CUHK Series:The Other Shore: Plays by Gao Xingjian
Page 24
Wow, cherries!
That’s right. You can pick one off the tree whenever you feel the urge to, and they’re grown without pesticides.
I just adore cherries.
Go pick them, don’t be shy. Anne, give her a pair of scissors.
Where are they? I’ll get them myself later!
Daniel, Bernard
An early summer afternoon.
A weekend.
God has given us one day.
And men think it’s not enough.
So that we can take it easy and enjoy life for a while.
If all men were like birds on a tree, far away from all their troubles, wouldn’t life be just wonderful?
If there were no earthquakes, no car accidents, no pollution, no frauds, no unemployment, and no Aids, kidnapping or assassinations.
Got to have no justice, no ideals, no sympathy, and no compassion.
And naturally no morality, can you imagine how wonderful the world would be? Who needs them anyway?
No matter what, right now we have this wonderful weekend to ourselves.
This is the Garden of Eden on earth, God isn’t the only one who can afford to have a garden.
Bernard, Anne, Daniel, Cecile
Hear, hear! And the sunshine is very good also—
The sunshine is gorgeous.
No wars, either racial or between the sexes.
Wars, wars, forget about wars, they’re so annoying.
What do you want to drink?
Cecile, Bernard
I’ll have a small martini first.
Ice?
Thanks.
Daniel, Bernard, Anne
Have you seen the papers? You know, Sarajevo.
Everything is happening there.
Can’t we talk about something else?
And in Italy, the Mafia—
They’re everywhere, aren’t they?
At least they’re not here yet.
Bernard, Cecile
Oh, sorry, did I make a mess of your dress?
Just a little, don’t worry about it.
If you want to take a bath—
In front of the garden?
Anne, Bernard
He designed the whole layout himself, he considers it his chef d’oeuvre.
But you still need a young lady who’s willing to perform.
Let’s talk about something more interesting!
Daniel, Cecile, Anne
One day…
Go on.
Right, go on.
A fable.
Anne, Cecile
What do you mean?
It doesn’t mean anything.
Why?
Daniel, Cecile, Anne
A fable which is unspeakable.
That’s not funny.
Well, it still means something, doesn’t it?
Cecile, Bernard
What does it mean? Tell me!
How sweet!
Somebody says I’m stupid.
Who?
Go ask him.
Anne, Bernard
Can’t we talk about something else?
Wow, it’s so nice out.
The sunshine is gorgeous!
And there’s no war.
Daniel, Bernard, Cecile
Let’s drink to our health!
Cheers! Cheers!
Can I, sir, oops, I beg your pardon, can I see your studio?
Bernard, Anne, Daniel, Cecile
Of course, you’re most welcome.
She’s so full of zest.
And hot air, there’s never a moment of quiet when she’s around.
Will I be in your way?
So typical of today’s younger generation.
Cecile, Bernard
I just adore paintings.
And cherries?
That’s right, it’s like when I was small, in our place there’s also a…Dan—
Let them go, Anne’s like a lazy cat whose only love is to bask in the sun.
Anne, Daniel
You like his paintings?
I saw them, you know, those in his albums and in the museum…
You haven’t answered my question.
I like him as a person, he’s so hospitable.
You slick devil, you.
Cecile
Come quick!
Daniel, Anne
In a minute. Furthermore, he’s a straight shooter.
He’s straightforward all right, I dare say.
Shall we go together?
You go ahead, I’ve seen them countless times.
Cecile, Bernard
He’s always like that, like his head’s in the clouds or something. He tells you to meet him on a certain day, and then he’s got the nerve to get the date wrong!
Of course he wouldn’t get it wrong if it was his girlfriend, oh, I beg your pardon.
Daniel, Anne
Why not look at them again?
I should go and prepare dinner.
Cecile, Bernard
What do I care? But it’s like he’s senile without even getting old.
It’s not easy living with a writer.
Daniel, Anne
Can I help?
Thanks, I’ve put them into the oven already.
Cecile, Bernard
To hell with writers, I’ve got my own stuff to look after. Anyway, it’s not like I’m his secretary or something.
Of course, of course, we’ve all got our own dates to keep, especially a beautiful girl like you.
Anne, Daniel
You certainly know how to please people.
No, it’s just good manners.
Cecile, Daniel, Bernard
Daniel!
Coming.
