The Duchess (of Malfi)
Page 8
Antonio pulls the trigger.
The Cardinal falls down dead.
Antonio looks in disbelief.
Bosola well done
Antonio that came from me?
Bosola yes
Antonio and he, is he dead?
Bosola yes, I think, dead
Antonio I never want to hold this thing again
Bosola put it down then
Antonio he’s moving still
Bosola twitching but –
Antonio shall I shoot him again to be sure?
Bosola I think it’s done
Antonio his eyelids are flickering
Bosola this is the after-moments only.
his spirit is gone
Antonio a black cloud then around the room
Bosola the pair of them
Antonio it’s funny, when I shot him I got this jolt of being alive
Bosola this is not a life you want
Antonio let me shoot again
Bosola no, this is once only, your nature is gentle.
throw the gun away.
Antonio I don’t want to
Bosola put it down.
Antonio I can’t
He holds the gun up.
I think I see her all around me
everywhere she watches
Bosola then show her that your nature is not changed.
He comes over and takes the gun from Antonio, throwing it across the room.
good men don’t need guns and knives. They persuade and lead, not force and bully.
Ferdinand revives.
Ferdinand strangling is a very quiet death
what say to that? Whisper softly, do you agree to it?
Bosola sir?
Ferdinand picks up the gun.
Ferdinand strangle me
Antonio what?
He plays with it from one hand and another.
Ferdinand or drown me perhaps like you did my sister?
He shoots Antonio.
Bosola oh God.
Ferdinand I didn’t mean it. please sir, I don’t want the doctor to see. He makes me cry. And he says for all the wealth in Europe he shouldn’t –
The gun goes off again.
Bosola is hit in the leg.
Bosola arrgghhh
put it down
Ferdinand don’t tell the doctor –
Bosola put the weapon down
Ferdinand yes, for the doctor mustn’t know. Oh but it hurt my thumb, my thumb is sore, who will comfort it now she has gone?
who will sing to me when I am scared?
oh drown me pretty please, sir
Bosola drown?
no
Ferdinand yes dunk me like you did my sister
Bosola I want you to feel as bad as I do.
to shake with regret and remorse
Ferdinand puts the gun to his own head.
please sir, no more
Ferdinand shoots.
He falls down dead.
Bosola is surrounded by bodies.
His leg is a mess, he can’t walk on it.
He moves over to Antonio.
sir
is there anything of your life left?
sir?
Antonio stirs slightly.
Antonio this is my after-twitching like you said
it was you who killed her?
Bosola yes sir. No, no no
Antonio is dead.
Duchess, I would have given my life to save his
you must know that
where are you?
if I take my knife and use it, will that be an end, Duchess?
He takes his knife.
He puts the knife to his throat.
He closes his eyes.
He hesitates.
it seems I don’t have the courage you had at your death
He tries again.
He holds the knife up.
He tries to slash himself.
He can’t do it.
He painfully goes over and picks up Ferdinand’s gun.
He holds it to his head.
He closes his eyes.
what is this?
why can’t I do it?
His arms starts to shake.
Duchess, is this your final trick?
are you laughing at me now?
He tries one final time.
every single thing I ever did I got wrong
He tries again.
He finally fires it.
It’s a blank.
It doesn’t work. He tries again. Blank.
Delio runs in.
sir, you come too late
Delio what has happened?
Bosola all dead, and one more coming –
Delio no, sir. Stop.
Bosola I am no one, and not a sir.
Delio whoever you are, stop, no more death. But what, not Antonio –?
Bosola yes
Delio no, not Antonio, no no –
Delio comes and holds Antonio’s body.
Bosola watches.
Delio cries.
this was my best friend, and the best of men.
he never knew how much I loved him.
He looks up.
what will I do with the child?
Bosola what child?
