Fosse: Plays Six

Rambuku; Freedom; Over There, These Eyes; Girl in Yellow Raincoat; Christmas Tree Song; Sea

Jon Fosse, May-Brit Akerholt

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781783195855
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Théâtre européen

Jon Fosse has been called 'the Beckett of the 21st century' (Le Monde), and the Royal Court production of Nightsongs was dubbed 'Waiting for Godot without the gags'. Just as Beckett's plays - and those of all great playwrights - grew out of their time, and influenced the current styles of drama, and were part of what brought their times forward, so do Fosse's plays now. Fosse: Plays Six marks the culmination of this Norwegian playwright's body of work for the stage to be published in the English language. The volume includes the plays Rambuku, Freedom, Over There, These Eyes, Girl in Yellow Raincoat, Christmas Tree Song and Sea. Rambuku: Two people. One finds it difficult to speak. The other attempts to understand. But what is Rambuku? Or who is Rambuku? Freedom: There is a sense of otherness in Fosse's work that challenges our notions of a concept such as 'freedom'. This play questions if freedom, as we often understand it, is perhaps a prison. Over There: A woman follows a man to his death. But do they see the same images on the way to the top of the mountain? These Eyes: A snapshot of the dreamlike state of life. The characters exist in an in-between space which becomes their reality. Girl in Yellow Raincoat: An examination of our collective weakness, and the fragility of children. It asks questions about notions surrounding fear. Christmas Tree Song: A man celebrates Christmas alone (and reflects in a somewhat ironic way) on his life as he attempts to put up a Christmas tree. Sea: A group of people gathered in a kind of limbo, on a ship, disappearing into something unknown.

SEA

A PLAY

Characters

THE SHIPMASTER

THE GUITAR PLAYER

THE WOMAN

THE OLDER MAN

THE OLDER WOMAN

THE MAN

Lights up

Two men (The Shipmaster and The Guitar Player) stand at short distance from each other, turned away from each other.

THE SHIPMASTER

I am the shipmaster

THE GUITAR PLAYER

Who are you

THE SHIPMASTER

I am the shipmaster

short pause

I told you

and I’ve told you so many times

and you’ve asked me about it

so many times

Why can’t you remember it

That I’m the shipmaster

THE GUITAR PLAYER

You are the shipmaster

THE SHIPMASTER

Yes

yes as I said

quite short pause

and now I’ve said it again

And I don’t mind saying it one more time

I am the shipmaster

Quite short pause

And now

quite short pause

now you’ll remember it

and you won’t ask again

you remember it now

don’t you

THE GUITAR PLAYER

I’ll remember it now

You are the shipmaster

quite short pause

you’re the master of ships

THE SHIPMASTER

Yes

yes that’s right

I’m the master of ships

Short pause

I’m the master

of this ship

THE GUITAR PLAYER

But is this a ship

THE SHIPMASTER

Yes

THE GUITAR PLAYER

But there’s no sea here

THE SHIPMASTER

We’re on the sea

we’re on board a ship

THE GUITAR PLAYER

No

no this can’t be a ship

And we’re not on the sea

THE SHIPMASTER

Yes

yes we are

We’re on a ship

We’re on the sea

Pause

Or

pause

or

pause

or perhaps we’re not perhaps

pause

or

pause

or are you and I

the only ones here

Pause

No

no of course not

I did tell you

quite short pause

yes that we’re on board a ship

And I am the shipmaster

And there are many people here

Quite short pause

It’s a big ship

And on a big ship

there are many people

THE GUITAR PLAYER

And where are the others

THE SHIPMASTER

They are here

they’ll come soon

Quite short pause

Because they are here

THE GUITAR P...