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A play by Amber Cannon, Connor Frankgate, Courtney Patton, Gary McCready, Joanna McMillan, Lauren Carr, Louise Skee, Ross Taggart, Shaun Warnock , Siobhan Woods & Toni Couper Research by Kay Clark & Craig Mitchell Amended 13.04.12

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THE EMPTY STAGE IS DOMINATED BY A LARGE SCREEN IN THE SHAPE OF A MOBILE PHONE DISPLAY PANEL. THE SILENCE IS BROKEN BY THE SOUND OF A TEXT ALERT. AS THE UNSEEN CHARACTERS SPEAK, THEIR WORDS APPEAR IN TEXT-SPEAK ON THE SCREEN. ROSS: (OFF-STAGE) Awrite? Yuptaaa? COURTNEY: (OFF-STAGE) Nuhin. ROSS: (OFF-STAGE) Wanta dae suhin? COURTNEY: (OFF-STAGE) Ma bit? ROSS: (OFF-STAGE) Im not going away up eh Port. Ive not had eh injections. You come doon here. COURTNEY: (OFF-STAGE) Gourock? Naw thanks, Ive met enough bams the day. ROSS: (OFF-STAGE) Half way? COURTNEY: (OFF-STAGE) Where? ROSS: (OFF-STAGE) Bus stops at Cappielow. COURTNEY: (OFF-STAGE) Ootside? Its raining. ROSS: (OFF-STAGE) We can dive intae that big mad sugar thingy. COURTNEY: (OFF-STAGE) Awrite.

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THE SCREEN GOES BLANK AND THE STAGE IS FILLED WITH 19TH (and early 20th) CENTURY IMMIGRANTS AT A CUSTOMS POINT IN GREENOCK. THREE IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS FACE THE CROWD ACROSS A DESK. IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #1: IRISH IMMIGRANT #1: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #1: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #2: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #3: Name? Liam OKane. (SHOUT) Liam Kane. (WRITING IN LEDGER) Ian Kane. (STAMPING CERTIFICATE) Ian Crane.

IRISH IMMIGRANT #1 TAKES HIS CERTIFICATE, LOOKS AT IT, SHRUGS AND MOVES ON. THE NEXT IMMIGRANT APPROACHES THE DESK. IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #1: IRISH IMMIGRANT #2: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #1: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #2: Name? Padraig Michael Joseph McGurnighan. (SHOUT) Joseph McGurnigay. (WRITING IN LEDGER) Joseph McGubbligan. IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #3: (STAMPING CERTIFICATE) Joseph McGubbins.

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IRISH IMMIGRANT #2 TAKES HIS CERTIFICATE, LOOKS AT IT, SHRUGS AND MOVES ON. THE NEXT IMMIGRANT APPROACHES THE DESK. IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #1: Name?

ITALIAN IMMIGRANT #1: Antonio Ricardo Guarino from Sicilia. IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #1: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #2: IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL #3: (SHOUT) Anthony Sicilia. (WRITING IN LEDGER) Anthony Cecil. (STAMPING CERTIFICATE) Anthony Semple. ITALIAN IMMIGRANT #1 TAKES HIS CERTIFICATE, LOOKS AT IT, SHRUGS AND MOVES ON. THE LINE OF IMMIGRANTS CONTINUES TO BE PROCESSED AT THE DESK. COURTNEY AND ROSS COME ON. COURTNEY: I swear man, that bus was like suhin oot o Dr Who. Every kindo weirdo under the sun. ROSS: Mines was mer like Back to the Future. It was pure going black and white the further I got fae Gourock. COURTNEY: Haw look at these mad crowds, man. You said it would be private in here. ROSS: Must be mer mad winchers in Greenock than we thought.

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COURTNEY:

Look at the nick o her.

COURTNEY AND ROSS APPROACH a 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAZEL KAMINSKI DRESSED IN THE GARB OF A 19TH CENTURY RUSSIAN JEW. PROJECTION: 1884. In this year Gladstones Reform Act

gives working class males voting rights. All women and 40% of adult men were still without the vote. ROSS: Awrite?

HAZEL DOESNT ANSWER; SHE JUST PLAYS WITH HER LONG HAIR. COURTNEY: HAZEL: ROSS: COURTNEY: HAZEL: ROSS: Whats your name? Privet menya zovat Hazel Kaminski. (LAUGH) Thats easy for her to say. Where you fae? I am from Moscow. Is that one o them posh estates up the back o the broomie? COURTNEY: Where dye buy your gear; the Primark bargain rail?

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HAZELS TWO SISTERS, 18-YEAR OLD VALERIYA AND 10-YEAR-OLD DOMINIKA JOIN HER. VALERIYA: ROSS: HAZEL: ROSS: DOMINIKA: ROSS: In Russia we dressed like princesses. Whit dye come her for then? The pogrom. Like a back to work pogrom or suhin? We were not welcome in Russia any more. Did the doctor say yer old man was fit for work? VALERIYA: We were persecuted for being Jewish.

COURTNEY:

What would you come to a dump like Inverclyde for?

HAZEL:

If you had seen what we have seen, you would not call Inverclyde a dump.

HAZEL, VALERIYA AND DOMINIKA COME TO THE FRONT OF THE STAGE AND TALK TO THE AUDIENCE. DOMINIKA: Daddy and Babushka took us from our beds and on to the next boat. It didnt matter where it was going it was going to be safer than Moscow.

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VALERIYA:

All I have of my old life is a picture of me and my mum.

COURTNEY: DOMINIKA: HAZEL: VALERIYA:

Why did she not come? The pogrom. They killed her. When we arrived in Inverclyde I was very nervous and worried about what other people would think about us and our type of family.

