Scene One
Bridgetâs office. Bridget appears.
Bridget Eric, yes? Eric Miller?
Eric Yes.
Bridget Iâm Bridget.
Eric Bridget. Hello.
He nods politely.
Bridget Please. Make yourself comfortable.
He sits, uncertainly. She sits.
Bridget So . . .
Eric Yes?
Bridget Itâs been explained to you why youâre here?
Eric Yes.
Bridget That you and I will meet on a weekly basis as part of your ongoing treatment. Youâve been told that and understand, yes?
Eric Yes.
Bridget Have you ever undergone any kind of treatment like this before?
Eric No.
Bridget Ok well this is not, Eric, anything to be frightened of. This is a safe place. A safe place for us to talk about you. To talk about anything you want to talk about. Itâs ok. Here youâre ok. Here itâs ok to say anything you want to say.
About anything.
Eric Ok.
Bridget Things become tangled. In our lives, things become tangled up. Do you know what I mean by that?
Eric I think so. No.
Bridget Ok. Emotions, Iâm talking about. Our past. The things that happened to us in the past to make us what we are. Our family of origin. Our conditioning. Our cultural background. Inside itâs a mess. Every single one of us is a diabolic mess. We walk around being normal but all of us inside are unfathomable and messy.
Eric Yes.
Bridget Do you understand what Iâm talking about now?
Eric I think so. Yes.
Bridget Itâs my job to untangle your insides. Itâs your job, actually. Itâs your job to untangle your insides. And itâs my job to help you along the way. How does that sound?
Eric Good.
Bridget Has everything Iâve said so far made sense to you?
Eric Yes. Yes. Absolutely, yes.
Bridget Do you have any questions?
Eric Yes.
Bridget Any question you have is fine.
Eric I have one question.
Bridget Ok.
Eric It might be a bit of a stupid question.
Bridget There are no stupid questions here.
Eric Thatâs good to know.
Bridget So whatâs your question? What would you like to ask?
Eric Why are you a nigger?
Bridget . . . Ok . . . so Iâm interested in why you would ask that?
Eric Thatâs what you are.
Bridget And do you think itâs an acceptable comment to make in this situation?
Eric It wasnât a comment, it was a question.
Bridget Do you think that word is appropriate? In this situation?
Eric Yes. No. Yes. No.
Bridget Ok. Well if youâre saying it because â
Eric Can I say something else?
Bridget Go ahead.
Eric Everything is upside down. Nothing is what it claims to be. Itâs like you just said a minute ago. Chaos is majesty. Love is degradation. And the world has become a travesty.
Bridget Thatâs not what I said.
Eric Was it wrong for me to say that word?
Bridget I think you know it was wrong.
Eric I donât know anything anymore.
Bridget I think you know that word is not acceptable.
Eric Itâs not?
Bridget Do you understand why?
Eric No.
Bridget Historically itâs been used to bully and humiliate people. To disparage and demean them. In effect, to claim ownership and dehumanise.
Eric Like slavery? Youâre talking about slavery?
Bridget Not just about slavery, but, yes, slavery.
Eric I donât condone slavery. I donât condone discrimination.
Bridget Then you know itâs wrong to use that word.
Eric If I can say in my defence, I did grow up in Belfast. I never met a black person until I was forty-seven. Is it ok to say âblackâ?
Bridget Yes.
Eric Iâm not used to being around black. âA blackâ. Blacks.
Bridget I accept and understand that being Irish you havenât been exposed to multiculturalism to the same degree that someone in â
Eric Excuse me, can I just stop you there? I think you must have misheard me. I come from East Belfast. Iâve lived there all my life.
Bridget And?
Eric The last thing I am is Irish. My grandfather was killed in the Battle of the Somme. My father died at Dunkirk. And I too would die for my right to be British. My British identity, my culture, my, our way of life, ours, our heritage and being, our very, our being. Every summer I parade with the Orange. I fly the flag of the Union from the rooftop of our house. I worked for Her Majestyâs Government to combat the relentless campaign of genocide conducted by the IRA against the Protestant people of Ulster over the course of three decades. I am anything but Irish. I am British. I am exclusively and non-negotiably British. I am not nor never have been nor never will be Irish.
Bridget Ok. Youâre not Irish.
Eric Thank you.
Bridget And Iâm not a nigger.
He nods. He bows his head.
What happened to you? Whatâs happened in your life thatâs led you to this point?
Eric I think you know what happened.
Bridget I do.
Eric So why are you asking?
Bridget Because I want to hear it from you.
Eric Well I donât want to talk about it.
Bridget You donât have to.
Eric Iâm afraid I might cry.
Bridget Itâs fine if you do.
Eric Is ...