Delio the boy outside, Nico
Bosola take him away, this is no place for children
Delio but what do I do with him?
he is the duke but will anyone believe, he was born in secret and unseen
Bosola he must be raised to know how great his parents were
Delio I am in so much debt that I am wanted for prison myself
Bosola too bad
Delio I will take him to an institution
Bosola an institution, no, not if you loved his father
Delio I will take him to the doors of the church then
Bosola no, that was what happened to me, it can’t happen again
Delio well you suggest another way
Bosola Antonio was your friend
Delio as the Duchess was yours
Bosola not really, only at the very end
Delio I can’t do it
Bosola what does that look mean?
Delio you’re free, aren’t you, you can walk under the sky?
Bosola I doubt I will even walk at all if I even survive this –
Delio take all the possessions I have on me
I am in a dead end. I don’t want to take the boy into that with me
Bosola you understand what courage is?
Delio enough to know I have none
He takes a watch and a crucifix out of his pockets and throws it at Bosola.
Bosola stop
no I won’t take it, I –
Delio walks away.
wait.
The boy walks in.
no, wait
don’t look at them.
stand there. Okay.
He painfully finds a way to stand up, and covers the bodies with a cloth.
we’ll find a nice woman to raise you
there must be many in this place
or a convent
yes, with nuns.
don’t cry.
or cry if you need, but then –
He looks at the child.
The child looks at him.
I cannot help you.
I cannot help myself, so how could I help you?
Duchess. if this is you, know I can’t help this.
I cannot raise a child.
I was no good as a man. I was the worst of men.
I understood too late the greatness in women.
and I utterly missed the value of love.
The boy comes over to him.
I can’t do it, sweet boy.
there is nowhere to go for you and me.
The room starts to shift.
The ghosts create a room that looks more modern.
Duchess?
The Duchess steps behind Bosola with a glass of
milk.
She puts it in his hand.
The boy comes and takes the glass of milk.
And drinks it.
Duchess these wretched things will leave no more behind them than falling in a frost leaves a print in snow: as soon as the sun shines, it melts away.
Bosola we won’t forget
Duchess take my boy’s hand.
Bosola please –
Duchess my boy’s hand.
He takes the boy’s hand.
and change it.
About the Author
Zinnie Harris’s plays include the multi-award-winning Further than the Furthest Thing (National Theatre/Tron Theatre; winner of the 1999 Peggy Ramsay Award 2001, John Whiting Award, Edinburgh Fringe First Award), How to Hold Your Breath (Royal Court Theatre; joint winner of the Berwin Lee Award), The Wheel (National Theatre of Scotland; joint winner of the 2011 Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award), Nightingale and Chase (Royal Court Theatre), Midwinter, Solstice (both RSC), Fall (Traverse Theatre/RSC), By Many Wounds (Hampstead Theatre) and the trilogy This Restless House, based on Aeschylus’ Oresteia (Citizens Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland; Best New Play, Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland). Also Ibsen’s A Doll’s House for the Donmar Warehouse, Strindberg’s Miss Julie for the National Theatre of Scotland, and (Fall of) The Master Builder for Leeds Playhouse. She received an Arts Foundation Fellowship for playwriting, and was Writer in Residence at the RSC, 2000–2001. She is Professor of Playwriting and Screenwriting at the University of St Andrews, and was the Associate Director at the Traverse Theatre 2015–2018.
Also by the Author
BY MANY WOUNDS
FURTHER THAN THE FURTHEST THING
NIGHTINGALE AND CHASE
SOLSTICE
MIDWINTER
FALL
JULIE
(after Strindberg)
A DOLL’S HOUSE
(after Ibsen)
THE WHEEL
HOW TO HOLD YOUR BREATH
THIS RESTLESS HOUSE
MEET ME AT DAWN
Copyright
First published in 2019
by Faber and Faber Ltd
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This ebook edition first published in 2019
© Zinnie Harris, 2019
The right of Zinnie Harris to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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ISBN 978–0–571–35539–6