After the End

Dennis Kelly

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781849431743
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Edition: 1

They were all in the pub when the explosion happened. Louise wakes up to find herself trapped with Mark, who has saved her life. Mark is always prepared for the worst and has everything he thinks they will need to survive; tinned chilli, Dungeons and Dragons and a knife - now all they need to do is to wait until it's safe to go outside. Can they survive the attack? Can they survive each other? After The End received its world premiere at The Traverse Theatre in August 2005.

Middle

LOUISE: I hate it.

MARK: Well you haven’t –

LOUISE: I fucking hate it.

MARK: That’s a bit

LOUISE: I fucking

MARK: negative.

LOUISE: hate it.

MARK: Why don’t you just –

LOUISE: because I fucking –

MARK: You didn’t let me finish my sentence, Louise!

Beat.

LOUISE: Finish your sentence, then.

MARK: Why don’t you just try it?

LOUISE: Because I fucking hate it.

Pause.

MARK: We have to do something.

LOUISE: Not that.

MARK: We have to keep occupied, do things.

LOUISE: Not Dungeons and fucking Dragons. Do you play that?

MARK: No, when I was a kid –

LOUISE: Do you dress up like a pixie or something?

MARK: No, no, for God’s sake, Louise and I mean you don’t dress up you just, look, I’m just, it’s just a suggestion because we –

LOUISE: Why haven’t you got any other games?

MARK: It was built in the eighties. It’s an eighties game.

LOUISE: You brought it two years ago, why aren’t there games from other eras, why aren’t there some nineties games?

MARK: It seemed sort of – what nineties games?

LOUISE: Pictionary.

MARK: fitting, it sort of fitted with, you know, the, the

LOUISE: Apocalyptic

MARK: nuclear, because, no not, because when I was a kid

LOUISE: You’re not a kid.

MARK: I know, but when –

LOUISE: So you shouldn’t be playing Dungeons and fucking Dragons.

Beat.

When can we try the radio?

MARK: We tried it two hours ago.

LOUISE: What I said was when can we –

MARK: What’s three minus two?

LOUISE: One.

MARK: You can try the radio in one hour then.

LOUISE: I don’t have a watch.

MARK: I do, I can tell you.

LOUISE: It’s like time’s turned off. Doesn’t it bother you that there’s nothing on the radio?

MARK: I’ve made you a character, she’s an elf called –

LOUISE: I don’t want to be a fucking elf!

MARK: You could be a dwarf.

I think you’re being negative.

Beat.

Yes. Yes, actually, it bothers me. But what am I going to do about it?

Beat.

LOUISE: Sorry.

MARK: It’s only been three days

LOUISE: Feels like three years.

MARK: We have to look after each other.

LOUISE: I know.

I know. I’m sorry, Mark.

Pause.

MARK: When I was a kid I used to love it. Alright, yes, I’m admitting –

Escape or something, I don’t…

I associate it with caravans. I’ve never been in a caravan. I think it was because a mate of mine used to go on holiday in a caravan and we never went on holiday and I always thought what it’d be like to be in a caravan. He’d always tell me stories of getting a girlfriend in this caravan –

LOUISE: This isn’t a caravan.

And I’m not your girlfriend.

Silence.

MARK: Would you do it if Francis asked you?

LOUISE: Oh, for God’s sake

MARK: No, I’m just wondering

LOUISE: No you’re not

MARK: I am

LOUISE: You’re not because you’re mental and that’s a loaded question designed to feed into your paranoia about Francis.

MARK: I don’t have paranoia about Francis and this is, actually this is just like Jess’ party.

Beat.

LOUISE: Jess’ party?

MARK: Yes.

LOUISE: Jess’ party?

MARK: Yes.

LOUISE: Why are you bringing up Jess’ party?

MARK: Because –

LOUISE: What the fuck has Jess’ party got to do with anything?

MARK: Because at Jess’ party, at Jess’ party you were taking the piss

LOUISE: that was months ago, I mean do you ever let go of anything?

MARK: taking the piss and belittling, you were –

LOUISE: I was belittling?

MARK: Yes, you were belittling me.

LOUISE: At Jess’ party, I was belittling you?

MARK: Yes.

LOUISE: What about you!

MARK: What about me?

LOUISE: You were acting like a freak.

MARK: Me?

LOUISE: Like we’re all having a drink and a laugh and suddenly everything I say you’re like jumping on, no you don’t really think that Louise, that’s not you Louise, why are you talking about Footballer’s Wives, Louise.

MARK: You were being fake.

LOUISE: Fake?

MARK: You were pissed though, so I

LOUISE: ...