Give me a hand, we rarely open the front door, usually we just use the passage upstairs.
Wow, you’ve even got a second floor? Gosh, this is such a huge place!
We’ve divided it into two studios, a big one and a small one. They used to keep a herd of horses here, you know.
(Music)
Cecile
Oh, a cherry tree!
She says she’s got a soft spot for cherry trees, especially one that’s full of red, ripe cherries, all of a sudden she’s reminded of her childhood. She’s talking about the time when she was small and there’s a tree just like this one in their yard. At that time her parents had not yet split up. She had a home, a home with a garden. She also had a father, but she can’t remember when she last saw him. Once when she was dashing out of a man’s house, rushing down the stairs and across the street, a car suddenly halted right beside her and she was so scared that she began sweating all over. In the car was an old man, he just stared at her and didn’t say a word. The street was empty, there were no pedestrians, and then the car just drove away. She suddenly thought if only she had a father…
She says she tried to look for her father and found his number from the phone book. For a long time she was thinking it over whether she should make the phone call. Eventually she did.
She says a woman answered the phone.
She says she left the woman her phone number. Later, her father phoned her back and they were to meet at a cafe. She thought the baggy-eyed bald man sitting in the corner by the glass door must have been her father, but he was so different from the father in her memory, according to her memory, but who knows if it’s all just a figment of her imagination…
He said, she says her father said that if she needed money for something urgent she could go to him, but he also added that he didn’t have very much money, he was living with this woman, and he had to look after their little girl. But still he wrote her a cheque.
She says, she hasn’t tried to find him since, she hasn’t tried to find her father.
Bernard, Daniel
Quite a charming young lady.
Of course.
How old is she?
Twenty.
So young.
She always says she’s twenty.
She’s
still in the prime of her life. Still at school?
Sometimes, sometimes not. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with herself.
Well, at her age, and a beautiful girl at that, she can afford to pick and choose.
Cecile, Anne
Sorry, I’m a bit nervous.
Why?
I feel strange.
Why’s that?
I haven’t had my period this month!
Go check it out, it’s not that difficult.
You think I’m pregnant?
Do you want to have a child?
He doesn’t want one.
Well, you’re still young.
Why don’t you have a child with him?
Him? He’s too old.
Don’t say that.
You don’t know.
Of course I don’t. But he still looks like a ball of fire, and so witty—
But he’s a diabetic.
Bernard, Daniel
It’s so touching when she’s talking about her father…
She hasn’t got a father.
Well, she talked about this cheque—
She told you that?
In any case, it’s a very touching story.
She tells everybody, once she meets them.
Must be some kind of incubus, it’s understandable. Lovely girl though. You’re so lucky.
Lucky or not, it’s hard to say, but it’s like a godsend that I met her.
Where did you meet her?
At the railway station.
Really!
Cecile, Anne
Shouldn’t there be some kind of symptom if I’m pregnant?
I don’t know, I haven’t had a child before.
I really want to have a child with him.
That’s easy enough.
But what if he says it’s not his?
Are you involved with some other men as well?
Don’t say that, I only love him.
And he?
Of course.
Then you should marry him and have children.
Are you married? Oops! Don’t mind me, I was just asking.
I was divorced once.
How about him?
He was too, and we decided not to get married.
Bernard, Daniel
No kidding, the railway station, it’s a wonderful place!
To be more specific, it’s the café at the railway station.
It’s too far from here to the station. At any rate, it’s such a small place that it doesn’t even have a café. We only have a country pub here, a hang-out for old folks. Young people have all gone to the cities to find work.
Cecile, Anne
Is he famous? I mean as a painter.
Painters have to put in time, they have to grind it out for years, how else can you get yourself known? Do you aspire to be a painter?
Oh no, I like paintings, I mean, I like looking at them, except that I don’t quite understand them.
It doesn’t matter if you understand them or not, it’s how you feel that counts.
Sure I’ve got feelings, if they’re landscapes or nude paintings, but his kind of painting…I wonder how I’d feel if I were his model.
Bernard, Daniel
Go on.
What should I say?
The cafe at the station, I haven’t been there for at least ten years, you don’t believe me? It’s true.
Of course it’s true. She came to me and asked me for a cigarette, I gave her one and lit it up for her.
That’s pretty much to be expected, doing a little something for a young lady.
And then she sat opposite me at the table.