DOMINIKA:

When we came into the docks we got off the boat making sure none of us got lost. We had heard talk of a Jewish community but we couldnt find it and had to take shelter under a shop window until a fellow Russian found us and took us to the community. Me, my two sisters, our father and babushka live in a shack. It is cramped and damp, but it is shelter.

IDENTITY HAZEL:

Rehearsal Draft Our father brought some of his tools for shoe

making and is starting to establish a new business here. DOMINIKA: When he opens his shop, we will be able to go back to school. VALERIYA: HAZEL: And get pretty new clothes. Father says business is very different here. In Russia he used to mainly make shoes but now the only thing he does is repair them. I think he really misses making them but, as he says, this is our life now and we will have to get used to it. DOMINIKA: In our community most are from Russia and all the men work in the factories and make next to nothing to live on. I want the life we had. When people did things for us. My clothes are in tatters and I want new ones. I dont go out to play with the other children: they are not educated, they have no money. I guess Im just the same now. I want to live like a princess again not a squatter. HAZEL: I miss all my old friends. I miss Russia but babushka probably misses it the most. ROSS AND COURTNEY PUSH THEIR WAY INTO THE FAMILY REVERIE. COURTNEY: Whos this pure bush guy youse are on about?

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ROSS:

Big Bad Bushka Pure big Bad Bushkas gonnae get you!

VALERIYA:

Shes our Babushka, our grandmother, our mothers mother.

ROSS: DOMINIKA: ROSS:

You better no shove her aff the bus. What is this bus? Too stuck up for public transport are youse?

DOMINIKA:

For me the word transport brings up a picture of the horrible overcrowded boat. Foul-smelling people all crushed together, leaving somewhere we dont want to leave and frightened of where we are going to end up.

ROSS: COURTNEY: VALERIYA:

So youve been on the Midton bus? Never mind him. Wheres your babushka now? In front of the fire, putting on a brave face.

THE STAGE DARKENS AND A SPOTLIGHT PICKS OUT BABUSHKA, A 74-YEAROLD WOMAN, DRESSED IN DARK CLOTHES, WARMING HERSELF AT A ROARING FIRE.

IDENTITY BABUSHKA:

Rehearsal Draft Privet menya zovat Annia but everybody calls me babushka. Life in Inverclyde is good, but I miss home. We are going to open a family business making and repairing shoes. We have always been a close family but I feel this business will bring us closer. I miss Russia and everyone and

everything in it. Our family hardly speak English and people find it hard to understand our Jewish accents so it has been hard for us. Everything and everyone is different here. We find it hard to afford things but if we stay together and work hard well be fine. I look after my granddaughters when my son works. They all respect me and we love spending time together. Valeriya and Hazel will work in the shop when it opens but the little one, Dominika, is too young to be out working. I hope one day we will become rich again but I fear we wont. If I could have things my way we would be on the next boat home. THE STAGE LIGHTS UP TO SHOW COURTNEY AND ROSS ALONE. COURTNEY: ROSS: Right cheery bunch that lot. Aye, a pure advert against drugs whatever they were on. COURTNEY: Mon see if we can find somewhere a bit more private.

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ROSS AND COURTNEY GO THROUGH A TENEMENT ENTRANCE AND INTO A SINGLE END FLAT. PROJECTION: 1851. In this year the Emigration Act made emigration more freely available to the poorest. A landlord could secure a passage to Australia for a nominee at the cost of 1. SHONA, A TALL RED-HEADED WOMAN IN HER EARLY TWENTIES, IS THERE WITH HER HUSBAND, STEPHEN. STEPHEN IS STRIPPED TO THE WAIST AND IS WASHING AT THE SINK IN FRONT OF A WINDOW. UNDETECTED, COURTNEY AND ROSS WATCH THE SCENE. SHONA: Hurry up you. I want to get the dishes done and have the place spick and span for Heather and the wean arriving. STEPHEN: What about Jamie? Has he decided not to come? SHONA: Heathers letter said hes going straight to the yard for a job. STEPHEN: His luck should be in, that was another two guys fell off the scaffolding this week. SHONA: Stephen! You know I dont like you talking like that. STEPHEN: SHONA: Thats what its like. Some days I stand at that window just watching them gates, wondering whos going to be the next

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brought out on a stretcher. Or worse. Just praying it isnt you. STEPHEN: SHONA: Dont go worrying about me. Im not daft. Neither was your brother. Dead at 22, what a waste. STEPHEN: Would you rather I didnt work and we starved to death? SHONA: STEPHEN: SHONA: Id rather go back home. Ah, your idyllic highland home. Aye. I miss the green fields, the heathered hills, the high clear sky and the fresh air. Oh, how I miss fresh air. STEPHEN IS FINISHED WASHING. HE MOVES FROM THE SINK AND ALLOWS SHONA TO LOAD IT WITH POTS AND DISHES. STEPHEN: Shove your neb out the window, theres all the fresh air you want out there. SHONA: No. Thats the smell of soot and burning metal and thousands of sweaty bodies. You dont get fresh air in Grianaig. STEPHEN: At least weve got indoor plumbing.

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IDENTITY SHONA:

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One sink and a toilet weve got to share with eight other families.

STEPHEN:

Inverclyde must have something if your sisters left your precious highlands to come here. And thatll be another family youre sharing the cludgie with. Not to mention that sink.

SHONA:

Jamiell soon have a job and they can get a place of their own. And I cant wait to meet wee Robbie.

