The Enemy

Kieran Hurley

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781350257139
• eBook ISBN: 9781350257153
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

In a once-great Scottish town, a massive redevelopment project promises to bring money, jobs and new prospects to its forgotten population. However, when Dr Kirsten Stockmann discovers a dangerous secret, she knows she must bring the truth to light – no matter the cost. A provocative and timely drama about corruption, politics and the media, The Enemy is a uniquely Scottish take on Henrik Ibsen's timeless work An Enemy of the People, written by award-winning playwright Kieran Hurley. This edition was published to coincide with its National Theatre of Scotland production in October 2021.

1.

Petra Stockmann sits at home, duvet wrapped around her, eating a bowl of cereal. Her face is lit in cold blue laptop light.

Projected video shows an archive montage of old industry, establishment shots of a now-dilapidated small town centre, a post-industrial west of Scotland coastline as corny music plays. Vox pops of present-day citizens of the town:

Citizen 1 To really understand this place, you’ve got to get to grips with the sheer scale of what was lost. You know? We used to have jobs here. Real jobs. And when that was taken away from us, well – everything else goes with it. Gone.

Citizen 2 The whole identity of the place. Our dignity. The place just gets forgotten about completely. The life expectancy is frightening, criminal really.

Citizen 3 A lot of folk don’t stick here. Others maybe don’t have a choice, maybe don’t think about it much. It’s just the way it is here. A shit hole.

Beat.

Citizen 3 I’m allowed to say that cos I’m from here, I hear you saying that and you’re in trouble, haha!

Video cuts to Aly, walking the street, talking to the camera.

Aly As a musician and songwriter, I’m always fascinated by the different meanings of words. We all know that politicians are full of empty buzzwords. ‘Innovation.’ ‘Growth.’ ‘Regeneration.’ But what does it really mean? To regenerate? To bring new life. To be renewed, reformed, and reborn.

Cut to bright images of healthy people swimming, families on flumes, racquet sports, cycling through a forest, etc. Total change of vibe! A massive transformative redevelopment!

Aly It’s been a long time coming. And some said it would never happen. But the Big Splash resort will soon be opening its doors to visitors from all across the world! This amazing new holiday resort is a development on an unprecedented scale, combining a water theme park, an expansive health spa complex, an Olympic-standard swimming pool, leisure centre, cultural hub, and a world-leading state-of-the-art indoor beach compound!

Citizen 3 A beach resort! Here! Can you imagine. It’s basically a total dream! A ridiculous dream!

Citizen 2 Not just rubbish jobs, like proper employment. Our young folk won’t be forced to leave to find work. They’re saying we’ll actually have people coming here, for jobs and quality of life. The reversal is just… it’s impossible to even put into words.

Citizen 4 Absolute least this town deserves –

Citizen 5 That’s it. That’s it.

Citizen 4 One hundred percent.

Citizen 5 We were saying that. It’s like winning the World Cup. But God knows we deserve a change in our luck.

Citizen 6 The fact it was the two sisters as well, working to make it happen. A family from here. The story is just – proud. That’s what I am. Just so proud of this place.

Citizen 1 Nobody actually thought this would happen! We’ve been waiting, hoping for years. Years! And it’s finally come. It’s our time, and we’re raring to go! Bring it on! Ha ha! Cheers!

As this plays, action unfolds in various pockets of the stage. Vonny Stockmann emerges, half-dressed. Full-politician garb from the waist up; pyjamas from the waist down. Benny Hovstad – stony-faced, tired – puts on his suit, does his tie in the mirror. Derek Kilmartin picks up an outsized teddy bear with a bow on it from somewhere and takes a photo of it on his phone.

Onscreen, Aly and Vonny stand among a crowd of townsfolk.

Aly It’s going to cause a real –

Crowd Big Splash!

Aly enters the stage space, filming himself on a handheld tripod or selfie stick. He moves effortlessly as he does so, the tech totally natural to him like an extra limb. He is a real pro at this.

Aly I’m Aly Aslaksen, and I’ll be running a series of bespoke events on all my platforms to coincide with the launch of the Big Splash resort, telling you all you need to know about this transformative development. Why? Because I’m a local boy who cares about the future of the place he came from – that’s it. Follow me on Insta, Twitter and TikTok for ongoing updates on the opening of the resort and the bid to have the town named UK City of Regeneration. I’ll be doing a set at our digital launch party, sponsored by Kilmartin Industries. So at me with suggestions for my crowd-sourced swimming-themed playlist.

Onstage, Kirsten Stockmann enters, in the same room as Petra.

Aly Details are appearing on your screen right about now, so smash that like button, watch follow, share, and subscribe –

Kirsten slaps the laptop shut, the video cuts out. She hurriedly sets about trying to get her stuff together, make Petra’s lunch, and set up a tablet for a video call.

Petra Did you know that teenagers need to get on average around ten hours of sleep a night? And if we don’t it can really have all sorts of negative effects.

Kirsten Uh huh.

Petra Headaches. Acne. And it can seriously impair our neurological functions. Like our ability to absorb information, to problem solve, and like even to just remember basic information like, names, and dates. And homework. So really, from a scientific perspective, forcing us to go into school at this time in the morning is actually not only oppressive but also has an adverse effect on the quality of our education.

Kirsten It’s nearly eight o clock Petra, get dressed.

Petra It’s just science. Just thought you’d be interested maybe in some of the scientific facts about what’s going on for your dau...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• The Enemy
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.
• 6.
• 7.
• 8.
• 9.
• 10.
• 11.
• 12.
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• 14.
• 15.
• eCopyright