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A Man With Five Children
Nick Enright
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eBook - ePub
A Man With Five Children
Nick Enright
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About This Book
Gerry is a documentary filmmaker who, one day each year, follows five children around with a camera. The results are shown annually on television. Yet for the children who grow up under Gerry's (and the nation's) watchful eyes, the experience creates its own dynamic. Are the participants his subjects, his children or his creations? Spanning more than twenty years, A Man With Five Children invites you into a world of fractured celebrity and distorted vision.
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ACT ONE
SCENE ONE: 1972
A bare stage. GERRY 28 approaches the audience.
GERRY: I want your child, and yours, and yours. What do I want from them? One day out of their lives. One day a year, till they turn twenty-one. One day for the camera to follow them. To a football game, a ballet class, a birthday party. One day a year for them to speak and be heard. Which day? You say. Or I say. Or maybe they say. Youâve all seen some of my films. Now you know the way Gerard Hilferty works. I get close, and I stay close. Iâll try to not to bring along any preconceptions. Iâll try to bring nothing but a camera and a microphone. You know that old maxim? âGive me a child at seven, Iâll show you the adult.â I donât buy that. I say, give me a child at seven and letâs see where he goes, where she goes. No money will change hands. Youâll have a record of your childâs life. Your children will have a way to chart their own lives. And once a year, New Yearâs Day, on national television, weâll show some moments from the year these children have lived, from the day they give me. I want your child, yours, yours, yours, yours. Five children to speak for young Australia. I hope all five will want to come with me on the journey. And if they do, weâll meet at the gates of the zoo.
He waits. ROGER appears.
Gâday.
ROGER: My name is Roger Chan.
GERRY: Iâm Gerry.
ROGER: My father told me what youâre going to do. You talk to us. Then you do it again next year. And youâll put the two films together and see how weâve changed.
GERRY: Thatâs pretty right.
ROGER: And then the next year, youâll do the same thing. But why?
JESSIE approaches.
JESSIE: Why are we here? Zoos are bad places.
GERRY: We could talk about that. Youâre Jessie. Iâm Gerry. This is Roger.
He sees CAM approaching.
Hi.
CAM: Iâm hungry.
GERRY: Weâll have lunch at the zoo.
CAM: Iâm hungry now.
GERRY: Jessie, Roger. This is Cam.
ROGER: Cam? Is that short for something?
CAM: Cameron. Duhh.
SUSANNAH 7 approaches. ZOE 7 trails her.
SUSANNAH: She wonât say her name. Are all these children seven? She seems quite young for seven. Iâm seven. Iâm tall for my age.
GERRY: Susannah, this is Jessieâ
JESSIE: Hi.
GERRY: Cam.
ROGER: Roger. Roger Chan.
JESSIE: Whatâs your name?
ZOE: Zoe.
SUSANNAH: She wouldnât tell me.
GERRY: Zoe. Jessie. Cam. Susannah. Roger. Youâll want to practise those names.
ROGER: Zoe. Cam. Jessie. Susannah. Roger. I know them.
GERRY: Letâs go to the zoo. You walk ahead. Iâll follow.
He picks up the camera.
CAM: I donât want to.
ROGER: Weâll see ourselves on television.
CAM: I donât fucken want to.
ROGER starts to play with a high-tech game.
SUSANNAH: Heâs rude. He shouldnât be here.
CAM: You shouldnât. You talk funny. She shouldnât. Sheâs an abo. I hate abos.
JESSIE: Why?
CAM: Australia for Australians. [To JESSIE] Bloody abo boong. [To ROGER] And you. Slope-features.
GERRY: Hey! I donât want any name-calling. Never again. Youâre all different. Youâre all Australians. I want you all to respect one another. And I want you all to stay. Every one of you.
CAM is walking away.
Specially you, Cam.
CAM: Whatâll you give me?
ROGER: Didnât you hear? No money will change hands.
CAM grabs for the game. ROGER wonât let go.
CAM: Get me one of them?
GERRY: No. I canât give you anything. But maybe we can do something together.
CAM: Take me to the footie?
GERRY: The footie? I reckon I could do that. If I can bring my camera.
CAM: All right. When?
GERRY: Some time this season.
ROGER: Can I come too?
GERRY: Sure.
CAM: Iâm good at footie. See?
He grabs ROGERâs game and goes to dropkick it.
ROGER: Donât!
CAM throws it into the air. ROGER catches it. CAM runs off, followed by ROGER. GERRY films.
SUSANNAH: I like Gerry. Do you like him? Zoe?
ZOE: I donât know. [To JESSIE] Do you?
JESSIE: When he came to our school he hid behind the trees. [To GERRY] Didnât you?
GERRY: I wasnât hiding. I was looking.
JESSIE: Looking for what?
GERRY: A girl with a purple hair ribbon.
JESSI...