STEPHEN GOES, PASSING, BUT NOT SEEING, ROSS AND COURTNEY ON HIS WAY. ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS: SHONA: What a dump. Ssh! Whats going on eh night? Im preparing the house for my sister arriving with her family. COURTNEY: SHONA: ROSS: SHONA: So you can see us? Im not blind. Is this, like the past or suhin? Are you a ghost? This is the future and though I sometimes

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Rehearsal Draft feel like I have lost the life I loved, I havent given up the ghost just yet.

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ROSS: SHONA: COURTNEY: SHONA:

(TO COURTNEY)What the ..? Where even are we? This is Grianaig, Greenock. Grianaig? Grian Aig Sunny Bay. Thats what our highland forebears named this place when they docked here.

ROSS:

Sunny? Greenock? They mustve been hallucinating, man.

HEATHER:

(OFF-STAGE) Yoo-hoo. Anybody home?

SHONA IS DELIGHTED TO HEAR THE VOICE. SHE STRAIGHTENS HER CLOTHES AND MEETS HER SISTER COMING IN. HEATHER IS YOUNGER THAN SHONA AND IS HEAVILY PREGNANT AND CARRYING A BABY. THE BABY IS WEARING ONLY ONE SHOE. SHONA: (ABOUT PREGNANT BUMP) Nobody told me about that. HEATHER: SHONA: HEATHER: I didnt know when I last wrote. And this must be Robbie. Wheres his other shoe? He lost it on the boat. Everybody was calling him Wee Robbie Wan Shoe.

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SHONA:

Well have to get that sorted. Theres a cobblers on the corner that does hand-made shoes.

HEATHER: SHONA:

We cant afford the likes of that. The old Russian that runs it has a soft spot for the wee ones. Ill speak to him.

HEATHER SURVEYS THE CRAMPED SURROUNDINGS. HEATHER: SHONA: HEATHER: SHONA: Where should I drop my bag. Anywhere you like. My palace is your palace. Where are the bedrooms? Me and Stephen are over there (POINTS AT CORNER) In the set-in. Hes cleared out that corner for you, Jamie and the wean to set up. Or, should I say, weans? ROSS: COURTNEY: Six o them living in the one room? Its bad enough sharing with my wee sister. I swear if I see her wearing any mer o my gear Ill drag her like shes never been dragged in her life. HEATHER AND ROBBIE DONT SEE OR HEAR ROSS AND COURTNEY. SHONA IGNORES THEM.

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SHONA:

How are things at home?

HEATHER AND SHONA SIT DOWN AND SHONA TAKES ROBBIE ON HER LAP. ROSS AND COURTNEY LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION. HEATHER: Its terrible, Shona. Weve been living on tatties for months. The old ones are predicting another failed cop. Like when we were wee. SHONA: HEATHER: SHONA: HEATHER: How long ago was that? The great failed potato crop of 1840. Has that been 11 years already? The duke said we werent producing enough at the croft and offered us the money to come here. Jamie jumped at it. He said the landowners will always get their way in the end. They wanted to send us to Australia and Jamie was going to go. I said no, I wanted to be with you. SHONA: HEATHER: SHONA: HEATHER: And Im glad you did. Its great to see you. What have you been up to? Ive got a job. Really?

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All the women go to work round here. The ones that dont have weans, anyway.

HEATHER: SHONA:

Sounds exciting. Selling groceries to women in fur coats is one sure way of knowing how little youve got.

HEATHER: SHONA:

You dont sound happy. I will be now youre here. And this wee one.

SHONA HUGS ROBBIE TIGHTLY. HEATHER SURVEYS HER SURROUNDINGS: WHAT HAS SHE GOT HERSELF INTO. ROSS: This mob are frying my brain. Mon.

ROSS TAKES COURTNEY BY THE HAND AND LEADS HER OUT OF THE FLAT AND INTO A DIMLY LIT COBBLED STREET. COURTNEY: Whits happing to us, man. Its like were in one of them books that fat guy with the skelly eyes used to read to us in the library in primary school. Know them ones what was the guys name? Dickens. Charles Dickens. ROSS: If its the same fat guy with the skelly eye that used to come to my school he wasnt called Dickens.

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COURTNEY:

Not the fat guy with the skelly eye, the guy that wrote the books.

ROSS:

Dickens. Thats a bumper name, man. Imagine he was in our year the hassle hed get. Big Dick Dickens, Vickie Dickens the Dick, pure (SINGS) dick duckier dickens, write a little book for me. Pure mental man.

RONNIE, A FISHERMAN IN HIS FORTIES AND DRESSED FROM THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY, COMES ALONG THE STREET. PROJECTION: 1909. In this year the Old Age Pension Act for a non-contributory pension for people over 70 was enacted. It paid a weekly pension of 5 shillings, or 7 shillings and 6 pence for married couples, to half a million eligible people. RONNIE: More foreigners! What god-forsaken land do you come from dressed like that? COURTNEY: RONNIE: ROSS: Yer nae Gok Wan yourself. And whats this garbled language you speak? Haw you. Drap the gash patter. We dont take kindly to cheek round here. RONNIE: Round here? What would you know about round here? ROSS: Ive lived in Gourock all my life. Thats whit.

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COURTNEY:

Where you fae?

RONNIE POINTS INTO THE DISTANCE. RONNIE: COURTNEY: ROSS: See that river? The Clyde, aye. Dyou know what they say? If you stand in Inverclyde and you cannae see the Clyde its cause its raining. If you can see the Clyde, its gonnae rain. RONNIE: Ive been fishing that river since I was 12 and my familys been fishing it for over 100 years, but now these thieving immigrants are helping themselves to our fish. ROSS: Did yer mammy never tell you to share and share alike? RONNIE: How am I meant to support a wife and four children when any Tony, Dirk or Paddy can throw a line in and steal the food out of our mouths. My boat was my fathers before me and his fathers before him and I wanted to pass it on to my son. Every week its like more and more immigrants come to Scotland and take up fishing. COURTNEY: Live and let live, mate, eh!

