Jess and Joe Forever

Zoe Cooper

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781350058903
• eBook ISBN: 9781350058927
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: British Drama

Meet Jess and Joe. They want to tell you their story. Joe is Norfolk born and bred and wears wellies. Jess holidays there with her au pair and is slightly too tubby for her summer dresses. They are miles apart even when they stand next to each other. This is a story of growing up, fitting in (or not), boys, girls, secrets, scotch eggs and maybe even love, but most of all, it's about friendship.

Spanning several summer holidays, Jess and Joe Forever is an unusual coming of age tale that explores rural life and what it means to belong somewhere, if you can really belong anywhere.

A layered and thoughtful play about finding your place in the world when you only know a small corner of it. This edition was published to coincide with House Theatre's production at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 2017.

Jess and Joe Forever

One

Jess (nine and three-quarters) is standing at the edge of some water. Joe (nine) is also there.

JessI’m nine and three-quarters and I’m near the edge of a small river outside a small village in Norfolk and I’m watching a small group of small boys from the small village who are playing in the small river.

Joe (prompting)The river is in fact what is called a tributary . . .

Jess. . .

Joe(prompting) Which . . .

Jess. . . Um . . .

JoeIt’s not even an actual river. It doesn’t even have an actual name. It’s that . . .

JessBasically, it flows into an actual river.

JoeWhich is in fact something I taught her much later.

JessBut it does not flow directly into a sea or ocean.

JoeAlong with a working knowledge of animal husbandry and some stuff / about the ancient Egyptians.

Jess(resuming the story) And I watch the tiniest boy . . .

Joe(starting to climb) I am the smallest lad and I am wearing my blue Speedos.

Jess(looking up at Joe) He is the very smallest boy here and the only one wearing trunks because the rest are all . . .

JoeBlue Aquaris Trunks by Speedo, for aged eight to ten.

JessBecause all the other boys are all completely naked. Anyway he is climbing right to the top of the tallest tree on the riverbank.

JoeAnd soon I am right at the top.

JessAnd I am watching him, from in the reeds, from between the long grass I am watching all of them like this until . . .

Joe‘Jessicalia, Jessie, Jess darling.’

JessThe voice of Marina, my new au pair, rings out.

Joe‘Darling, come away, we need to go now!’

JessAnd these boys who I was totally invisible for only a minuscule second ago . . .

JoeAnd we all see this Jessica Jackson rising awkwardly from the marshes in a slightly too tight summer dress: ‘Oi fatty . . .’

Jess. . .

Joe‘Oi tubby tubberston, what are you looking at . . .’ ‘You little pervert, get an eyeful of this . . .’

JessThree boys moon.

Joe‘Get your fill of that you little . . .’ And my best friend . . .

JessA gangly older boy with curly hair.

JoeTakes hold of his willy . . .

JessWaves it about like it’s a pretty impressive achievement.

JoeWhich I do agree with him about at the time.

JessWaggling it about.

JoeHis giant sausage.

JessLike it is this prize, and them all laughing.

JoeUs all laughing at this pig-pink girl in the too tiny frock as she is forced to gaze on Ryan’s mammoth . . . [cock].

JessAnd you are probably thinking this is all . . . all tweenie chubbiness . . .

JoeAnd willies.

JessAnd with a bit too much of an emphasis on physical geography. But you see in this moment us two lock eyes and even though he is the littlest, the very smallest boy, he stops smirking and he gives / an enormous . . .

JoeWhooooooop!

JessAs he jumps right from the top of the very tallest tree into the river.

Jessand Joe Splash! . . .

JessHim making them all look at this instead now and me turning back / to invisible.

JoeBut I didn’t do it for you. I would’ve jumped it anyway. Because that was why I, I climbed up the tree so that I could . . .

JessOf course you did.

JoeSo I would’ve jumped eventually.

JessI know that.

JoeI would’ve, because it wasn’t cos I was being your hero or anything.

JessBut the point, point is that this is not perhaps as straightforwardly massive.

JoeRight, or epic or whatever like the opening bit is meant to be.

JessAnd there are some topographical features.

JoeAnd farming.

JessAnd farming facts which will turn out to be quite key, but this is still . . . you know, it is through the mists of time.

JoeYou mean it happened a long, long time ago.

JessThrough the mists of time, once upon a time, and even though we did not know it then, all that time ago on that riverbank.

JoeIn that tree.

JessBut this was the ‘inciting incident’.

JoeThe exciting what?

JessThe...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contens
• Characters
• Jess and Joe Forever
• eCopyright