Don't Look Twice. (1) DON’T LOOK TWICE IT’S ALL RIGHT. A PLAY BY T. J. COLLETT. CHARACTERS: MONTY: 33 YEARS OLD. WINNIE: 6O YEAR OLD. JOE: 63 YEARS OLD. ADA: 29YEARS OLD. BEN: 31 YEARS OLD. LOCATION: HOUSE IN SOUTH LONDON. TIME:1976. All furniture is representative. Table and chairs represents the dinning room. Sofa and two armchairs the living room. Bed a bedroom. Garden seat the garden. Act One. Scene one. Early morning. Table and four chairs set for breakfast. Door into kitchen upstage right. Door into passageway upstage left. Window lower stage right looking on to garden. Edge of stage has a window looking out on to the street. Those on the stage only see the window. Monty is wearing a faded white shirt and black trousers. And is standing looking out of the window on the edge of the stage. Behind him Ben, his brother wearing a blue shirt and trousers is looking over his shoulder. Monty: Who’s she? Ben: That’s Rita from next door. Monty: Rita who? Ben: Ryan. Rita Ryan. Monty: What happened to the Cassidy crowd? Ben: They moved out. Monty: What they move out for? Ben: Well the kids grew up and the old girl went a bit funny in the head, so old man Cassidy moved out. Monty: So who’s this Ryan lot? Ben: Been here for a few years, now. Irish family. Monty: She looks all right. Ben: Yeah, she’s all right. Got a bit of a mouth on her. Nice looker though. Monty: That’s what counts. How they look is what counts. (Pause.) Ben: You staying long? Monty: Don’t know yet. Depends. Ben: Mum’ll ask questions. Monty: She usually does, so what’s new? Ben: Well questions need answers. You got any? Monty: Not the sort that she’ll like. But I’ll spin her some tale. She’ll swallow it as she always does. Ben: Dad’s not so easy to kid. He’ll ask questions too. Monty: He’ll be all right. He’s a man of the world. He’ll grasp the situation. Ben: You haven’t seen them recently. They’re not as gullible as they once were. Monty: What do you want me to do, tell them all the facts? Ben: No. Just be careful. They’re a bit fragile these days. Monty: Fragile? You make them sound like bits of posh pottery. Ben: Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying. (Pause.)I told you I’d got married, didn’t I? Monty: Yeah, you did mention it. Ada wasn’t it. Ada someone or other? Ben: Yeah. We’ve been hitched seven months now. Monty: Any kids? (Smiles.)Or didn’t you have to marry her? Ben: No. I didn’t have to marry her. And no, there are no kids. Least not yet. Monty: The patter of little feet still to come, then? Ben: Yeah. (Moves away from the window, walks to the table, and sits down. Monty remains looking out of the window.)You not found any woman yet, then? Monty: I’ve had a few over the years, but none I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t like baggage. Ben: So why you here, then? Monty :( Looks around briefly and looks at Ben, but turns away again.)A visit. A visit that’s all. Ben: You never make just a visit. There’s always something behind your visits. Monty: Can’t a bloke visit his family without there being an ulterior motive? Ben: Not with you there can’t. You always have an ulterior motive. Monty: You’re too suspicious you are. You need to relax. Trust people more. Ben :( Laughs.)Trust people? Now there’s a laugh. Trusting people leads to being mislead. I don’t want to be misled. I hate being misled. Monty: I’m here to visit. Nothing more than that. Just see Mum and Dad and have a laugh. Ben: What’s to laugh about? You go off suddenly and we have the bloody law round here and you say you’re just here for a visit. And for years, we heard nothing. Then you turn up for a visit. Monty: Don’t you want me here? (Turns and looks at Ben.) Ben: Not if it means trouble. Monty: What trouble? Ben: Any trouble. Monty: There isn’t any trouble. :( Walks upstage to the table and sits in one of the chairs.)No trouble at all. Ben: Mum and Dad don’t need trouble. They’re not up to it. Monty: There’s no trouble. I’m a law-abiding citizen these days. I have my own business. My own car. Ben: Where’s your car, then? Monty: You don’t think I’d park it round here do you? Ben: Where is it, then? Monty: I parked it somewhere it’ll be safe and in one piece when I go back to it. Ben: How do I know you’re not just spinning me a lie? Monty: Why should I? I’m as straight as a lamppost these days. (Pause.)So where’s this Ada? Ben: You missed her. She’s gone to the shop. Monty: Busy bee is she? Got her trained right? Ben: She’s good. She’s got her head screwed on right. Monty: Is she a looker? Ben: I think she is. Monty: I look forward to seeing her. Ben: That’s all you’re going to do. None of your nonsense. Monty: Oh, come on, bro, I’ve never made a pass at any of your women. You know that, so why say that? Ben: I’m married to this one. (Pause.)You have a way with women. I don’t want you and Ada to get off on the wrong foot. Monty: Oh, bro, that’s silly. I’ve come to visit not to get off with any women or bring trouble with me. Ben: That’s all right, then. Monty: Where’s Mum? She’s usually up by now? Ben: Ada gets the breakfast nowadays. Mum doesn’t get up so early. Monty: God, you have got this Ada trained well. Ben: She does it of her own accord; I didn’t train her at all. Monty: Likes to do things does she? Ben: Yeah. She’s on the ball. Got her head on the right way. Monty: What does Dad make of her? Ben: They get on all right. Monty: Still likes it own way though, I bet. Ben: They get on all right. Monty: So you’re all one big happy family, then? Ben: You could say that. (Pause. Monty gets up, goes to the window on the left, and looks out.)She does the garden as well. Gives Dad a break. Monty: She must be privileged. Dad wouldn’t let us out there. Ben: Can you blame