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RONNIE BECOMES ANGRY AND CHASES ROSS AND COURTNEY. RONNIE: You cheeky wee

ROSS AND COURTNEY ESCAPE AND TAKE REFUGE IN A BUS SHELTER. ROSS: COURTNEY: Whats this all about, man? I think its about how folk ended up in Inverclyde. ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS: Its weird. Pure doing my nut in. I think its interesting. I think theyre all aff their heids. How? Youd need to be aff yer heid to leave anywhere to come here. COURTNEY: You no been paying attention? The poor souls are running away fae persecution and starvation. ROSS: Howd they no run tae somewhere decent. Like Disneyland or something? COURTNEY: Its about a hunner and fifty years ago. There was nae Disneyland.

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ROSS: COURTNEY:

Aw the same, Inverclyde? It looks like it was a pretty welcoming place to me.

ROSS:

Aye, one thing about the Scots, weve always been pretty sociable.

A VOICE (ALDOS) COMES FROM THE DARKNESS. ALDO: Thatll be right.

ALDO, A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY AND HIS YOUNGER SISTER, CARLA, DRESSED IN THE STYLE OF THE 1940S COME ON. PROJECTION: 1940. In this year when Italy entered the war, Churchill suspected a fifth column of enemy nationals living in the UK and famously declared that they should 'Collar the lot!' Many Italians in Scotland were rounded up and imprisoned. ROSS: Whit you on about? Were pure friendly wi anybody ya bam. ALDO: ROSS: Aye, till a fight breaks out. We dont start em, but were always going to finish them. ALDO: Want to prove it?

ALDO PUTS HIS FISTS UP LIKE A QUEENSBERRY RULES BOXER. ROSS LAUGHS.

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ROSS: CARLA:

(LAUGHING) Check out this bam. No fighting, please. I couldnt stand any more fighting.

COURTNEY:

Aye, drap it ya pair o dafties. (TO ALDO) What year is it where youre living?

ALDO: COURTNEY: ROSS:

1940 of course. And whits your story? What are you on about? (MOCKING)Whits your story?

COURTNEY:

You not getting it? Everybody weve met the nights got a story.

ROSS: ALDO: ROSS:

Oh, right. (TO ALDO) Where do you come fae? Ann Street. No, where dyou really come fae. Where were you born?

ALDO: ROSS: ALDO:

Greenock. But yer maw an that, where they fae? My mother was born in Port Glasgow.

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ROSS:

(TO COURTNEY) See, a pair o Port weans. Theyve not got any story!

CARLA:

If you mean where did our ancestors come from, it was Italy.

ALDO:

My daddys granda and his family came over from Naples seventy years ago.

ROSS: CARLA: COURTNEY: ALDO: ROSS: ALDO:

So youre as Scottish as us? We thought so, till the fighting started. How, what happened? Mussolini threw his lot in with Hitler. That bastard? So anybody with an Italian name became fair game for the vigilantes.

COURTNEY: CARLA:

What did they do to youse? The noise was horrible. Everywhere we were in bed and suddenly there was noise everywhere the caf down the stairs the windows got smashed all the plates and the counters

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THE LIGHT FADES ON ROSS AND COURTNEY AND COMES UP ON A 1940S CHILDRENS BEDROOM. ALDO AND CARLA TAKE REFUGE UNDER THE BED. THE SOUND OF A MOB RIOTING BELOW THEM DRIFTS ON TO THE STAGE. CARLA: ALDO: Are they going to kill us? No, theyre just angry because of what Mussolini said. CARLA: ALDO: CARLA: What did he say? That he was taking Hitlers side in the war. But my daddy and uncle Ricardo are in the British army. Were on Britains side. THE NOISE OF THE MOB GETS LOUDER. SOME OF THE WORDS BECOME DISCERNABLE. MOB: CARLA: (OFF-STAGE) Tallies out Fascists Are they going to take us away?

UNDER THE BED, ALDO WRAPS HIS ARM AROUND HIS FRIGHTENED LITTLE SISTER. ALDO: CARLA: No, they wont harm us. But they took Granda.

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SUDDENLY THE RIOTING NOISES ARE INTERRUPTED BY POLICE WHISTLES AND THE RIOTERS QUIETEN. PROVOST: (OFF-STAGE) Listen up, all of you. We might be at war with Italy but we cannot wage war on women and children. All the alien men have been rounded up RIOTER: PROVOST: (OFF-STAGE) Theyre all tallies. (OFF-STAGE) Anyone disobeying this instruction will be arrested and locked up. We have rounded up all the alien men. So go home to your families and pray this war is over soon. WE HEAR THE CROWD DISSIPATE AND ALDO AND CARLA CAUTIOUSLY EMERGE FROM UNDER THE BED. ROSS AND COURTNEY JOIN THEM. ROSS: COURTNEY: CARLA: ALDO: Yawright, man? Whereve they took yer Granda? We dont know? Somebody said theyve got a place in the Isle of Man where theyll keep them till the wars over. ROSS: How come theyve took yer Granda but yer dad and yer uncle are in the British army. ALDO: Grandas not a British subject.

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COURTNEY: ROSS:

Bummer! Is your chippy still open? I could murder a munchie box.

COURTNEY HITS ROSS ON THE ARM. ROSS: Whit?

