Godiva's Children Sample - Comments welcome
Godiva’s Children
A Comedy in Two Acts
By Eric Goudie
1st Draft © March 2010
Time: The Present.
Place: A holding cell in the local jail.
The scene is simple. A prisoner’s cell takes up an 8’x8’ square of the stage, with bars across the front of a windowless room. There’s a bed in the corner and that’s about it.
The stage extends in front of the cell a few feet, with a door on SR and a bench on SL
Act 1
At lights up Jerome is discovered sitting on the bed in the cell. He wears normal clothes and looks like a typical teenage kid. He looks sad, and a little bit frightened.
Offstage, we hear Leslie’s voice.
LESLIE: (off) In there? He’s in there? Through this door?
JEROME: Mom?
The door opens and Leslie Godiva comes in. She’s a 40-something working single mom. She’s followed by her daughter, Lola, who closes the door behind her and stands there, stunned.
JEROME: Mom!
LESLIE: Jerome!
Leslie goes over to the bars. Jerome reaches through to hug her, but instead she slaps him.
LESLIE: You idiot!
JEROME: Mom?
LESLIE: You stupid, stupid, stupid boy!
JEROME: Mom, I –
LESLIE: Stunned as me arse!
JEROME: Mom, -
LESLIE: How could you do something like this? How in the world? What the hell is the matter with you? When did I teach you to behave like that?
JEROME: Mom –
LESLIE: You’re a disgrace – you hear me? A disgrace! You’re a disgrace to me, you’re a disgrace to your sister, you’re even a disgrace to your rotten father. It was his idea, wasn’t it? He told you to do this. Did he tell you to do this?
JEROME: No, mom –
LESLIE: Don’t lie to me, Jerome? Did your father tell you to do this? Did he say “hey kid, you wanna be cool? I know somethin’ that’ll get everyone to like you.” That’s about the level of your father’s intelligence you know. If you can’t eat it, get drunk from it or give it a tune-up chances are it’s out of his league.
JEROME: No, mom, let me explain –
LESLIE: Did your father put you up to this? It’s just the sort of thing he’d do, just to get back at me, just to turn my crank. I can’t believe that bastard would use you just to piss me off –
JEROME: Mom, Dad didn’t put me up to this.
LESLIE: He didn’t?
JEROME: No.
LESLIE: Oh.
JEROME: It was just me.
LESLIE: You?
JEROME: Just me. Not Dad, not my friends, not anyone. Just me
A pause.
LESLIE: You idiot!
JEROME: Mom!
LESLIE: You stupid, stupid, stupid boy!
JEROME: Mom, I think we’ve been through all this already, could you just maybe calm down a little bit, I –
LESLIE: How could you do something like this? How in the world? What the hell is the matter with you? When did I teach you to behave like that?
JEROME: Mom, stop repeating yourself. You’re being hysterical. Lola, tell mom she’s being hysterical.
Lola: Shut up, pervert.
JEROME: Lola!
Lola: You heard me, pervert.
JEROME: Oh come on, Lola. Don’t be like that. You are my big sister and I need you to be a big sister right now.
Lola: (screaming) PERVERT!
A Comedy in Two Acts
By Eric Goudie
1st Draft © March 2010
Time: The Present.
Place: A holding cell in the local jail.
The scene is simple. A prisoner’s cell takes up an 8’x8’ square of the stage, with bars across the front of a windowless room. There’s a bed in the corner and that’s about it.
The stage extends in front of the cell a few feet, with a door on SR and a bench on SL
Act 1
At lights up Jerome is discovered sitting on the bed in the cell. He wears normal clothes and looks like a typical teenage kid. He looks sad, and a little bit frightened.
Offstage, we hear Leslie’s voice.
LESLIE: (off) In there? He’s in there? Through this door?
JEROME: Mom?
The door opens and Leslie Godiva comes in. She’s a 40-something working single mom. She’s followed by her daughter, Lola, who closes the door behind her and stands there, stunned.
JEROME: Mom!
LESLIE: Jerome!
Leslie goes over to the bars. Jerome reaches through to hug her, but instead she slaps him.
LESLIE: You idiot!
JEROME: Mom?
LESLIE: You stupid, stupid, stupid boy!
JEROME: Mom, I –
LESLIE: Stunned as me arse!
JEROME: Mom, -
LESLIE: How could you do something like this? How in the world? What the hell is the matter with you? When did I teach you to behave like that?
JEROME: Mom –
LESLIE: You’re a disgrace – you hear me? A disgrace! You’re a disgrace to me, you’re a disgrace to your sister, you’re even a disgrace to your rotten father. It was his idea, wasn’t it? He told you to do this. Did he tell you to do this?
JEROME: No, mom –
LESLIE: Don’t lie to me, Jerome? Did your father tell you to do this? Did he say “hey kid, you wanna be cool? I know somethin’ that’ll get everyone to like you.” That’s about the level of your father’s intelligence you know. If you can’t eat it, get drunk from it or give it a tune-up chances are it’s out of his league.
JEROME: No, mom, let me explain –
LESLIE: Did your father put you up to this? It’s just the sort of thing he’d do, just to get back at me, just to turn my crank. I can’t believe that bastard would use you just to piss me off –
JEROME: Mom, Dad didn’t put me up to this.
LESLIE: He didn’t?
JEROME: No.
LESLIE: Oh.
JEROME: It was just me.
LESLIE: You?
JEROME: Just me. Not Dad, not my friends, not anyone. Just me
A pause.
LESLIE: You idiot!
JEROME: Mom!
LESLIE: You stupid, stupid, stupid boy!
JEROME: Mom, I think we’ve been through all this already, could you just maybe calm down a little bit, I –
LESLIE: How could you do something like this? How in the world? What the hell is the matter with you? When did I teach you to behave like that?
JEROME: Mom, stop repeating yourself. You’re being hysterical. Lola, tell mom she’s being hysterical.
Lola: Shut up, pervert.
JEROME: Lola!
Lola: You heard me, pervert.
JEROME: Oh come on, Lola. Don’t be like that. You are my big sister and I need you to be a big sister right now.
Lola: (screaming) PERVERT!
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