ACT ONE: At Waterlooville
Scene One
SALLY PHILLOTSON has discovered JUDITH NASRANI stealing a book. JUDITH hides it behind her back.
SALLY. Whatâs that?
JUDITH. Whatâs what?
SALLY. A book?
JUDITH. So?
SALLY. Oh for Godsake, if you want to â read something, ask and you can borrow it.
JUDITH. No I want to steal it.
SALLY. Iâm sorry?
JUDITH. Stealing makes it better.
SALLY. Makes what better?
JUDITH. The book.
SALLY. Why?
JUDITH shrugs.
JUDITH. More tasty.
And grins.
SALLY. Look, if weâre going to understand each other â I mean your first day, Iâd hoped â oh, give it to me.
With a sudden movement, JUDITH throws the book to her. Startled, SALLY catches it awkwardly. She looks at it.
Euripides? In Greek?
JUDITH shrugs, a movement of her right hand. It gives a contemptuous impression.
What was the idea, flog it on eBay? Well I donât know what youâd have got for it, itâs not exactly a Marvel-comic shocker â though I sâpose, in its day, Medea â but â you were going to, what? Pilfer your way through my flat, then flit away, never to be seen again? Youâve really let me down, Judith.
JUDITH. Itâs a disease.
SALLY. Petty thieving, a medical problem? I sâpose thatâs some kind of sociological excuse â
JUDITH. Reading. Itâs sick. Thatâs what my aunt says.
SALLY. What does this aunt do?
JUDITH with a shrug.
JUDITH. Works at the Payless.
SALLY. And she doesnât like you reading? I mean you can reâ sorry â
JUDITH. Fuck off.
SALLY. Yes, that was â of me â
But JUDITH rushes at SALLY, who flinches. JUDITH grabs the book, turns away and opens it. She reads â carefully â the first line of Medea.
JUDITH. ÎጎΞៜ ᜀÏΔλៜ áŒÏÎłÎżáżŠÏ ÎŒáœŽ ÎŽÎčαÏÏÎŹÏΞαÎč ÏÎșÎŹÏÎżÏ
SALLY is stunned.
But JUDITH begins to struggle with a translation.
How I â want â no, wanted, no â wished? Wished â the Argo â Argo! Jasonâs ship, sexy beast, wanât he â Όᜎ ÎŽÎčαÏÏÎŹÏΞαÎč, whatâs that?
SALLY. Verb â
JUDITH. Yeah I know itâs a verb â
SALLY. To fly through. Past tense. And itâs negative. Can be about a journey.
JUDITH stares at the line, speaking it to herself. Then â
JUDITH. How â I wish â the Argo â had never â reached â the land.
A pause.
SALLY. All right. Was it your school, back in Syria? What, an elite, a party school?
JUDITH is looking at her in her shutdown mode.
I mean how did you learn Greek?
JUDITH. Church.
SALLY. Church?
JUDITH. My aunt goes to church. They have a jumble sale.
SALLY. But â arenât you, I assumed â arenât you Muslim?
JUDITH. You tell me.
SALLY. No, I mean â
JUDITH. Iâm what you think I am, inât I.
SALLY. And you think I think youâre â (Stops herself.) I donât want this to get complicated. I just want my flat cleaned.
JUDITH shrugs.
So, jumble sale?
JUDITH. Yeah.
SALLY. And you â found Ancient Greek there.
JUDITH. There was this âTeach Yourselfâ book. And an oinky old dictionary.
SALLY. Oinky?
JUDITH (shrug). Covers all buggered.
SALLY. And you bought them?
JUDITH, nothing.
Of course not.
JUDITH in her shutdown-and-stare mode.
A pause.
Did someone at the college put you up to this?
JUDITH. Up to the Greek?
SALLY. Itâs Colin, isnât it, bloody Colin. God keep us from men who are practical jokers â I mean I know he wants classical studies off the curriculum but â get me to go into a staff meeting and say âLittle refugee girl stole my Euripides, I have found a genius?â â Egg all over my face. So own up. That it? Mr Chalmers at Southsea College, he got you to fake knowing Greek?
JUDITH. Are you like â saying Iâm faking?
SALLY. I mean â Iâm asking â
JUDITH. Right! Fake! Itâs all fake! The Greeks knew that, wake, fake, yeah even being awake, thatâs fake! Thatâs what they say â donât wake up, itâll kill you! So fuck your stupid job and fuck you!
She slams the book down on the ground, kicks the cleaning equipment over and is leaving. But suddenly she turns on SALLY and shouts at her.
ÎŒáżÎœÎčÎœ áŒÎ”ÎčΎΔ ΞΔᜰ ΠηληÏÎŹÎŽÎ”Ï áŒÏÎčλáżÎżÏ
JUDITH exits.
And â
Scene Two
SALLY and PAT NASH.
SALLY. Can I smoke?
PAT. Not really.
A pause.
So, she shouted at you and left. And â
SALLY. I was â shocked.
PAT. Cos little foreign cleaners arenât meant to know Ancient Greek.
SALLY. No. Yes. No.
PAT. What was it she shouted?
SALLY. The first line of the Iliad.
PAT. Which is?
SALLY. Obviously the police donât read Homer.
PAT. No need, we see enough blood poured in the sand.
SALLY. âSing Goddess of the rage of Achilles.â
PAT considers her for a moment.
PAT. What do you think she meant?
SALLY. âSing Goddess of the rage of Judith Nasraniâ? Look, that young woman has ruined enough of my life â
PAT. Really? I thought you ruined hers.
SALLY. Excuse me?
PAT. At Oxford?
SALLY. I tried to stop what happened. Wanted to stop it.
A pause.
âBlood poured in the sand.â You do know Homer.
A pause.
Why have I been brought here? Hotel room? I â I mean what is this?
PAT. You know what it is. You played with fire and now itâs playing with you.
SALLY. Iâm not staying here to be â
A pause.
I mean youâve not cautioned, arrested me or â maybe you canât. If youâre â
A pause.
SIS have no powers of arrest, if thatâs what you are?
PAT, still as a stone.
So Iâm walking out of here, now.
She does not move.
A pause.
Poisoned cloak.
PAT. Iâm sorry?
SALLY. I think Iâm going to â
She is nea...