ALDO AND CARLA MERGE INTO THE DARKNESS THAT SURROUNDS THEIR BED. ROSS: Dye know what Id hate most about living in the past? COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS: Nae video games? Having tae go to work. Eh? That wee Italian guy working in the caf, that mad fisherman talking about working when he was 12. Did the weans never go out to play or that? A 10-YEAR-OLD BOY DRESSED IN THE STYLE OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY, WEE BOB, RUNS ON AND TRIES TO PUSH BETWEEN ROSS AND COURTNEY. PROJECTION: ROSS: 1901. In this year Irn Bru was invented.

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ROSS GRABS WEE BOB BY THE SCRUFF OF THE NECK. WEE BOB: Let me go. Theyre after me.

COURTNEY LOOKS IN THE DIRECTION THAT WEE BOB CAME FROM. COURTNEY: I cannae see anybody.

WEE BOB TRIES TO WRIGGLE FREE. ROSS: WEE BOB: COURTNEY: ROSS: WEE BOB: ROSS: WEE BOB: ROSS: WEE BOB: ROSS: Whos after you, wee man? Them. The doo men. The whit men? Doo men. Pigeon fanciers. Aye, them. What are they after you for? Let me go and Ill tell you. (SARCASM) Aye, right! Honest. (TO COURTNEY) What dye think?

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IDENTITY COURTNEY:

Rehearsal Draft (SHRUG) Nothing to lose.

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ROSS RELEASES HIS GRIP ON WEE BOB. WEE BOB STRAIGHTENS HIS CLOTHES. ROSS: WEE BOB: Alright, whats the story? Me and my mates heard about this new stuff: Iron Brew (ADVERTISING VOICE) the invigorating and refreshing tonic beverage. ROSS: COURTNEY: WEE BOB: I love a cheeky wee can of the brew. Diet? What would I want to change the colour o it for? ROSS: Thats no what shes talking about. But how does Iron Brew get you into bother with the doo men? WEE BOB: Me and a couple of friends from up ma close wanted to try Iron Brew, so we put all our money together to get a bottle but it still wisnae enough. COURTNEY: ROSS: WEE BOB: Thats a wee shame. What dyou dae? I stole a bottle.

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ROSS: WEE BOB:

Class. Aff the doo men? Naw. Oot the shop. Whit would the doo men be doing with Iron Brew?

COURTNEY: ROSS:

Curing a hangover? Never mind. How did you get fae nicking a bottle of brew to getting chased by doo man?

WEE BOB: COURTNEY: WEE BOB:

Give me a chance and Ill tell you. Be our guest. We drank the iron brew. It was delicious and gave us loads o energy. So we went doon the fields and kicked a ball about . . .

ROSS: WEE BOB:

(INTERRUPTING) Hold on, what year you living in? (TO COURTNEY) Is he serious? He doesnae know what year it is?

COURTNEY: WEE BOB: ROSS:

Do you? Aye! Its 1901. Did they even have fitba in 1901?

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IDENTITY WEE BOB:

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Aye, weve got two big teams - Port Glasgow and the Morton.

ROSS: WEE BOB:

The Port? Aye, right. Did you no hear about the riot a couple o' years back?

COURTNEY: WEE BOB:

A fitba riot? Aye look.

WEE BOB POINTS TOWARDS A LIGHT THAT PICKS OUT TWO MEN, RAB AND JOE, IN THEIR EARLY TWENTIES RUNNING INTO A PUB. WITH THE SOUND OF RIOTING OUTSIDE, COURTNEY, ROSS AND WEE BOB WATCH . . . PROJECTION: 1898. In this year Queen Victoria was on the throne and Robert Cecil, Marques of Salisbury, was the Conservative Prime Minister. RAB: JOE: I thought we were done for there. Did you see that big bruiser with the broken bottle? RAB: I was too busy keeping an eye on the wee wan with the knife. JOE: RAB: Whats the game coming to? If footballs going to bring the worst out in folk like this, theyd be better taking a knife to the baw right now.

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JOE:

And what would we do wi our Saturday efternoons? Go tae the shops or hang about the mooth o the close gossiping wi the women?

RAB:

Good point. Anyway its no really about the game, its like two tribes, the Greenock wans and the Port wans, going to war.

JOE:

Aye. And we cannae let the cads spoil the game.

THE LIGHT FADES ON JOE AND RAB AND WE ARE BACK WITH ROSS, COURTNEY AND WEE BOB. ROSS: WEE BOB: Man, a fitba riot in Greenock! The first football riot ever in Scotland! ROSS: COURTNEY: At last: suhin this place can boast about. Dont be stupit, we should be embarrassed about that. ROSS: WEE BOB: Only if we got beat. (TO WEE BOB) Who won? I dont know but 34 got the jail.

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IDENTITY COURTNEY:

Rehearsal Draft Forget the hooligan history lesson. You were telling us about how you ended up getting chased by the doo men.

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WEE BOB:

Oh aye. Right . . . after the kick-about we found a bit of rope found it where it wasnae lost if you get my drift and chucked it over a tree to make a swing. (LAUGHS)Tuck came right aff and landed in the stream.

COURTNEY:

(IMPATIENT) And thats when the doo men showed up?

WEE BOB: ROSS: WEE BOB:

(TO ROSS) Does she ever shut up? Just cut to the chase, wee man. Tuck went hame greetin and the rest of us walked over the field. And thats when we spotted it . . .

COURTNEY: WEE BOB:

Spotted what? The strangest looking hut we ever saw in our lives. It was like a hut close. You know, all high stretching up like it was going to scrape the sky.

ROSS:

So, did you knock it doon?

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WEE BOB:

Naw, we went in. It was full of manky pigeons.

ROSS: WEE BOB:

Rats with wings. And all these old guys cracked up and started swearing at us. We done a bunk and split up.

ROSS: WEE BOB:

(UNIMPRESSED) Is that it? Aye.

