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CHARACTERS:
She1 AEuropean woman from the turn of the 20th and 21th centuries
She2 AChinese woman from the period of the Ch' ing dynasty at the turn of the 16 th and 17 th centuries
(The stage is divided into two parts by ataut white sheet. It can be of brocade, whose
whiteness symbolised sorrow for the Chinese – they used it to line all the roads along
which afuneral procession passed.
During the play the women – instroboscopic flashes – will press their faces, palms,
their whole bodies into the tightly stretched fabric, as if they wish to communicate or
hear each other through time and space.
Darkness. Silence.
The right – hand side of the stage – the space occupied by the Chinese woman –
lights up.
In the background avideo projection shows an enlarged white Chinese lantern
swinging to the sound of astrong wind, until the candle inside sets the paper on fire.
The lantern flares up. In stroboscopic lighting, to the sound of stylized music inspired
by that of China, She 2 enters in astylized costume, taking tiny steps typical of
Chinese women of that period.)
She 2: (Still in stroboscopic lighting.) Iam an old geisha. Ten thousand things no longer await me. Only, perhaps, the convent below the rocks with the ancient pine trees. Clothes made from coarse cloth. Scabs on my shaven skull. Bitter tea. The past? Huh! Tiny lights over the river! Even those will soon be quenched by the cold rain.
(In acomic imitation of Chinese singing, she sings an extract from asong sung by
the heroine Tach Ti – er in the classical Chinese play Pavilion Above the River.)
She 2: Desolate is this room, where only my shadow now lives.
The powder has flaked off, the rouge long faded. When twilight falls, my sorrow is greatest.
(About of coughing interrupts her singing. She 2 makes the ”sad sleeve” gesture from
plays of the khun - ch' ü type: she lifts her arm to her eyes, her head is bent, hinting
at weeping. Suddenly, with her whole body and expression, she changes the
situation. She plays alittle girl. The stage gradually lights up.)
She 2: Papa? Tell the servant to run to the bazaar and buy me some fruit. And get him to bring me anew china doll! I won' t break it this time! Ipromise! Will you let him buy me some date cakes too? I'm five years old, Papa. My heart is not yet encased in arush mat. Or in silk. It is naked and lively. Like amonkey. Because it's the Clear and Bright Festival. I'm going on atrip with you to the graves of our ancestors... Or is it already the Mid – Autumn Festival? The wind is blowing from the northern lake, from the Black Horse. Ican hear shouts. Now whispers. Are they the voices of the plum leaves...? Papa?!
(The left side of the stage lights up – the space occupied by the European woman.
Avideo projection gradually appears in the background: alarge picture of aman in
asuit and with ahat on his head, standing with his feet apart and smoking
acigarette. She 1 enters, dressed in awhite dress like alittle girl at her confirmation.
She stands facing the projected picture of the man.)
She 1: (In awe and admiration.) Daddy?! Will you buy me some Turkish delight and candied violets? They're sweets that look like purple flowers. Will you take me to the shooting gallery at the circus and win me a cellophane rose? I'll be good now, Daddy. I won't pick my scabs. Ipromise ! I'll sit quietly while you play chess in the coffee bar. Quiet as amouse. I won't kick anyone under the table any more. I won't knock the waitress's tray out of her hands with my head. I won't tell the man you're playing chess with that he stinks like askunk. I'll be as you want me to be, Daddy... Just as you want, Daddy dear...
(The picture of the man begins to move, the "little girl" trots here and there, following
his movements. Then she cries out in aterrified voice.)
She 1: Daddy! Hold my hand! Don't go so fast! They've brought the prisoners out for awalk... One of them might turn me into awooden doll. Hide me in his tracksuit. Take me out in his cell... In the prison up there. In the castle overlooking our town. Because there are magic tricks, Daddy...
(In stroboscopic lighting she leans her head against the dividing sheet.)
(The right side of the stage is lit up.)
She 1: There are such tricks, Da... ddy...
