Rotterdam

Jon Brittain

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781350095182
• eBook ISBN: 9781350095199
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

No, Alice, I don't want to become a man, I just want to stop trying to be a woman.

It's New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay. But before she can hit send, her girlfriend reveals that he has always identified as a man and now wants to start living as one.

Now Alice must face a question she never thought she'd ask . . . does this mean she's straight?
A bittersweet comedy about gender, sexuality and being a long way from home.

Rotterdam received its world premiere at Theatre503, London, in October 2015, before transferring to Trafalgar Studios, London, in May 2016.

This volume contains introductory commentary and notes by Stephen Farrier from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London.

METHUEN DRAMA STUDENT EDITIONS are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires. As well as the complete text of the play itself, this volume contains:

- an introduction outlining the plays themes, context and performance history
- the full text of the play
- extensive textual notes
- questions for further study.

Rotterdam

Rotterdam received its world premiere at Theatre503, London, on 27 October 2015. The cast in order of appearance was as follows:

Alice	Alice McCarthy
Fiona/Adrian	Anna Martine Freeman
Lelani	Jessica Clark
Josh	Ed Eales-White
Director	Donnacadh O’Briain
Designer	E.M. Parry
Lighting Designer	Richard Williamson
Composer/Sound Designer	Keegan Curran
Movement Director	Jüri Nael
Fight Director	Rob Leonard
Associate Director	Roxy Cook
Assistant Designer	Anna Driftmier
Assistant Lighting Designer	Daniel English
Producers	Louis Hartshorn
	Brian Hook
Associate Producers	Paul Virides
	Crystal Noll

Characters

Alice, late twenties, female, British

Fiona/Adrian, late twenties, transgender male,* British

Lelani, twenty-one, female, Dutch

Josh, late twenties/early thirties, male, British

* The character of Adrian is living as female at the beginning of the play and transitions to male during it.

Notes

An ellipsis (…) indicates a speech trailing off.

A dash (–) indicates someone’s speech has been interrupted, sometimes by themselves.

The play is set in various locations in and around the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Costumes and personal props can be represented realistically, but the rest of the set need not be.

Lines that contain now dated references can be changed to reflect more contemporary ones – particularly if they’re a punchline to a joke that no longer works. Just try and stay true to the spirit and intention of the original.

This playscript was correct at the time of publication but may have changed during subsequent productions.

Act One: Oud en Nieuw

Scene One

Alice and Fiona’s flat.

Dutch pop music plays.

Alice deliberates over something she is writing on her laptop while Fiona watches her.

The music finishes as Alice puts down her laptop.

Alice Right. There. I’m finished.

Fiona You’re finished?

Alice I’m finished, I’m done. I mean, I think I am, I think it’s done.

Fiona Do you want me to have a read?

Alice No. No, it’s fine. Unless … do you want to?

Fiona If you want me to.

Alice Right, yeah, no, no, you probably should.

Fiona OK then, I will.

Alice Actually can you not?

Fiona No?

Alice No, and it’s not that I don’t want you to, I do, obviously, it’s just I know you’ll find loads wrong with it and then you’ll make me change it –

Fiona I won’t make you change it –

Alice And then I’ll start worrying about all the other things that are wrong with it –

Fiona I won’t make you change it.

Alice And then I’ll never actually send it and we’ll be right back where we started –

Fiona Alice, I won’t make you change it.

Alice Yes, you would! You always make me change things.

Fiona Like when?

Alice Last week, last week I left that work in the kitchen –

Fiona I made a few notes in the margin, I was just trying to make it sound less dry.

Alice It was a shipping contract, it was supposed to sound dry!

Beat.

Look, I’d rather just send it, OK?

Fiona Good, I want you to just send it.

Alice Fine, I will.

Beat.

OK, alright, maybe you should take a look.

Fiona Fine.

Alice Actually no.

Fiona Seriously?!

Alice I’m sorry, I’m sorry, OK? I just want to get it right, I just – I’m going to do one more draft.

Fiona You’ve done fifteen.

Alice I need to check the spelling.

Fiona Run spell-check.

Alice I have. I need to check for stuff it missed.

Fiona What stuff?

Alice I don’t know, that’s why I need to check it! Writing this email’s the most important thing I’ve ever done, I don’t want it to open with ‘Dear Mum and Dad, I’ve got something very important to tell you. I’m a Lebanon.’

Beat.

Look, Fee, it’s late, they’ll be in bed, can’t we just wait?

Fiona Till when?

Alice I don’t know, January?

Fiona What, you mean in twenty-four hours?

Alice Yes, maybe it can wait twenty-four hours.

Fiona Fine. Fine. Wait twenty-four hours. That is absolutely fine.

Alice Well, it obviously isn...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword E. M. Parry
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Rotterdam
• Copyright