WEE BOB KICKS ROSS ON THE SHIN AND RUNS OFF. ROSS HOPS AROUND HOLDING HIS INJURED ANKLE. ROSS: (AFTER WEE BOB) Ya dirty wee . . .

A LIGHT PICKS OUT A SNOGGING COUPLE AT A BUS STOP. COURTNEY: Hey, look at this pair.

THE COUPLE 20-YEAR-OLD GERMAN MAN, MACH, AND 18-YEAR-OLD REDHAIRED IRISH WOMAN, THERESA - COME OUT OF THEIR CLINCH AS COURTNEY AND ROSS APPROACH THEM. PROJECTION: 1870. In this year The Elementary Education Act set the framework for schooling of all children between ages of 5 and 12.

MACH:

(IN GERMAN ACCENT) No trouble. Please.

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IDENTITY ROSS: COURTNEY: THERESA: ROSS:

Rehearsal Draft Nae bother, big man. Im Courtney. Hes Ross. (IRISH ACCENT) I am Theresa. (LAUGHING, AS MRS DOYLE) Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.

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THERESA: COURTNEY:

(TO COURTNEY) Is he okay? Naw!

COURTNEY PUNCHES ROSS ON THE ARM AGAIN. ROSS: Whit? (LAUGHING, TO THERESA) Dye dae the Riverdance? ROSS DOES HIS OWN VERSION OF IRISH DANCING AND SINGS HIS OWN DIDDLE-DEE ACCOMPANIMENT. THERESA: COURTNEY: MACH: COURTNEY: Poor soul. (NODDING AT MACH) And whos this big hunk? Mein name ist Mach. Where youse fae?

THERESA AND MACH ANSWER AT THE SAME TIME.

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IDENTITY MACH: ROSS:

Rehearsal Draft Germany. THERESA: Ireland.

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Yes better have your story better than that if the polis ask.

THERESA:

Im from Donegal in Ireland and Mach is from Hamburg in Germany.

ROSS:

(LAUGH) Haw. Big man does that make you a hamburger.

MACH:

Ja, ich bin ein Hamburger.

ROSS FINDS THIS HILARIOUS. ROSS: Haw, hes a Hamburger and hes called Mach. Hes a Big Mach. Nae salad please! COURTNEY: Where does somebody fae Donegal meet a guy fae Hamburg? THERESA: ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS: Port Glasgow. Of course! Thats pure romantic, so it is. Naw, Im not buying that. Youre fae Germany and shes fae Ireland and you just happen to get aff the boat up the Port and meet the wummin o yer dreams. Nah.

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IDENTITY

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MACH: ROSS: MACH:

It wasnt that simple. Go on, then. Were no in a hurry. (GERMAN ACCENT) I came to Scotland for a better life. I came with my four brothers.

AS MACH SPEAKS, THE LIGHTS GO UP ON A SHOP INTERIOR (CIRCA 1845) AND THERESA TAKES UP POSITION BEHIND THE COUNTER, SORTING THINGS TO OPEN THE SHOP. MACH: We were looking for a job and a better life. After a month on the boat we finally tied up and got off. I thought we were in America, but it was Port Glasgow. ROSS: COURTNEY: Nae luck, big man. Shut up you. (TO MACH) How did you meet yer girlfriend?

MACH:

We were surrounded by shipyards. It looked like hard work, but it was a way to get food on the table. We went there but met a crowd of immigrants, many of them from Deutschland, shouting and protesting.

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IDENTITY

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FROM OFF-STAGE WE HEAR A CROWD CHANT: WE WANT WORK, WE WANT WORK . . . ROSS: And the ginger Irish bird was one of the rioters?

COURTNEY HITS ROSS A PUNCH ON THE ARM TO SHUT HIM UP. MACH: I said to one of the German protesters: why are you not getting a job? He told me: because the highlanders got here before us and took the shipyarding jobs, the best paid jobs in the area. After three days, I went in the kitchen and there was no food there so I took my last money and went to the shop. As soon as I walked in I saw the most beautiful woman on the counter. MACH GOES INTO THE SHOP AND STANDS ACROSS THE COUNTER FROM THERESA. COURTNEY: MACH: Her? Theresa, yes. But I didnt know that was her name and I was too shy to ask.

COURTNEY:

Thats dead romantic. I can see the movie now: Machs played by Daniel Craig or that and Theresa is, like, her fae Australia, whats her name, you know in the Chanel advert.

ROSS:

Oh, aye, 'cause I watch all that pish!

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IDENTITY COURTNEY: MACH:

Rehearsal Draft (TO MACH) What happened next?

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I got eggs, milk, sugar and bread. I was nervous as she took everything from me and counted it up. When she was finished, I didnt have enough money. I told her and she said in thick Irish brogue

THERESA: MACH:

(IRISH ACCENT) What you have will be enough. I was very thankful and when I walked out the shop I said to myself that is one fine woman. I saw on the door workers needed here. I was too nervous to ask there and then, but I went back another day to try get a job. This time it was a small old man he said he was always away and there was only one staff. I said yes, the red-haired woman. He said that was her. Well I will give you a one day trial tomorrow with Theresa. Thats her name. And thats how I met the woman I am going to marry.

THERESA COMES FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER AND TAKES MACHS HAND AND THEY WANDER OFF INTO THE DARKNESS TOGETHER. COURTNEY WATCHES THEM DREAMILY. ROSS: Heeds, Jakey alert.

COURTNEY LOOKS TO SEE THAT ROSS IS POINTING AT A RAGGED MAN (22YEAR-OLD VINCENT) ON A BENCH CLUTCHING A BOTTLE OF ALCOHOL. PROJECTION: 1827. In this year George Canning a Whig politician and self-proclaimed Irishman born in London succeeds Lord Liverpool as British Prime Minister.