She 2: Papa? When are you going to finish smoking that pipe? After the fish they prepared you for supper? It stinks of sea rot and the sake in your little bowl. Papa, when will they take us out on the litter? Because maybe it's the Dragon Lantern Festival. But when we get out, hold my hand. Two monks are approaching. They may smile and try to persuade you to put me in their care. Because nothing but misfortune awaits both of us. Or are they ghosts? Papa, you know that on hot afternoons the ghosts of wise men wander through the world. They're not looking for elixirs of life. They are looking for elixir of everlasting dreams... They eat little girls!
(Stroboscopic lighting on She 1, who presses up to the sheet in terror.
Music. She 2 dances afew steps.
The left side of the stage lights up.)
She 2: They eat little girls...!
She 1: (Calming down.) They've gone. They laughed out loud. But the prisoner with the wild eyes didn't take me. Why didn't you hold my hand? Iwas frightened. Iwas terribly frightened! Daddy! Don't be angry with me! I won't reproach you for anything. Anyway, the prisoners had their hands in chains. And you're the best in the world. You're so good to me! Thank you for that silk dog. The one... (the picture of the man disappears now, as if he has moved to the side of the stage and from there descended among the audience; the girl follows his with her gaze and keeps talking, her face now towards the audience) made of white threads. With the glass eyes. Why didn't you let me fish it out of the river when it slipped from my hand? I didn't want to drown it. Really! It had such alovely little head. When Iwas in bed in the dark, Iused to press it up to my cheek. It warmed me like alamp. Because you and Mummy didn't want the light on in my room. The war was already over, but you still had to save, didn't you, Daddy? You couldn't buy me many toys, could you? When Mummy drew achicken, she gave me the intestines to play with. They were warm. Icould feel sand in them. Beautiful, shiny intestines. (Stamps her foot crossly.) But they were dead! Terribly dead! And I wanted live toys. (Once more in apampered tone.) But at least Ihad those intestines, didn't I, Daddy? Iplayed with them, pretending they were my dead ancestors. Iscraped ahole in the ground for them under abush in the garden. There were snails on the branches of that bush. They looked like my intestines wrapped up in ahandkerchief. But at least the snails were alive. Ipulled them off the branches. They oozed an awful lot of slime. I didn't do anything to them. Well... just once. Iput the snails in the grass. Istamped on them. Like this. They burst. My feet slipped and slid on them. That was the time when you broke all the records on the tiled floor of our room. You told Mummy you would shoot her... But you didn't. You just pushed her against the wall in the kitchen with your knee. You pulled her dress up to her tummy. It was apity you broke them all. There was such beautiful music on those records! Do you remember? Sometimes you would pick me up in your arms. You whirled around and dance with me... We spun like ablack record on the gramophone. I'd feel dizzy. Iclung to your neck. And you held me tight.
Translated by Heather Trebatická
(Sound: Dean Martin sings aschmaltzy hit: ”Return to me, oh, my dear, I'm so lonely. Hurry back, hurry back, oh, my love, I'm your...” The girl sings with the singer and dances as the light fades into darkness.)
(...)
(The right side of the stage lights up. Aloud sound of galloping horses.)
She 2: (Her hair is dishevelled.) I don't know, Papa, my stupid old head isn't sure about anything any more. What happened!? Why did the chief eunuch arrive in acoach one day from the Forbidden City? Why did his men search our dwelling? They found forbidden books about warfare, things to do with the borders, and above all, alas, about Sons of the Heavens of long ago. Or did the awful woman write untruths about you in Manchu, in order to ruin you? She sucked you dry! Because you stopped taking any notice of her. They said you would have to face along trial. If you didn't tell the truth they would torture you by crushing your ankles. If you kept silent, they would crush them to pulp. Now Iknow that if the judge was not sure which law you had in fact broken, he resorted to alaw that made it possible to do what shouldn't have been done. But you had never provoked unrest, you didn't break any regulations, you wanted to keep the law and Sacred Edit of the Son of the Heavens. Oh, what did they do to you, Papa? Did they execute you? Did they sell you into slavery? I don't know, I don't know ANYTHING any longer! Just as you don't know that your secondary wife sold me for acouple of bars of silver to aman trading in children. But you told everyone in the yamen: (Imitating lamenting) Little Pearl vanished during the Lantern Festival. Ijust looked away for amoment and she had gone... gone! Abducted by achild thief is what they whispered in the yamen and my servants Wild Goose and Silver Thread wanted to commit suicide.
