The Shoe-Horn Sonata

John Misto

• Publisher: Currency Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781921428814
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Théâtre

In 1945, Sheila and Bridie were freed from a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Now, after a half-century apart, the filming of a television documentary forces them to relive the past.

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

Darkness. Out of the silence comes the voice of BRIDIE.

BRIDIE	[raising her hands, clapping them twice sternly] When the guard cries out ‘Keirei!’ – the female stands at complete attention, then bends her upper-body – so. BRIDIE stands in a spotlight. She bows stiffly from the waist, and remains in this position. This kowtow is a tribute to the Emperor of Japan. Any bow that’s less than perfect is a blasphemy against him … When the guard calls out ‘Naore!’ – the female straightens up again, without ever looking her master in the eye. BRIDIE tries to straighten up, but her back is a little sore from this demonstration. An ‘On-Air’ sign becomes apparent. [less formally] They’d make us stand like that for hours – in the afternoon sun – in the middle of the jungle. I’d stare at the dirt and ask myself why I’d ever left Chatswood in the first place.
M. VOICE	And why did you?
BRIDIE	I guess I … wanted to be like my Dad. He’d been a soldier. Fought in Egypt. He didn’t want me to enlist but I could tell that he was proud. The day I left for overseas, he gave me a present – [Pulling a face.] – a shoe-horn of all things! He cleared his throat, looked downwards and said – [BRIDIE puts her hands behind her back, and looks at the ground.] ‘There are three things every young soldier should know. Always use a shoe-horn [Holding up an imaginary shoe-horn.] – it’ll make your boots last longer. Don’t sit on a toilet till you’ve lined the seat with paper. [Awkwardly and rapidly.] And never kiss a Pommie on the lips.’ [Fondly.] Mum said he cried when my ship sailed off … I’d never been out of Australia before. I’d never been further than Woy Woy. But I didn’t have time to be homesick. As soon as we arrived we set up an army hospital – just north of Singapore. Johore Bahru – it wasn’t like Sydney – that’s for sure. There were chooks on the footpath – monkeys in the trees – and the smell of fish-oil everywhere. Sometimes we’d go dancing – all us nurses. It was hard to believe we were on the brink of war. Sound: ‘Fall in Brother’ – a popular marching song of the period. On the screen behind BRIDIE are projected several 1940 posters for the Women’s Army. These are followed by photographs of the Australian army nurses disembarking in Singapore. They look excited and quite happy. BRIDIE sits in front of the screen. We realise she is sitting in a television studio where she is being interviewed for a documentary. There is a small table, with water, beside her.
BRIDIE	I remember I asked an Englishman once – a captain with a huge moustache – how dangerous the Japanese really were. ‘My dear,’ he said. ‘They have slanty eyes. If they can’t see properly, how can they shoot?’ No one ever thought the Japs would get within coo-ee of us. So the English didn’t bother to fortify the shore-lines. They said barbed wire would only spoil their beaches. They d...