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IDENTITY ROSS:

Rehearsal Draft Gies a slug, mate.

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ROSS AND COURTNEY SIT DOWN WITH VINCENT AND HE HANDS ROSS HIS BOTTLE. ROSS TAKES A DRINK AND OFFERS THE BOTTLE TO COURTNEY. COURTNEY: (REFUSING THE BOTTLE) Get real.

ROSS GIVES THE BOTTLE BACK TO VINCENT. ROSS: VINCENT: ROSS: VINCENT: ROSS: COURTNEY: Dyou know what the barman said to the horse? (IRISH ACCENT) What would that be? Why the long face? I hate it here. Theres a bus stop over there. How, whats up, mate?

VINCENT:

Me and my little brother, Jack, came here from Dublin. I got a job in the sugar refineries and Jack is in the church school. Hes made friends and settled in. But I havent. My work is dangerous and our flat is small, cramped and

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IDENTITY

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smells awful. Many of the people I work with dont want to talk to the Irish. COURTNEY: VINCENT: How no? We all get tarred with the same brush as the bad ones. ROSS: Bad yins? What dae they get up to?

THE LIGHT FADES ON THE TRIO AND PICKS OUT MARY AND SIOBHAN, BOTH IN THEIR MID-THIRTIES AND DRESSED IN THE STYLE OF NINETEENTH CENTURY MILL WORKERS. MARY: SIOBHAN: Cmon, Kerrs getting hung the day. That John Kerr that was living up the stair fae youse? MARY: Aye, we better get doon the Mid Kirk as fast as we can. I want a good view. SIOBHAN AND MARY JOIN A CROWD WAITING FOR A HANGING AND JOCKEY FOR A VANTAGE POINT AMID THE NOISE OF AN IMPATIENT CROWD. MARY: SIOBHAN: Can you see his face? Look at him, Mary. Thats what evil looks like. MARY: His poor wife. Murdered in her ain hoose!

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IDENTITY

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SIOBHAN:

I hope he swings high. For all the women that have to put up with his kind.

MARY:

I wouldnt like to give that hangman a cold dinner.

SIOBHAN: MARY: SIOBHAN:

Whats that theyre giving him? Looks like wine. I suppose hes as well going out of this life the way he lived in it.

MARY: SIOBHAN: MARY: SIOBHAN:

(AMUSED) Aye, drunk. Theres the hood going on. Hes no long for this earth noo. And the noose.

MARY BLESSES HERSELF WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. SIOBHAN: MARY: Dont waste your prayers on the likes o him? (LYING) Ahm no!

THERE IS A MOMENT OF SILENCE THEN THE SOUND OF THE TRAP OPENING AND THE CROWD GASPS. THE SHOW OVER, THE CROWD DISPERSES.

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IDENTITY MARY:

Rehearsal Draft His poor wife can rest in peace now.

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THE LIGHT SHIFTS TO PICK OUT COURTNEY, ROSS AND VINCENT. VINCENT: (IRISH ACCENT) An Irishman will never get a fair trial here. COURTNEY: He killed his wife but.

VINCENT:

So they say. Nobody was there to witness it.

COURTNEY:

Hanging was too good for him.

VINCENT RUBS HIS NECK. VINCENT: I wonder what excuse theyll find to do away with me. ROSS: Och, well, it was nice meeting you, my man.

ROSS GETS UP AND WALKS AWAY FROM THE BENCH, COURTNEY RELUCTANTLY FOLLOWS HIM. COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY: We cannae leave him like that. How no? The state hes in, he could commit suicide or anything.

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IDENTITY

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ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS:

Theres nothing we can do about that. We could try. Nae point. Hes living, what, about a hunner years before were born?

COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY:

Aye. So we cannae alter the course of his life. Can we no?

ROSS:

Nah. Ye cannae start messin aboot with the space-time-continuum.

COURTNEY:

I suppose not.

COURTNEY LINKS ARMS WITH ROSS AND THEY WALK OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO A BRIGHT STREET. THEY SEE THE KAMINSKI SISTERS, STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE TO A COBBLERS SHOP. ROSS: Haw, look who it is. That mad Russian mob with the Bush granny. COURTNEY: ROSS: The Kaminskis. Look at the sign, man: Kaminski shoemakers and cobblers.

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IDENTITY

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COURTNEY:

They got their own shop just like the auld dear said.

ROSS: COURTNEY:

They must be minted. So how come theyre aw looking pure glum?

AS THE LIGHTS GO DOWN ON COURTNEY AND ROSS, THE KAMINSKI SISTERS BECOME ACTIVE. DOMINIKA: It makes me so sad that Babushka never saw Russia again. HAZEL: VALERIYA: But she had happy years here. Yes, the people of Inverclyde have welcomed the Jews with open arms. HAZEL: She said the day that the Cathcart Street Synagogue opened was one of the happiest of her life. VALERIYA: And now she is to be buried alongside that synagogue. DOMINIKA: Alongside friends. Jews who came here from all over Europe. HAZEL: She was happy here.

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IDENTITY DOMINIKA:

Rehearsal Draft She helped us build a new life. We are Scottish Jews now. I have no memory of Moscow.

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HAZEL: VALERIYA: DOMINIKA:

And I have no wish to see it again. Thank you Babushka. Lchaim, Granny.

