Aftertaste

Ciara Elizabeth Smyth

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781350287778
• eBook ISBN: 9781350287792
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Theatre Playwriting

In an alternate Ireland, the politicians are young and the Government is seemingly left-leaning. The Health and Wellness Act, hurriedly signed into law just one year ago, has made it illegal to possess or consume unhealthy food or 'junk'. Recent polls suggest support for 'Junk Advocates', a term coined for people who openly acquire and consume illegal foods in protest, is rapidly rising. So when popular 'Junk Advocate' Lila Birch goes missing under suspicious circumstances, the public are outraged and her sister Eadie's world is upended. When Eadie sees an opportunity to get close to high ranking Government officials, she takes it. Can she find out what happened to her sister or will the same fate befall her?
Aftertaste is a new play by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth that offers a theatrical exploration into a world full of violence, greed and food.

Chapter One: The Missing Girl

One: Utopia

Eadie’s eyes.

A major channel news report in the field.

CAPTION: ‘Oisín Ó Hanluain for TDT News’.

OisínGood evening. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the government’s contentious Health and Wellness Act, borne from a nationwide desire to aid herd immunity. The Act mandates that the possession and consumption of addictive foods, such as those with a high sugar or fat content, is illegal. As the price of fresh food rises and the nation’s hunger grows, the Government is coming under increasing pressure from ‘Junk Advocates’ to repeal the act. Some politicians have even called for the resignation of President Sandbrooke Martin, who remains unrepentant and defiant.

Eadie’s eyes.

A ringing in her ears.

CUT TO: A video on social media.

Lila, indoors and smiling. The light is amazing.

CAPTION: ‘What I eat in a day as a person who eats whatever the fugg they want’.

LilaWhat I eat in a day as a person who eats whatever the fuck they want.

The following text is heard as food is presented either in person or in video clips.

LilaFor breakfast I used a large bar of Dairy Milk as a spoon to eat Nutella. For second breakfast I had a crisp sandwich (CAPTION: ‘salt and vinegar + cheese and onion’) because I’m a fucking genius. Lunch was a plate of triple-cooked chips and French toast with maple syrup. Pre-dinner snack was a plate of crackers with sugar and butter. Dinner was caramelised bacon pasta with garlic bread and dessert was chocolate-covered strawberries because HEALTH. Almost all illegal commodities now but I so deeply don’t give a fuck about what the Government wants me to eat, it’s palpable. And where did I get this unholy mess of brown and beige? You can get anything online if you look hard enough.

Eadie’s eyes welling up.

Blackout.

EadieMy sister has been missing for six days.

We hear the thump of heavy bass and an uncomfortable, menacing drone. The beat starts to speed up.

We see each character for a split second, alone in front of a mirror as they prepare.

Aidan Proctor is combing his hair and checking for bald spots.

Mason Mbayo is meditating and repeating affirmations in the mirror (‘Tu peux le faire – Tu peux le faire – Tu peux le faire’ meaning ‘You can do it’) .

Anastasia O’Kane is applying makeup slowly and purposefully.

Sanbrooke Martin is having a suit fitted and scrolling angrily through his phone.

Cordelia Flowers is practising laughs and agreeing with people.

Ty Costello is polishing his shoes and bringing them into the light to inspect them, something is shining in his mouth – a diamond tooth.

Stephen McLoughlin is doing power poses and listening to heavy metal.

Cora Greene is cleaning a sex toy – when she’s done she looks in the mirror and ruffles her eyebrows.

Jana Kaminski is having her hair done (in foils) and smoking.

Margot Murphy is taking pills and doing vocal warm-ups.

Anthony Glover is scrubbing a stain out of a top, when he’s done he finds another stain and starts scrubbing that.

Malachi Kelly is trying on eyepatches, but decides in the end to go without.

Oisín Ó Hanluain is holding a bottle of hairspray and practising his acceptance speech for Journalist of the Year, an award he has never been nominated for.

Ava Poppler is trying on blazers with matching clipboards and biting her nails.

Eadie Birch is not looking in the mirror but out a window, watching two pigeons have sex. She looks towards the mirror when her phone rings. She answers it.

Lila Birch is not at her bathroom mirror but the tap is left running. There is a shopping bag with spilled milk and cracked eggs on the floor.

Silence.

EadieMy sister has been missing for six days. And I think you know where she is.

Music starts again.

A line of torches and crowds of people calling Lila’s name.

A poster with the title ‘HAVE YOU SEEN MY SISTER?’ over a picture of Lila.

A clip of...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Aftertaste
• Characters
• Notes on the text
• Dedication
• Chapter One: The Missing Girl
• Chapter Two: The Rat
• Chapter Three: Dessert
• eCopyright