Was she also waiting for the train?
Yes. She asked me what time it was.
The same train?
The same train.
Well, obviously when you’re at the station cafe, you’re either waiting for somebody or waiting for the train.
Anne, Cecile
Has he asked you to be his model?
Oh no, he hasn’t.
Don’t worry about it, he hires models all the time.
And he’s got to have models when he paints?
He paints everything.
Nudes too?
He did that a long time ago and then he stopped, and now he’s starting to paint them again.
Daniel, Bernard, Anne
What…is something burning?
Anne—the roast! It’s all burnt—
Oh, I’m awfully sorry!
(Music)
Bernard, Cecile
How about this?
Any way is okay.
Can I tell you something?
Go ahead.
But I don’t know how to put it.
Say whatever’s on your mind.
It’s somewhat embarrassing. I don’t know what to say.
Whatever you say, it’s bound to be interesting.
Really?
Of course, for example, when you talked about that cherry tree, I found it ever so touching.
Oh that, that’s just meaningless kiddy talk, I feel…with you around, I feel like I still haven’t grown up. Do you think I’m childish too?
Oh, I’d love to have a daughter like you!
So that I’d be your model and you could paint me?
Have you ever heard of a daughter modelling for her father?
I haven’t, but that’s why I want to do it. People always want to do things no one else has done before.
To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t mind having a father like you.
Is that so? Then I’d have a daughter to model for me all the time.
Anne, Daniel
Please light the candles.
Gladly.
Do be careful with your hands. Don’t get them burned.
How seriously can my hands get burned by a candle?
You can’t be too careful with fire.
That’s true. You always sit by candlelight?
I like candlelight, especially when I’m engaged in a casual conversation with my guests.
It creates a mood, a warm and intimate mood, but if you’re sitting alone by candlelight, wouldn’t it make you feel even more lonely?
I enjoy being alone, he’s the one who’s afraid of loneliness, he invites all the guests.
The older you get, the more afraid you are of being alone, isn’t that right?
Age has nothing to do with it.
Is he afraid of being forgotten?
Not quite, his paintings are in the museums already.
Then what’s he afraid of?
He’s afraid of boredom.
Bernard
The slightly open lips, so full, so moist, and so clearly defined. Those tender shadows at the corners of her mouth, the beautiful outlines of her neck and her shoulders, ah, and the two little cherries, so daintily puffed, you can’t help but caress them with your eyes, to make her moan softly and feel your touch all over her body. You also admire her delicate hands, her fine and nimble fingers. A wicked little nymph she is.
She loves to flaunt her fine and pearly white teeth, and when she breathes in and wiggles the sides of her nose, or when she takes in her saliva, the veins on her neck will start quivering, pulsating up and down. You like the downy creases on her fair and glowing skin, you like her silky body hair, you like her laughter. Deep inside you there’s a feeling of happiness, a happiness which is more than bodily lust. Of course you’d like to have a daughter like her. You want to have a vivacious femme fatale like her in front of you, behind you, and all around you, then you could look at her and admire her to your heart’s content. But after all you’re also a man, and you want to be more than her father.
Daniel, Anne
What else is there to talk about?
She says she’s listening.
You say you’d rather hear her talk.
She says she has nothing left to talk about.
You say why doesn’t she talk about the book she’s going to write.
You say since your books have been written already, all that’s left to do is to read them, there’s no need to talk about them.
Then talk about those you still haven’t written, or those still in the process of writing.
You say the problem is you don’t know what you’re going to write. Furthermore, what more is there to write about?
Cecile, Bernard
What are you looking at?
Nothing.
You’re looking at me, aren’t you?
You’re looking at her, your daughter.
Then go ahead and look, she won’t stop you.
Of course she’s not your daughter, that’s why it’s possible for you to keep on ogling her at will.
Are you still painting?
Of course, of course. Of course you know that painting is just an excuse to keep her by your side, and she also enjoys being admired and looked at, doesn’t she?
Do you want me to pose this way, or that way?
Any way will do. A wild kitten she is, of course she can show off all the wares in her possession and in any which way she wants.
Which do you think is better?
Play with her, make her throw all her caution to the winds, make her reveal her womanhood in all its grandeur.
Anne, Daniel
Then talk about yourself. A writer is infinitely more interesting than his work.
Not necessarily, I dare say.
Are all your books fictional? Created from your imagination?