The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actors

Classical and Contemporary Speeches from Black British Plays: Monologues for Women Volume 1

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781783195558
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: African Drama
• Index: Literature

Foreword by Naomie Harris How many Black British plays can you name? Inspired by both classical and contemporary plays, The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actresses gives readers an insight into some of the best cutting-edge plays written by black British playwrights, over the last sixty years. This collection features over twenty speeches by Britain's most prominent black dramatists. The monologues represent a wide-range of themes, characters, dialects and styles. Suitable for young people and adults, each selection includes production information, a synopsis of the play, a biography of the playwright and a scene summary. The aim of this collection is that actors will enjoy working on these speeches, using them to help strengthen their craft, and by doing so, help to ensure these plays are always remembered.

CONTEMPORARY
MONOLOGUES

From

MULES

by Winsome Pinnock

Mules premiered at the Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court in London on 25 April 1996, directed by Roxanna Silbert with the following female cast: Sheila Whitfeld, Abi Eniola and Clare Perkins who each played multiple roles in the production. After the Royal Court production, Mules toured to various theatres in the UK.

Winsome Pinnock wrote Mules for Clean Break, a theatre company based in North London which is dedicated to showcasing stories about imprisoned women. The play is one of Pinnock’s most powerful pieces. It tackles the subject of drug trafficking, exposing the many reasons why women enter this violent, dangerous and life-threatening illegal business.

About the Playwright

Playwright, academic and chairwoman for the Alfred Fagon Awards, Winsome Pinnock was born in London to Jamaican parents. She is arguably, one of the most established and resilient Black British female playwrights in London. Beginning her professional writing career with her first stage play, Winds of Change, in 1987, Winsome has remained a constant figure in Black British play history, unafraid of tackling social and political issues. Her writing has responded to a wide range of topics; Can you Keep a Secret tackled racial killings, inspired by the death of Stephen Lawrence, A Rock in Water explored the life of Claudia Jones, activist and cofounder of Notting Hill Carnival, and IDP (internally displaced person) was a response to the situation in Darfur.

Other published plays by Winsome Pinnock include Leave Taking, Talking in Tongues, A Hero’s Welcome, A Rock in Water and One Under.

Summary (Extract)

Northern Teenager ALLIE (previously played as a girl from Liverpool) has run away to London to escape sexual abuse from her mother’s boyfriend. She is mugged in central London and is kicked out of her bedsit when she struggles to pay the rent.

Homeless on the streets of London, a kind designer-dressed American lady, Birdie, gives her money, a hot breakfast and offers her a job opportunity that will keep her off the streets forever. Desperate to prove she can make it without her mother’s help, Allie accepts the most dangerous job of all.

In this speech Allie talks to Lou (a young Jamaican mother who also worked for Birdie) in the prison cell.

ALLIE

Donna gives me this love letter for Alice, right, but she doesn’t tell me Letitia’s going with her. So Letitia thinks I’m after her precious Alice and jumps me on the way to PE. Fucking cat scratched me up to ribbons. Next day Letitia’s bought me two roll-ups and a packet of Wrigley’s because she’s found out the truth and she’s sorry. You got to laugh, ent you? (Slight pause.)

A bird come in recreation today, bashed itself against the windows like a mad thing. Donna reckons there’s loads of ’em trapped in the walls. You can hear ’em.

Lou changes her position but doesn’t speak.

Come on, cheer up. It may never happen. (Slight pause.) Joke.

You should see all the shit me and Zoë’s got past the kangas. She reckons they turn a blind eye ’cos we’re all more manageable when we’re zombified. We’re sitting on a fucking goldmine. Anything you want, just ask and I’ll get it for you.

(With no response from Lou, she starts to answer herself back.)

Lisa’s been sent down the block again. ‘She hasn’t. What’s she gone and done now?’ Attacked one of the kangas. ‘She didn’t.’ She did. ‘Never.’ On my life. You’d a thought she’d learnt her lesson last time. ‘She’s always in trouble that one.’ I know. She’ll come to a bad end. (Slight pause.) Joke.

Lou turns away from Allie.

You’re selfish, do you know that? Do you think that you’re the only one who doesn’t get a visit? The only one who doesn’t get phone calls? At least you get letters. Home is a long way away for all of us.

I know what you’re doing. You’re sucking all my energy up into your silence. You can’t do that. The rules are different here. Don’t you understand? There isn’t enough pity to go around.

(She turns away from Lou.) When I was ten I started getting sharp pains in my side and had to be taken to the doctors. Where does it hurt? Here, here or here? His fingers were cold where they touched – no, prodded – me. His pokes left little indentations all over my body because there was no life in my skin. His touch felt like love or as close to it as I could imagine. His touch stayed with me long after the pain had gone and I longed for it. If I concentrated hard enough I could make the pain appear by an effort of will. It became the mystery of our street. I was so obviously not faking it and yet no one could find the reason for the pain. It was the first time I’d got one over on them. They wanted me to hurt because healing me gave them a reason to live, a reason to continue to believe in themselves. Sometimes when the doctor was examining me I felt our roles were reversed and that I was prodding his tummy, listening for his irregular heartbeat and when our gazes met – one cold stare meeting another – I could see that he was aware that I knew.

