Laura Wade: Plays One

Laura Wade

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781849436823
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Théâtre britannique

'If one of the problems facing new playwrights is the expectation that each of their plays should be similar in style, Wade…proved that you could radically change both form and content… Not every writer delivers on their early promise. As this collection clearly shows, Wade certainly has.' Aleks Sierz, from his Introduction Colder Than Here: 'Laura Wade's play is a 90-minute masterpiece, a jewel, dark bu ttranslucent. It is a play of love, death and grief: the grief that is hardest to bear, because it begins before the loved one dies.' Sunday Times Breathing Corpses: 'The tension, the emotions and the sense of absurdity and fear are brilliantly handled... A terrifying tour de force.' Sunday Times Other Hands: 'This is an extraordinary feat – a vicious satire with a heart of gold –wrought with peculiar subtlety and intelligence.' The Spectator

OTHER HANDS

For Rod

My sincerest thanks to the following for their help with the development of Other Hands :
Tamara Harvey, Michael Shaw, Jack Thorne, Charlotte Mann, Jamie Carmichael, Gabriel Winn, Tina and Stuart Wade, Bijan Sheibani, Nina Steiger, Jon Lloyd and all at Soho Theatre.

Plus anyone else who had a hand in it. Thank you.

LW, February 2006

Characters

STEVE, 31

LYDIA, 34

HAYLEY, 30

GREG, 45

Other Hands was first performed at Soho Theatre on 15 February 2006, with the following cast:

GREG, Michael Gould

STEVE, Richard Harrington

HAYLEY, Anna Maxwell Martin

LYDIA, Katherine Parkinson Director Bijan Sheibani

Designer Paul Burgess

Lighting Designer Guy Kornetskzi

Sound Designer Emma Laxton

SCENE 1

LYDIA’s studio flat. Late morning.

LYDIA is standing in front of the computer, looking at STEVE. He stands by the door, a motorbike helmet in his hand. The air fizzes.

LYDIA: You've got an hour.

STEVE: Um

LYDIA: What?

STEVE: It's. I can't predict how long it's

LYDIA: How long

STEVE: I mean, it can take longer

LYDIA: Longer than an hour?

STEVE: Well, it. I don't always know till I. Start. How long I'm going to be doing it for is all

LYDIA: Right. Well / I

STEVE: Sometimes it's just thirty seconds or so sometimes and sometimes it's I do try and keep it as quick as possible but

LYDIA: OK

STEVE: But it can take longer and I can't really tell until I, you know, get down to it

LYDIA: Get down to it

STEVE: Have a go

LYDIA: You don't think with your, your experience you should be able to predict

Because I did tell you quite clearly what I wanted on the phone

STEVE: There's lots of

LYDIA: And you are a professional so

STEVE: I mean it just isn't possible to

Beat.

LYDIA: I can only afford an hour.

STEVE: Right.

LYDIA: Sorry.

STEVE: No

LYDIA: I should have said on the phone

STEVE: OK

LYDIA: So

STEVE: Well let's give it an hour and see how we go.

LYDIA: OK.

STEVE puts his helmet down and moves towards the PC.

STEVE: It's the modem, you said

LYDIA: God, I don't know, I mean

God knows what's going on in there just won't connect to the internet

STEVE: Since

LYDIA: Monday

STEVE: OK well let's

LYDIA: I might not be using the right words, the terminology

LYDIA is still standing in front of the PC, barring STEVE’s way.

STEVE: Can I

LYDIA: Um

STEVE: Have a look?

LYDIA: Um, yeah

LYDIA starts to move away, then darts back to stand between STEVE and the computer.

Sorry

STEVE: What?

LYDIA: Sorry I just

Thing is I can't let you start, you see, because

If you start and then we get to the end of the hour and it isn't fixed, and you. I'm not questioning you know, but. If it isn't fixed and you go away, or it's worse because I don't know, you've run some kind of programme on it and now it's worse it's made all sorts of crawlies come out of the. I mean I'm not saying you would, you know, but

I mean then I'm

Then I'm really stuck

STEVE: Yeah

LYDIA: I really need it, I

STEVE: Yeah. Yeah

LYDIA: And you, you did say that. You know, sometimes, doesn't it, it ta...