(The left side of the stage lights up.)
She 1: My apathetic husband lay for hours on the sofa, burped, farted, drank beer and gawped at the telly. In my heart of hearts Iknew that something must happen. Something must turn up. Something sweet, something for me. Ifound another. Alover as clam as the sea. Wild as the surf. I didn't know anything about him. Not even his name. Once Isat down on abench in the park, because it was hot and Ifelt faint. He sat down next to me and said something about explosions on the Sun. First he stroked me through my dress. I don't know.. it was as if Iwas hypnotised... maybe it was those explosions on the Sun... Iwent with him to his car. And then often... We went to the park at the other side of the town. Or we just stayed in the car somewhere on the grimy outskirts among deserted factories. We tore the clothes off each other in cheap hotels. You're like atight string. Relax. He would say to me in awhisper and it seemed funny to me. It'll be just the way you want it. What do you want, he kept asking. For the first time ever my stupid head had to think what Iwanted. I! I! just me. And no one else. But who was Ireally? Aworker with fingers pricked all over, with clamouring children, ahusband like asack of potatoes and adribbling father with astroke. Iwas alive, warm human machine. All at once Iwas to listen to my own body. What did it matter that it was no longer so young and beautiful? It was mine! When we were both naked, we often laughed. Just like that. For no reason. I can't remember when Ilast Laughed out loud as Idid with him. Alover without aname. Without apast. Without afuture. Even though, like conspirators, we went to terrible lengths to cover up our meetings. Sometimes he would put on my blouse, whirl around in front of me and say: Iwant your skin, your smell, your sweat, saliva, juices, Iwant to massage your fingers, rub cream on them, so the needle pricks don't hurt, Iwant to light acigarette for you, choose your lipstick, hold your hand in the cinema, lean you up against astreet lamp. We'll have aphoto taken of us together, black and white, I'll just colour in your lips... You'll eat awhole bar of chocolate, you'll ask me for apill, I'll see the chaos in your handbag, I'll see you to the bus-stop, you'll see me to the bus-stop, you'll say you feel like acake, I'll feel like acoffee, we'll talk about our dead ones, their ghosts will sit on the edge of the bed, where, after making love, we shall tell each other the dreams we sometimes have at night. Ichattered away like asewing machine too: Ifelt good. For an eternity. It didn't matter that we couldn't spend awhole night together. Iwould have been jolted awake. On such anight your heart may have beaten feebly. Iwould have been scared to death. You would have despaired of me if you had woken up. Itried to pray it wouldn't end, that you wouldn't leave me. Itried to imagine God, his voice coming from all directions. Not to feel any sin. It can't be asin to have an ardent heart, it's warmth after winter, no one can blame me, punish me... Iwas often sick. Iused to breath quickly. Iavoided shops with expensive underwear. Fine stockings! I couldn't afford them. So what! Ihad at least food and aroof over my head. Not like those despairing wretches in the street who stretch out their grubby hands. Throw themselves on their knees. Cardboard boxes are their quilts! The world doesn't care adamn about them. Iused to shrug my shoulders: my coat is threadbare, too... I've got wailing children, afather waiting for me in his own excrement... Even so... – Ifelt the wind on my skin. Perfumes, the smell of coffee, nicotine on the fingers of my lover, nearness, distance, acocktail of madness from running here and there...
(The right side of the stage lights up.)
She 1: Acocktail of madness, acocktail of madness...
She 2: Atrader in children. Always wore along dirty coat. It stank of fish and musty wine. He shoved me into ashack. Onto abamboo mat. there were five other girls there! Unwashed, with tangled hair, like me. They fought over my bracelets and rings. Like hungry animals. We were shut up for days on end. Stinker fed us on abowl of rice and dried fish. We drank disgusting, weak tea. In the evening he would pick out one of the girls. I'll teach you the art of gratifying aman. He opened his coat in front of me, too. His penis was sticking out. Iburst into tears. Ihid my face in my hair. Pressed it to my eyes, so I couldn't see. Stinker hissed: don't be heartless! You'll be my favourite. I'll sell you well. Not to aborthel or as aservant, but as asecond concubine, he laughed, drunk on rice spirits.
Translated by Heather Trebatická
