Get a bucket!

But she doesn’t, instead she throws herself on him, her hands around his throat, choking him.

CHERRY: You did it deliberately!

DOUG: [hoarsely to HENRY who has just entered] Henry…

But HENRY rushes to the toilets.

ROY: [offstage] Buckets!

CHERRY: I’m going to kill you!

LEWIS: [offstage] A hose, I’ll get a hose!

ROY: [offstage] Quick!

CHERRY pays no attention to the fire but is intent on throttling DOUG.

CHERRY: I’m going to kill you for this!

SCENE THREE

The theatre. JUSTIN is looking at the toilets while LEWIS waits for him apprehensively. ZAC is at the piano. The others sit around watching LEWIS or, like ROY and HENRY, study their scripts. DOUG is pretending to study his script but is watching LEWIS carefully. JUSTIN enters from the toilets, grimfaced.

JUSTIN: Well, that’s it, then!

LEWIS is glum, CHERRY despondent, but ROY is elated.

ROY: We’ll get a new director then. Thank God!

JUSTIN: No, nothing. The experiment is over.

ROY is devastated, as are the others. JUSTIN takes LEWIS aside.

I don’t think you’re up to it. You understand what I am saying, Lewis? This experiment was to bring them out of their shells, not to allow them to wreak havoc. Now the position of a social worker in an asylum can be precarious. This does not look good for me or for you, does it?

LEWIS: I’m sorry.

JUSTIN: Sorry is such an easy word to say. You don’t want greater disasters, do you?

DOUG: [overhearing JUSTIN] It was an accident!

JUSTIN: Doug has a problem.

DOUG: My mother for starters.

LEWIS: It won’t happen again.

JUSTIN: All right, everyone back to their wards.

DOUG: [to everyone] Don’t blame me, blame my mother.

JUSTIN: Be careful, Doug, or you might see the inside of the closed ward again.

CHERRY: [loudly] It was me! It was me! Doug isn’t to be blamed. I dropped a ciggie down the toilet.

JUSTIN: You don’t smoke.

CHERRY: Yes, I do.

HENRY: [wanting to tell the truth] Nnnnooo, sheee—

ROY realises the delicacy of the situation.

ROY: [hitting HENRY] Shut up, Henry!

There is a silence. JUSTIN looks at everyone, suspecting that CHERRY is lying. He finally turns to LEWIS for the truth.

JUSTIN: Is that right?

DOUG: Yeah, they wanted to blame me.

JUSTIN: Is that right?

A silence, everyone looks to LEWIS.

LEWIS: That’s why she spends so much time in the toilets when she should be at rehearsal. It’s where she smokes.

CHERRY grins, LEWIS has come through.

CHERRY: I’ll try and give the ciggies up.

JUSTIN: I don’t know… but if it was an accident… all right, it can continue.

Everyone is pleased. JUSTIN takes LEWIS aside.

Just a mention about something else, Lewis. Something personal. You didn’t offer to marry Cherry, did you?

LEWIS: [shocked] No.

JUSTIN: Must be pulling my leg again. [A beat.] Gave you a bit of a fright—the fire…

LEWIS: Yes.

JUSTIN: Straight out of university and… well, this is probably the best education: doing theatre, working with such people. You couldn’t learn this at university. You know why, because it’s about people!