Lou turns away from Allie.

Bette on E wing does healing. Perhaps you ought to see her. I heard she healed Mandy. Who tried to kill herself? She placed her hand over Mandy’s wrist where there was a deep gash and a light come out of her palm and everybody who was there swears they saw the light enter the wound which closed itself up. Now it’s as smooth as a newborn baby’s. Where does it hurt? Here, here or here?

From

TO RAHTID

by Sol B River

To Rahtid was produced by Talawa Theatre Company, directed by Yvonne Brewster and performed by Angela Wynter at the Young Vic Theatre in London on 22 February 1996.

To Rahtid is a one-woman monologue play which unapologetically tells the story of the painful black diaspora experience. Sol leaves no grave unturned as he explicitly recounts the horrific physical and mental pain and torture which continues to be inflicted onto the bodies and minds of the black generation. From the experience of being whipped by the master to the loss of loved ones, Sol still manages to present a battered yet strong black woman, Mout, desperate to preserve her culture, language and memories.

To Rahtid was Sol B River’s second professionally staged play and his first play to be staged in London. It received outstanding reviews; the Guardian compared it to the works of one of Sol B River’s favourite writers suggesting that it was like ‘Samuel Beckett on amphetamines’ and solo actress Angela Wynter received critical acclaim for her superb performance. To Rahtid is written in a series of flickering, disjointed lyrical expressions conveyed in a fusion of Patois, English and Jamaican, which all surprisingly come together in perfect harmony to create a coherent story.

About the Playwright

Playwright, director, producer and actor Sol B River, was born in Leeds in Yorkshire to Jamaican parents. After receiving a MA in Screenwriting, Sol B River pursued a professional career as a writer, initially writing for theatre. In 1994, Sol wrote his first professionally staged play, Moors Masterpiece, which was commissioned by and performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The success of this production resulted in Sol B River’s first Writer-in-Residence appointed role (1994-1996) at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. 1998 was a groundbreaking year for Sol B River; he became the first Black British playwright to have a collection of plays entitled River: Plays 1 published by Oberon Books as well as writing his first play to be performed internationally – the legendary Jamaican Story The White Witch of Rose Hall produced as part of the University of the West Indies’ 50^th anniversary at the Philip Sherlock Centre in Jamaica. Sol B River’s unique lyrical voice has given him the opportunity to write for the theatre, radio and also collaborate with dance companies.

Other published plays by Sol B River include To Rahtid, Moors Masterpiece, Unbroken, 48-98, Walk Against Fear, Making Waves and Two Tracks and Text Me.

Summary (Extract)

MOUT talks directly to the audience sharing an experience of the black diaspora.

MOUT

… move in a dis style … dat syle … lickle pickney ting … time soon come … dear lord – … but wait … pickney gal? … uh hu … lickle pickney gal … in an … out in a … time come too quick … wretched hold … name … name … never mine … brethren forgotten … long gone … dem been punish … tin air gone … lickle after the sun wake the day … mother gone … four hundred years duration … not to de day … love gone … where de hope … dem tek way de normal run … hang de basket where we can’t reach it … held with a coffle … in de hold … no …. any and any punishment … dem no love … until now noting … you see you … not a ting till de 50’s when – … kiss me neck back … nineties? … good lord! … Coming up two thousand … urban jungle … want for something to make a reverse … then lickle most … look yonder … move! … lickle more … lickle most again … gawn … we jus a drif … it dawn pon me … too late all de early life morning sun … find demself … wha dis? … (Kiss teeth.) … go way! … dem! … see dem in de hold … mash up … mad … mad up … de screaming piercing … so it go … in a de head … orumila come and gone … come and gone already … like the sunset in Negril … dipping in and out of sea … but blood … seeing …. me feel warm blood … never did know … where de compass did point … deal wid dis … de position in dat hold! … stan up … or die … nough pain … watch me now … laying prostrate? … listen me sir … do I stan up? … stay laying … or… laying prostrate… nough pain … what? … prostrate? … yes sir … don’t stan up … or sit down …. humility? …. adoration … but nough pain still … still … never mine … mi tink twice … during an after … sudden whip … trust in gees u … wid the master … in a merciful … (Kiss teeth.) … Jesus… where are you? … tink tree times … during an after … sudden strike … God did punish us … for ginalism … ginal me? … proof is proof me need … those who don’t hear feel … what me never hear? …. during an after … this foo foo ride … it dawn on me … dem say … it’s OK … deal wid dis! …. we is frien … mother land and ting …. Offer-han … shake … but wait … is dis me is born for … ha! … the very tought … dis time … in me life … me should be drinking rum … you know say … me is having non … not a taste … so dat … the whip that inflic …. for noting … or everting … or noting … dem don’t have no reason … dem just favour it … I overstand … the whip that inflic … me first did see it … God believe it … be merciful… (Kiss teeth.) … Jesus … there is...