The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas

Dennis Kelly

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781783190478
• eBook ISBN: 9781783195466
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literatur
• Subtopic: Britisches Drama

If you could lie without flinching, corrupt without caring and succeed at all costs – how far could you go…how much could you make? From the early promise of the '70s through to unrelenting capitalism of the '80s and '90s, follow George on the journey from innocence to savage greed and knotted honesty, as he invents three golden rule for success, whatever the cost. An electrifying dark tale, this new play from award-winning writer Dennis Kelly marks his Royal Court debut.

–	Gorge Mastromas was conceived on the 15^th of July, 1972.
–	It was a warm and balmy night, not too hot with a gentle breeze coming in through open summer windows
–	it had rained earlier that day but the air was now clear and the night had a softness to it that felt like…a pause.
–	The lovemaking was not particularly enjoyable, but neither was it particularly unpleasant
–	Gorge’s father had not been in the mood…
–	Gorge’s mother had not been in the mood…
–	but it had been some time since they had made love so the act had been instigated by a kind of mutual and unspoken guilt.
–	clumsy at first, it may well have been aborted at several key moments, but once things got going it was pleasant enough with both participants feeling satisfaction by the end.
–	Gorge’s father had meant to pull out
–	(a regular feature of their lovemaking)
–	but having tried so hard to work himself into the act he became confused and couldn’t be sure if he was clear in the final instance.
–	He said nothing to his wife.
–	Gorge’s Y chromosomes rushed towards his X chromosomes at a speed of 0.00004km/hr and as Gorge’s mother was in the bathroom the next evening about her nightly toilet, Gorge came into being.
–	The gestation was normal, unremarkable as all parts of Gorge began to form
–	the brain, the spinal chord, the heart and the gastrointestinal tract
–	a stream of commonplace miracles happening inside a fleshy sack of liquids and tissue creating the human being that would later come to be known as Gorge Mastromas.
–	The pregnancy itself was not difficult, no sign of the worrying swelling and preeclampsia that had dogged their previous pregnancy
–	and on the 31^st of May, 1973, Gorge Mastromas was delivered to the world by – as a precautionary measure – caesarean section
–	a fact that should have nothing read into it whatsoever.
	Pause.
–	Gorge’s early years were pleasant enough
–	At times he was happy, at times he was sad.
–	He learned things, found things out and his mind developed into what we should probably regard as a mildly above average intelligence
–	He loved his parents and they appeared to love him, though his father was prone to exasperation and his mother to a kind of cool indifference
–	he looked up to his older brother, was shy when he came into contact with other children, though enjoyed their company and the possibilities of play.
–	The first remarkable thing that happened to Gorge was that on the first day of school he was sat next to Paul Koscrow.
–	Paul was a beautiful boy, a head of dark curly hair, a sandy complexion, soft skin that people just wanted to touch
–	(skin that would later be permanently devastated by acne)
–	deep brown eyes that radiated calm and, yes well, love, maybe or something…
–	Girls inexplicably wanted to be near Paul
–	Boys wanted to play with Paul
–	and Gorge was (by the good fortune of the alphabetical seating index) sat next to Paul which of course meant that they had to be best friends.
–	Paul was the hardest in the class.
–	The hardest being at that age a mixture of popularity and strength
–	but by association Gorge was now understood to be third hardest
–	second hardest having gone to Adam Grosan, an angry, crazed, disturbed boy who stood outside the social order, but whose physical prowess could not be ignored.
–	Gorge loved being with Paul. He loved playing with Paul, loved talking to Paul, loved talking about Paul
–	He sometimes had an uneasy feeling in his belly when Paul spent time with others and found himself inexplicably nasty to Paul when he talked too much with girls
–	(Paul seemed to like girls almost as much as he liked boys).
–	But generally everything was, well, great, and life moves on and continues and Gorge develops and grows in a not-unusual fashion.
	Beat.
	And then, at the age of eight, a change came.
–	For many years Gorge had basked in the reflected glory of Paul, yes. But it should not be thought that Gorge was without qualities himself.
–	He could be funny
–	he could be kind
–	he was a fast runner
–	he knew a lot about dinosaurs and machines
–	(Gorge had a thing for machines)
–	Gorge was not without his charms
–	But Gorge knew that Paul was best.
–	Everyone knew that Paul was the best – he was the best.
–	But
	sometime over that year…
–	A change came over Paul and in turn over the perception of Paul.
–	He had begun to fill out. He gained weight as his body found the shape that it would generally adhere to for the rest of his life.
–	Paul was a fat kid…
–	His sandy skin seemed stretched over what was now a bulky frame, and instead of sandy it seemed, well…yellow
–	the colour of urine
–	those deep brown eyes receded into his face
–	the shock of curly brown hair which had once looked so wanton on a five-year-old now looked girlish.
–	And other facts were noticed about Paul – his parents were poor, his dad didn’t have a job and smoked far too much for a parent
–	Paul’s clothes were shabby and he sometimes said dumb things
–	These facts became noted, and having been noted they were accepted and having been accept...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Characters
• The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas