by Ella Hickson
BENNY. What’s it like out there?
CAM. Mad. Trees all look like little burnt matchsticks – shite everywhere. Funny though – once you’re out at the Western General, out the city – you can see the hills in the distance all clean and green and – it’s like nothing ever went wrong, feel silly for thinking… then you drive back in and it’s like it’ll never get clean. You sort of can’t work out how much to – how worried to /
BENNY. Yeah.
BENNY smiles at him.
BENNY goes to the window to look out.
You want tea?
CAM. Yes please. Can you put a bit of sugar in it?
BENNY. Course. Funny how the first bit of morning always looks a bit like a sunset. You reckon you could tell – if someone just woke you up and said – dawn or dusk – you reckon you could tell?
CAM. Rises in the east, sets in the west.
BENNY. Not this far north. Up and down in almost the same spot.
Beat.
CAM. It’s fucked – right through Cowgate – all the old town; fire started down at the Parliament and just went right on up.
BENNY. That’s all the library stores; burnt their own fucking books, the idiots.
CAM. Didn’t even fucking touch the Parliament Building – you know what I mean? What is that – all that old stuff, all cobbles and history and fucking thousands of years of – and it burns in just one night because of some fucking… and that fucking ugly son of a bitch Parliament Building is still standing. Blows your mind.
BENNY hands CAM his tea – he goes to take it with his right hand – but realises it’s bandaged and has to take it with his left.
BENNY. You sad about it?
CAM. The fire?
BENNY. Your hand.
CAM. I –
BENNY. I can’t even say how sorry I – I mean for ever I’ll – did they say there were ways of fixing it, of /
CAM. Shut up, man. I’m glad.
BENNY. What do you mean you’re glad?
CAM. It was the weirdest thing, she’s sitting there telling me I’ll never play again, not like I had before and I felt so much – better. I’m not sure I even really wanted to do it, I never chose to – I was just good at it and so that was it – and it seemed stupid not doing something that you were good at but – I never wanted to.
BENNY. You don’t mean that.
CAM. It’s fucking great – I feel fucking great. I can do what I want now and I didn’t even have to make the decision.
BENNY. What do you want to do?
CAM. Don’t know yet.
BENNY. Right.
CAM. Think I might apply to university.
BENNY laughs.
It’ll be four years before I’m out – so maybe – things will have… you know…
BENNY. Good idea, pal. You want a biscuit?
CAM. Yes please.
BENNY finds one and gives it to him.
BENNY. Last summer – me and Pete – we ended up in this cathedral together – it was a family holiday, Mum and Dad were having an argument outside so he and I decided to go in. It was all dark, except these little red candles; you know those racks of candles, in lines, where you’re meant to pay and you light it and it’s for someone in heaven? They had one of them, but it was modern – so the candles were little LED thingies, you know electric. And this woman comes up, Spanish, big fat one, red lips, black hair – and she puts the euro in the slot and one of the candles flickers a bit, but it goes out. It doesn’t work, right? So she waddles over to complain. This electrician comes over and he’s really sweating and he unlocks the back of this thing and you can see all the wires. She sees all the wires, right? The electrician fiddles with it finishes and locks the thing back down and gives her back her euro. The old woman puts her money in the slot… and one candle lights up… and she prays, she prays like she really fucking means it.
Beat.
CAM. This another God squad thing, Ben?
BENNY. Even though she’d seen the wiring.
CAM. So?
BENNY. I said it was fucking idiotic. Made me angry. Turned to Peter – he were crying. It was the last time I saw him cry – he said it was fucking amazing, being able to do what she did.
Beat.
CAM. Don’t get it.
BENNY. Never mind.
The pair of them look at the room.
We should get his lot tidied up.
CAM. In a bit.
BENNY. You want to give me a hand?
CAM. What you going to do with it.
BENNY. Don’t know, yet.
The buzzer goes.
Who’s that?
CAM. I’ll get it.
CAM exits.
BENNY looks at the rubbish.
BENNY finds a bin bag – heads over to his brother’s cupboard and starts to empty it into the bin bag. Job complete, he turns back to the kitchen and looks at the mess – he’s overwhelmed.
CAM enters – he’s carrying a jumper.
BENNY. And?
CAM. It was the Renault Mégane.
BENNY. What did she want?
CAM. Said to give this back to Mack – said to thank him – for stopping her.
BENNY goes over and takes the jumper from CAM.
BENNY. I gave him this.
The jumper has He-Man on it.
CAM. Will we put some music on – help us tidy?
BENNY. iPod got fucked. Stereo still works though.
CAM turns it on and the tuner fuzzes.
CAM looks out at the room.
CAM. You reckon we’ll get this tidied up?
BENNY. Yeah.
CAM. You think or you know?
BENNY. I think.
CAM switches it to CD and presses play.
BENNY looks at the jumper and puts it on.
A violin solo plays – beautiful, haunting.
What’s this?
Beat.
CAM. It’s me.
Beat.
BENNY tries to tidy again but gives up quickly.
CAM stares out into the morning… listening – realising.
BENNY picks up his Coco Pops bowl and drinks from the bowl – chocolate milk spills down the front of the He-Man jumper – he tries to clean it off.
Pause.
Lights down.
End of play.
ELLA HICKSON
Ella Hickson’s debut play Eight (Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh) won a Fringe First Award, the Carol Tambor ‘Best of Edinburgh’ Award and was nominated for an Evening Standard Award. It transferred to the Trafalgar Studios, London, and PS122, New York. Her other plays include Precious Little Talent (Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh and Trafalgar Studios, London); Hot Mess (Hawke & Hunter, Edinburgh and Latitude Festival); Soup (Òran Mór at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh); PMQ (Theatre503 and HighTide Festival); Boys (HighTide Festival, Nuffield Theatre, Southampton and Soho, London) and The Authorised Kate Bane (Grid Iron at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh and Tron Theatre, Glasgow). She completed a creative writing MA at the University of Edinburgh and spent a year working with the Traverse Theatre as their Emerging Playwright on Attachment. She has taken part in the Royal Court Invitation Group and is the Pearson Playwright in Residence for the Lyric Hammersmith.
Ella is under commission to Headlong Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Radio 4, and is participating in Channel 4’s Screenwriting Course. She is a member of the Old Vic New Voices and has taken part in the 24 Hour Plays, Ignite and the T.S. Eliot UK/US Exchange.
A Nick Hern Book
Boys first published in Great Britain as a paperback original in 2012 by Nick Hern Books Limited, The Glasshouse, 49a Goldhawk Road, London W12 8QP, in association with HighTide Festival Theatre, Headlong and The Nuffield
This ebook edition first published in 2012
Boys copyright © 2012 Ella Hickson
Ella Hickson has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work
Cover image by Léo-Oaul Billès
Cover de
sign by Ned Hoste, 2H
Typeset by Nick Hern Books, London
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78001 164 6 (ebook edition)
ISBN 978 1 84842 262 9 (print edition)
CAUTION This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Amateur Performing Rights Applications for performance, including readings and excerpts, by amateurs in English throughout the world, excluding USA and Canada, should be addressed to the Performing Rights Manager, Nick Hern Books, The Glasshouse, 49a Goldhawk Road, London W12 8QP, tel +44 (0)20 8749 4953, e-mail [email protected], except as follows:
Australia: Dominie Drama, 8 Cross Street, Brookvale 2100, fax (2) 9938 8695, e-mail [email protected]
New Zealand: Play Bureau, PO Box 420, New Plymouth, fax (6) 753 2150, e-mail [email protected]
South Africa: DALRO (pty) Ltd, PO Box 31627, 2017 Braamfontein, tel (11) 712 8000, fax (11) 403 9094, e-mail [email protected]
United States of America and Canada: Curtis Brown Ltd, see details below.
Professional Performing Rights Applications for performance by professionals (and by amateur and stock companies in USA and Canada) in any medium and in any language throughout the world should be addressed to Curtis Brown Ltd, Haymarket House, 28–29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4SP, fax +44 (0)20 7396 0110, e-mail [email protected]
No performance of any kind may be given unless a licence has been obtained. Applications should be made before rehearsals begin. Publication of this play does not necessarily indicate their availability for performance.
