Benedict Andrews: Collected Plays

Benedict Andrews

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781783199457
• eBook ISBN: 9781783199464
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Benedict Andrews is an internationally renowned theatre and opera director, a film-maker and a poet. This volume presents the first collection of original plays by a theatre-maker at the top of his game. Includes the plays Like A Sun, Every Breath, The Stars, Geronimo and Gloria. Introduction by Marius von Mayenburg.

GLORIA

Gloria will premiere at Griffin Theatre, Sydney, on 3 September, 2016, with the following cast:

GLORIA	Marta Dusseldorp
JARED	Meyne Wyatt
DEREK / MAN	Huw Higginson
MADDIE / THE GIRL	Chloe Baylis
CASSIE / WOMAN	Kristy Best
PAUL	Louis Fontaine / Max Phillips
CLIENT / MAN 2 / KIP / CLIENT	Pierce Wilcox

Directed by Lee Lewis

Associate Director Ben Winspear

Set and costume design by Sophie Fletcher

Lighting design by Luiz Pampolha

A/V design by Toby Knyvett

Sound design by Steve Toulmin

Photographer and Videographer Brett Boardman

Characters

GLORIA, late 40s

JARED, teenager, then 20s

DEREK / MAN, 40 something

MADDIE / THE GIRL, 12

CASSIE / WOMAN, mid-20s

PAUL, 6 or 7

CLIENT / MAN 2 / KIP / MAN / AD, around 30

One.

Living room. Night. A woman sits watching TV. Sound on mute. A small boy beside her. He might be a doll. Or not. Nothing for a while. The woman walks to the kitchen, opens the fridge, stares inside. Finally, she pours a glass of milk which the boy drinks, still watching the television. When he’s finished, she rinses the glass and puts it in the dishwasher. She takes a kitchen knife from the drawer and sits beside the boy. He snuggles into her and she strokes his hair. They watch television. The woman cradles the boy. She kisses his head. Stares at the television. A sound like all the air being sucked from a room. TV flickering.

Black.

1.

The apartment.

JARED At night when I can’t sleep, I walk through the rooms. Feet quiet on the carpet. The refrigerator hums. Our house is a stage set and I’m the only living character. The others are puppets. Made of wood, cloth and porcelain. Faces painted on. They lie in their beds attached to strings, snoring, mumbling, farting, until the string jerks and up they get to play their parts. That weird glow. Is it moonlight? Or glare from the city? Don’t care anymore. I walk the halls. Open fridge. Drink juice. Pick at leftovers. Not hungry but do it anyway. All that stuff in plastic and foil. Half-eaten. Cold. Balcony. The city lights stop where the sea begins. Points of orange float in the black. Freighters anchored offshore. Out there I’d sleep. On a bunk. In a cabin. Rocked by swell. One day I’ll leave and see the world by ship. I’ll work hard and when day is done, the throbbing of the engines will comfort my sleep. Down in the hull. Cocooned. I walk through our cold, blue rooms. I’m the only real character. The others ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Like a Sun
• Every Breath
• The Stars
• Geronimo
• Gloria