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Ninety
Joanna Murray-Smith
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eBook - ePub
Ninety
Joanna Murray-Smith
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About This Book
It is no use, but William gives Isobel ninety minutes anyway. They were once married, but something happened. Something broke deep down in the mechanism of their lives together and, seeing no way to repair it, they threw it away.%##CHAR13##% %##CHAR13##%But perhaps they were too hasty. Perhaps there was something they could have done. Isabel just wants ninety minutes. Soon William will be married again, so ninety is all she has to make her case. Ninety to remember what they had. Ninety to regain what was lost. Just ninety minutes to rediscover love or call it a day, forever.
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THANKS
Ninety came into itself through the significant talents of Simon Phillips, Kym Gyngell, Melinda Butel and Rachel Griffiths.
Thanks to all the staff of the Melbourne Theatre Company. As always, I am indebted to Raymond Gill. And particular thanks to Dr Joe Crameri, who wouldnāt remember us.
For Raymond and the Pantheon.
And for Charlie.
And for Charlie.
As the play begins, ISABEL is working at the easel with a tiny brush, small dabs interspersed with long periods of contemplation. The door opens and WILLIAM enters. The start of the play needs to show a playfulness built from history.
WILLIAM: Your time starts now.
ISABEL: Latecomer.
WILLIAM: Scheduler.
ISABEL: I thought you might not [actually show]ā
WILLIAM: Really?
ISABEL: Well.
WILLIAM: I said [I would]ā
ISABEL: Yes, butā
WILLIAM: I said [I would]ā
ISABEL: I know. [Beat.] But you said that last time.
WILLIAM: Ah. Last time.
ISABEL: And you didnāt show.
WILLIAM: I was shooting.
ISABEL: No you werenāt. I rang your agent. Max said there was a writersā strike in LA. Nothing was shooting. He said you were in Kenya. Some Abercrombie and Something luxury safari.
WILLIAM: Thatās what I mean. Shooting.
ISABEL: Lions? [Beat.] Even I know theyāre protected. Even I know all that went out with Hemingway.
WILLIAM: If youāre very rich or famous theyāll still let you sink an old gazelle or two while the World Wildlife Fund are taking tea.
ISABEL: Cynic.
WILLIAM: Sentimentalist.
ISABEL: It was good, actually. Last time.
WILLIAM: Good.
ISABEL: There is, as they say, something āhealingā in ceremonyā¦
WILLIAM: Well.
ISABEL: It was lovely, actually. The park. The treesā
WILLIAM: āIn their burst of colourāā
ISABEL: In their burst of colour.
WILLIAM: I think we should let them go.
ISABEL: We should let them go?
WILLIAM: The dead. [Beat.] I donāt believe in standing in a park and hearing The Prophet or The Tibetan Book of the fucking Dead and then going off to drink tea. Something about death sends tea consumption into a frenzy. I apologise.
ISABEL: It was lovely.
WILLIAM: Good. What did you do?
ISABEL: We went to the park. Marjorie read fromā¦ The Tibetan Book of the fucking Dead. Then we all came back to the house andā¦ drank tea.
WILLIAM: Lovely.
ISABEL: I missed you.
WILLIAM: All right, so I didnāt come. Iām busy. I have āthings onā. You may interpret this as self-importance and you may be right, but whatever, thatās the way it is. I have a life. For what itās worth. Iām a citizen of the world of international travel and I love it. I apologise for my āfailure rateā. Anyway, enough about me. How are you?
She is about to respond when a small BlackBerry-type device/ phone starts beeping. He immediately pulls it out of his pocket, flips it open and reads the message, while she waits.
Huh! [He starts laughing.] Cheeky bastard! [He starts tapping a message back.] Stick that where it belongs! [He looks up at ISABEL.] Sorry! How are you?
ISABEL: Well, Iāmā
The same device rings again. He flips it open.
WILLIAM: [to the phone] Iām busy! No. No, tell him if that stays, I walk. I walk! Donāt talk to me about clauses. Donāt fucking talk to me about clauses, speak English. I know. I know. I know. [He snaps the device shut.] Never leave me alone. Itās horrific. My PAās brilliant, sheās brilliant, but Iām her life. [Ironically] Sometimes I have to say, āBack off, babeā, you know what Iām saying?
ISABEL: Not really.
WILLIAM: The business.
ISABEL: Congratulations on being a Globe.
WILLIAM: You really donāt get out much, do you? You donāt become a Globe!
ISABEL: Oh.
WILLIAM: You win one. A Golden One. You make me sound like an artichoke.
ISABEL: Well, anyway, that wasā¦ something.
WILLIAM: A nice role. Great writing. Just happened toā¦ tap into the zeitgeist.
ISABEL: Youāre very good, actually.
WILLIAM: Thank you, Isabel. Generous.
ISABEL: How is it, being famous?
WILLIAM: Oh, itās nice.
ISABEL: Good tables?
WILLIAM: Great tables. Reservations totally obsolescent.
ISABEL: The world of obsolescent reservations. Gosh.
WILLIAM: Iāve also got to the point where I can fly first and not eat every single thing thatās offered to me. The really famous never, ever, ever eat. Itās too mortal. They only drink bottled water.
ISABEL: Iāve read about it!
WILLIAM: All those truffle-tinged hors dāoeuvres and hot baked cookies four thousand miles above the Sahara are only for people for whom flying first is a special occurrence. The lovely hosties holding trays of superbly zapped morsels dip and sway, their tight little arses sashaying towards me in seat 1A. I say, āNo Thank You. Just some water, if you please, collected from that small bubbling spring in that newly discovered rainforest off the Amazon by very, very nice pygmies. And if youāre all out of that, please donāt worry your pretty little head about a damn thing. Iāll just recline here, ever so slightly parched, and contemplate my fame.ā
IS...