NUR, eighteen
JADEN, mid-thirties
BABY AYA
TWO RABBITS/MEN
Baby Aya wears an NHS-prescribed helmet. The sort given to babies to correct a misshapen or flat head. The character might be played by an older woman.
The actors are should speak in their own natural accent. On the odd occasion when they speak English, they should adopt an accent because it’s their second language.
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Words in brackets ( ) should be played by the actor, not said out loud.
… indicates a hesitation, unspoken or unfinished thought, or when a character is searching for a word.
A forward slash (/) indicates the point at which the next speaker interrupts.
The lines in BOLD should be spoken directly to the audience.
Spaces in between lines are invitations for longer pauses or signifiers of time passing.
This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.
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The house lights are still on.
A damp room.
A wardrobe. A sink. Two mattresses on the floor.
People shouldn’t live here.
From the wardrobe we hear:
NUR. They’ve gone.
JADEN. Shh.
NUR. They’ve definitely gone.
JADEN. How do you know!?
NUR. I can’t hear them.
JADEN. Maybe they’re waiting for us to come out.
NUR. We’re talking quite loudly they’d hear us!
JADEN. Shush then!
NUR. I can’t feel my legs.
JADEN. Stay still.
NUR creeps out of the wardrobe. She’s sixteen years old.
NUR!
NUR looks at the audience.
A MAN enters the room.
Beat.
NUR runs. MAN chases.
Across the stage, through the seats, up the balcony, out the doors… we might even hear him chase her around the bar.
At one point during the chase the MAN puts two fingers above his head and exposes his front teeth like a rabbit. Blackout.
Spotlight on the wardrobe door. JADEN opens it and looks at us.
JADEN. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT THEY FLED THEIR WAR-TORN HOME. FIVE JOURNEYED THROUGH AFRICA. FOUR CROSSED THE MEDITERRANEAN. THREE TOOK A LORRY THROUGH EUROPE…
JADEN WOULD TELL YOU THE NAME OF HIS HOME BUT IT NO LONGER EXISTS.
Spotlight on NUR, who pauses mid-chase, breathing hard.
NUR. NUR DIDN’T THINK THIS TYPE OF SHIT HAPPENED IN LONDON. SHE THOUGHT RUNNING BELONGED TO THE PAST. THANK GOD SHE KEPT HER TRAINERS.
NUR runs off.
Blackout.
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The room has an addition. A baby.
BABY AYA is asleep in her buggy. She wears a helmet.
JADEN is sweeping the room.
NUR enters, aged eighteen. Takes off her shoes. Watches BABY AYA sleep.
NUR. Here. Got you something.
NUR throws a blue plastic bag to JADEN. He looks inside.
Beat.
JADEN. From where?
NUR. There’s an Ethiopian restaurant near college.
JADEN. I don’t like you hanging around those types of places.
NUR. It’s a restaurant, not a brothel.
JADEN. I didn’t know it was legal here.
NUR. It isn’t.
JADEN. Nur!
JA...
