The Jack Manning Trilogy

Face to Face; A Conversation; Charitable Intent

David Williamson

• Publisher: Currency Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781921429521
• Topic: Letteratura
• Subtopic: Teatro

In this trilogy, David Williamson explores community conferencing—a process which brings together the victims and the perpetrators of a crime in an attempt at some kind of reconciliation. %##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%Face to Face: When Glen comes face to face with the employee who rammed his Mercedes, he must acknowledge some responsibility for a series of incidents that helped provoke the crime.%##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%A Conversation revolves around the confrontation between the family of a rapist and murderer, and the family of his victim.%##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%Charitable Intent focuses on the pressures and contradictions that erupt as workplace values change.

FIRST PRODUCTION

Face to Face was first produced by the Ensemble Theatre at the Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, on 20 March 1999, with the following cast:

JACK MANNING	Geoff Cartwright
GLEN TREGASKIS	Duncan Young
MAUREEN TREGASKIS	Carol Willesee
BARRY MCLEAN	Amos Szeps
GREG BALDONI	Barry Langrishe
CLAIRE BALDONI	Sharon Flanigan
RICHARD HALLIGAN	Ian Bolt
LUKA MITROVIC	Andrew Doyle
JULIE ROSSITER	Danielle Carter
THERESE MARTIN	Lauren Clair

Director, Sandra Bates
Production Manager, Melissa Gray
Assistant to the Director, Kathryn Oakman

CHARACTERS

JACK MANNING, community conference convenor

GLEN TREGASKIS, mid-20s

MAUREEN TREGASKIS, early 40s, Glen’s mother

BARRY MCLEAN, mid-20s, Glen’s friend

GREG BALDONI, early 50s, owner and manager of Baldoni Exhibition Constructions

CLAIRE BALDONI, Greg’s wife

RICHARD HALLIGAN, 40s, foreman at Baldoni’s

LUKA MITROVIC, early 30s, Baldoni’s employee

JULIE ROSSITER, Greg’s presonal assistant at Baldoni’s

THERESE MARTIN, Greg’s accountant

Nine people, three on one side, six on the other, sit in horseshoe formation facing the audience. The convenor, JACK MANNING, sits at the centre of the horseshoe facing the audience.

JACK: Hi. As you all know by now, my name’s Jack Manning, and I’ll be convening this community conference. Before we start let’s introduce everyone. You all know Glen Tregaskis.

GLEN, a large, powerfully-built man in his middle twenties, barely looks up as he’s acknowledged.

Some of you mightn’t know his mother, Maureen.

MAUREEN, an attractive slim woman in her early forties, sitting next to her son, nods anxiously.

Or Barry McLean, a long-time friend of Glen’s, from right back in their primary school days.

BARRY, about the same age as GLEN and wearing a bikie jacket, nods.

Greg Baldoni, the owner and manager of Baldoni Exhibition Constructions, and his wife Claire.

GREG, a man in his early fifties, athletic-looking and well-dressed, nods. His wife CLAIRE, attractive, slim, well-dressed and well-groomed, barely moves.

Two of Glen’s workmates, Richard Halligan and Luka Mitrovic.

RICHARD and LUKA, sitting near the Baldonis, nod. RICHARD is in his forties, LUKA is in his early thirties.

Greg’s personal assistant, Julie Rossiter, and his accountant, Therese Martin.

JULIE beams a big smile at all who will receive it. THERESE nods in an embarrassed fashion.

Thanks to all of you for making the effort to come. This is a difficult matter, but the fact that you’re all here together will help us work out how you want to handle it. We’re going to try and focus on the incident itself, which happened outside Greg’s house at five past six on Tuesday the ninth of June, and which involved Greg and Glen.

We want to see how all the people involved have been affected, and our aim will be to try and see whether we can begin to repair the harm that’s been done. [He turns and looks at GLEN.] Glen, you’ve admitted being involved in the incident. If you don’t want to continue being here you’re free to leave at any stage. But if you do leave, then you’ll probably have to face a normal courtroom trial. You’re clear about that?

GLEN, head down, nods.

Glen, could you start this conference by telling us all what happened?

GLEN doesn’t respond.

Step by step.

GLEN: Youse all know already.

JACK: We’d like to hear it from you. Exactly how you remember it.

GLEN: [indicating GREG] I rammed his bloody Mercedes. Went right up his arse with my bullbar. Crumpled like cardboard.

JACK: Where did this happen?

GLEN: Outside his house.

JACK: How did you come to be there?

GLEN: I went there. After he sacked me.

JACK: Straight after he sacked you?

GLEN: No. I had a few drinks first.

JACK: How many?

GLEN: A few.

JACK: Would you say you were drunk, Glen?

GLEN: No.

JACK: Would you say you were sober?

GLEN: No.

JACK: Sort’ve halfway.

GLEN: Yeah.

JACK: So after a few drinks you went to Greg’s house. Was he there?

GLEN: No. Hadn’t arrived back from work.

JACK: So?

GLEN: Parked opposite, waited till he pulled into his drive and went right up his arse with me bullbar.

JACK: What were you feeling at the time?

GLEN: Great. Crumpled like bloody cardboard.

JACK: Before you hit him.

GLEN: Pissed off.

JACK: What do you reckon about it now?

GLEN: I reckon anybody who buys a Mercedes is crazy. Crumpled like cardboard.

JACK: Do you still feel good that you did it?

GLEN: No.

JACK: Why not?

GLEN: Wasn’t smart.

JACK: Who’s been affected by what you did, Glen?

GLEN: My mum.

JACK: How did it affect your mum?

GLEN: Made her upset.

JACK: How do you feel about that?

GLEN: Not great.

JACK: You care about your mum?

GLEN: She’s had a rough enough time without this sort of shit.

JACK: Anyone else affected?

GLEN: Me sister. She’s still so mad at me she wouldn’t come today.

MAUREEN: She just couldn’t face this sort of thing.

JACK: Anyone else affected, Glen?

GLEN: No, mainly Mum.

There’s a silence. JACK looks at him, then across at GREG.

JACK: There’s no one else here that’s been affected by what you did? There’s another silence. GLEN shakes his head.

GREG: What’s the use?

JACK ignores the intervention, his gaze remaining on GLEN.

[To GLEN] You don’t think I was affected?

JACK: Do you think Mr Baldoni was affected, Glen?

GLEN: Yeah, he hurt his neck a bit.

GREG: A...