retelling of teenage memories. Empty cans of lager and bottles of strange spirits – weird things like chocolate liqueur and Babycham.2 Anything goes at this time of the morning. The voices in the room are talking over each other, singing along to the power ballads,
laughing. Danny looks sick, like the other two have looked, confused, but he’s smiling and nodding along. Cutting up a line for himself.
The sound swells to uncomfortably loud, maybe some white noise, and then cuts out. These three, as well as being the characters, are also the Chorus . When they are speaking the Chorus lines, they are all and none of the characters. Any of them can speak any of the Chorus lines. They should speak to the audience. They shouldn’t be afraid of smiling at the audience, or looking at them dead in the eye. They should speak in their own accents, and be aware of the meter beneath the words, in the way that you are aware of a beat when you dance to a song. These are not the characters yet (even though they are) they are also everyone that’s ever felt how the characters feel.
Chorus One
One If we’re being honest with you,
Three Actually honest, not just apparently honest.
One Then we have to tell you, we don’t have a clue what any of you are doing here.
Two We’re not really sure what any of us are doing here.
Three Thing is,
Two We wish we had some kind of incredible truth to express.
One We wish we knew the deeper meaning.
Three But we don’t.
Two We don’t have nothing to tell you that you don’t already know, and we thought it was worth acknowledging that.
Three Fuck it, while we’re speaking plainly, let’s get it all out in the open.
One We’re not used to this kind of environment.
Two We’re the people that feel awkward in theatres,
One The people that don’t laugh at the bits where everyone else laughs.
Two The people that never know what to say afterwards when everyone else is expressing their opinions.
Three We don’t want to stand here in front of you and pretend we can’t see you.
One We can see you.
Three You look lovely. And we’re glad you’re here.
One We are.
Two We don’t want to show you something impressive that makes you feel clever.
One No.
Three We just want to show you something honest,
One Something ours.
Two And we’ll be happy if it makes you feel anything at all.
One No big deal, but
Three At the same time,
One Everything we ever knew.
Two What this is, is home.
One Deserted playgrounds, tramps singing on the street, bleeding gums outside the pub, takeaways and car exhausts and bodies till you can’t see bodies.
Three Working shit jobs
Two And trying to care about things you don’t care about
Three And saving up to buy things you hate yourself for wanting.