THE LIGHT FADES ON THE KAMINSKIS AND WE SEE COURTNEY AND ROSS. ROSS: I never knew we had a pure synagogue in Cathcart Street. COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY: Its no there anymer. How no? Is it a bingo hall noo or suhin? Mibbe it got bombed during the blitz; yknow that stuff Mr Crawley told us about in history. ROSS: Old creepy! I never went to his class. He gave me the well, the creeps! COURTNEY: Poor things. Coming all this way to escape persecution and Hitler still managed to knock doon their synagogue. ROSS: Thats heavy solid.

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IDENTITY

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COURTNEY: ROSS:

Pure. I wonder how the rest o the wans we met got on.

COURTNEY:

Aye, I wonder if Shona and Heather ever went back to the Highlands. And wee Robbie Wan Shoe.

THE LIGHT FADES ON COURTNEY AND ROSS AND ANOTHER COMES UP ON HEATHERS ROOM AND KITCHEN. SHONA IS KNEELING AT A TIN BATH FULL OF APPLES FLOATING IN WATER. AS SHE BENDS DOWN TOWARDS THE APPLES, HEATHER PUSHES HER FACE INTO THE WATER. THE TWO WOMEN LAUGH. SHONA: (LAUGHING) Its just like when we were weans. HEATHER: Aye, its like weve brought a bit of the Highlands to Inverclyde. SHONA: Made our mark.

THERE IS A KNOCK AT THE DOOR AND AN ELDERLY NEIGHBOUR, ISA, COMES IN CARRYING A LARGE DUMPLING. ISA: Halloween wouldnae be complete without a dumpling. SHONA: Have you put trinkets in it?

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IDENTITY ISA:

Rehearsal Draft A button for a bachelor, a pea, a ring and a silver thrupenny.

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HEATHER:

Braw, but we have to get ready for the weans and their galoshins.

ISA:

I remember when I was wee my galoshins was always a right good song and dance routine. (SINGS OUT OF TUNE) Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road, An' I'll be in Scotland before ye', But wae is my heart until we meet again On the Bonnie, bonnie ...

HEATHER:

(INTERRUPTING) Aye, thats lovely Isa, but we have to get ready before wee Robbie and the rest of the weans get in fae school.

SHONA:

Theres this Halloween game Ive heard about. Sounds like a good laugh: Treacle Scones.

HEATHER: SHONA:

How does it go? You cover a scone with treacle and hang it fae the door frame wi a bit o string. The weans have to try and eat the whole thing without using their hands.

ISA:

That sounds braw.

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IDENTITY SHONA: HEATHER: SHONA: HEATHER:

Rehearsal Draft This is going to be the best Halloween ever. Even though its down here? Dyou think well ever go back to the Highlands?

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No. Theres nothing left for us there. This is our home now.

SHONA: ISA: SHONA:

Aye, our weans are Greenockians now. And theres nothing wrong with that. True.

THE LIGHT PICKS OUT COURTNEY AND ROSS. COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY: ROSS: COURTNEY: Och, thats nice; they got a happy ending. Somehow I think weve only seen their start. Our start as well, if you think about it. Head for the bus? Okay.

AS ROSS AND COURTNEY WALK OFF STAGE THEY PASS Mrs MacDONALD, A RUDDY AND RUGGED WOMAN OF 60 AND WEARING A HEAVY WOOL COAT, CARRYING A BASKET OVER HER ARM. SHE SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO THE AUDIENCE.

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IDENTITY

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Mrs MacDONALD:

My name is Margaret MacDonald you can call me Mrs MacDonald. I live with my husband of 40 years on our dairy farm in Kilmacolm. We have four children three girls and a boy - two grandchildren and a great grandchild. My husbands family has owned our farm for over 300 years. We have 10 acres. About a mile down the road some immigrants have set up a small, cramped encampment: no wonder they carry disease. As a Christian woman I like to do my bit, so I make daily trips with milk and eggs to help them out. Its not a lot but it helps. With a big farm, I decided that we could give some of them work. One worker really stood out for me an Irish woman called June. Her story reminded me of my own childhood and reminded me not to take my comfortable life for granted. Not all the immigrants are a joy to work with. Some of the men are drunks. There are lots of different ethnic groups coming to Scotland right now. Most are just looking for a better life. Were all Jock Tamsons Bairns after all.

Mrs MacDONALD CONTINUES HER JOURNEY. COURTNEY AND ROSS ARRIVE BACK IN THE 21ST CENTURY AND AT THEIR BUS STOP. PROJECTION: Now, at a bus stop not far from here.

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IDENTITY

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THERE IS A QUEUE WAITING IN THE SHELTER HAZEL KAMINSKI, SHONA (COMPLETE WITH ONE-SHOED BABY IN HER ARMS), ALDO, MACH AND THERESA IN EACH OTHERS ARMS. ALL ARE IN MODERN CLOTHES. ROSS AND COURTNEY LOOK AT THEM CURIOUSLY. ROSS: (TO MACH) guy? MODERN MACH: COURTNEY: What you talking about, daftie? (TO HAZEL) Youre Hazel, arent you? I met you with your sisters when youse just got here. Before yer dad opened his shop. MODERN HAZEL: I dont know what youre on about, my faither doesnae own any shop. COURTNEY: MODERN ALDO: ROSS: MODERN SHONA: (TO ALDO) Yours does, right? A chippy! Naw. (TO SHONA) I know who you are; Shona, right? My names Louise, but I dont see what its got tae dae wi you. ROSS: (TO SHONA) This wee guy is Robbie Wan Shoe but. MODERN SHONA: This wee guy is a lassie! Haw, are you that mad German

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IDENTITY

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ROSS AND COURTNEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER: WHAT IS GOING ON? ROSS: (TO BUS QUEUE) Awrite, wan question: where yes aw fae? BUS QUEUE: THE END (SHOUT IN UNISON)Inverclyde!

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