him? We wouldn’t know a flower from a turnip. Monty: He could have shown us. Ben: You weren’t interested in the bloody garden. You were more interested in other things than the garden. Monty: I could have got green fingers if he’d shown me. Ben: Instead you got light fingers and into trouble. Monty: Well there you are. I could have been saved all that if he’d shown me what a flower was and what a turnip looked like. Ben: That’s a laugh that is. You with green fingers? Monty: I did gardening in prison. Ben: They don’t need to know that. Monty: I wasn’t going to tell them. (Pause. Door opens from passageway. Ada enters carrying a shopping bag. She is wearing a green top and blue jeans. She stops and looks at the two men.)Hello. You must be Ada. Ada: Who’s this, Ben? Ben: This is my big brother, Monty. Ada: Monty? Your mum didn’t mention him. Ben: She forgets names. Monty: I’ve just come for a visit. Ada: Dad didn’t say about him either. He forget too? Ben: They haven’t seen him for some time. Ada: So, you’ve come for a visit? Monty: Yeah, thought I’d pop in while I was in the area. Ada: Very considerate of you. Ben: Monty’s been abroad. Ada: Very nice. Monty: Been in Spain. Ada: What part? Monty: All over. Ada: Where in particular? Ben: He travels all the time. His business. Ada: You must be a busy man? Monty: I am. You have to be in business. Have to be on the ball. Ada: I suppose you do. (Walks to the kitchen and disappears.) Monty: Quite friendly isn’t she? What’s up with her? (Walks to the table and sits down.) Ben: She’s wary that’s all. She likes to know what’s what. Monty: Doesn’t always pay to be too nosey. Ben: She’s all right. Don’t need you getting all unfriendly because she’s careful and wary. She’s all right. Monty: So you say. How do I know she’s not some copper’s nark? Ben: Don’t be bloody stupid she’s married to me. Monty: What do you know about her? Ben: All I need to know. Monty: I need to know more. Ben: Why? Monty: I’d feel easier. Ben: Then ask her. (Pause. Ada comes out of the kitchen and walks downstage to the table.)Shop busy? Ada: The usual crowd. (Looks at Monty.)Are you here for breakfast? Monty: Yeah, if that’s all right. Ada: How long are you staying for? Monty: I don’t know. Ada: Are you staying a day or longer? Monty: Depends. Ada: On what? Monty: On what Mum and Dad say. Ada: What do you expect them to say? Monty: I don’t know until I see them. (Ada looks at Ben and then at Monty.)I’ve not seen them for some time. Ada: I’ll get breakfast. Mum and Dad will be down presently. (Ada goes upstage to the kitchen and disappears again.) Ben: Unwind with her will you. Monty: She unnerves me. I don’t like women who unnerve me. Ben: She’s my bloody wife not some whore off the streets. Have some respect. Monty: Back off, bro. (Pause.)She’s not bad looking. Ben: Would I choose an ugly woman? Monty: No, you always had taste with women. But she makes me feel uneasy. What’s she got so uptight about? Ben: It’s the way she is. Monty: I don’t like it. She needs to back off. Ben: You tell her that. She’s only in the kitchen. She’ll listen. She always listens. Monty: She needs to listen. (Pause. Gets up again and goes to the window on the edge of the stage.)Thing have changed round here. Ben: Yeah. Things are always changing. Our school’s been knocked down. Got shops there now. Monty: Should have been bombed during the War. Ben: Dad went to that school. He said it needed knocking down. Monty: What happened to the Ruskins family? Ben: Who in particular? Monty: Sheila Ruskin. What happened to her? Ben: Married some bloke from the Old Kent Road. They moved to Australia. The rest of the family moved away some years ago. Monty: I liked Sheila. Ben: You left her with a broken heart. Not a bloody word. Just up and off. Monty: I had to get out quickly. Ben: She’s better off without you. Monty: Probably. (Smiles.)She could give a bloke a good time. Ben: Well, that was then. Time moves on. Monty: She would have held me back. Ben: From where? Monty: Going places. Ben: You’ve been to prison. Monty: Since then I’ve been places and done things. Ben: That’s ok then. Good on you. (Pause.)Are you looking for someone? Monty: I like looking out of windows. I like to see the world moving. Ben: That’s ok, then. That’s ok. (Pause. Silence. Light fades.) End of Scene One. Act One. Scene Two. After breakfast. Winnie, Joe, Ben and Monty are sitting around the table. The table is cleared of the breakfast things apart from mugs and a teapot. Joe: So what brought you back here? Monty: I told you, to see you all again. Winnie: We haven’t seen you in years. Didn’t know where you were. Monty: Been busy. Got my own business now, Keeps me on my feet and out of mischief. Joe: What sort of business? Monty: You know, a little bit of this and that. Winnie: Where do you live, then? Joe: What do you mean, a little bit of this and that? Is it legit? Monty: I’m in Spain most of the time. And yes, Dad, it’s legit. The real thing this time. No messing about. Winnie: What do you want to live in Spain for? Ben: He likes the sun, Mum, that’s what it is. You know what he’s like. He must have the sun. Joe: Leopards don’t change. What’s in it for you? Monty: Profit, Dad, pure and simple. Just a good business and no messing. Ben: He’s in a sort of retail business. Joe: What sort of retail? Monty: All kinds. I’ve got contacts and good dealing partners. Winnie: Is it hot out in Spain, then, where you are? Ben: He lives all over Spain, Mum. Has houses here and there. Joe: How do you know so much? You’ve not seen him until this morning, unless you’ve been holding back on us. Ben: He told me this morning when you were in bed. Of course I haven’t been holding things from you. You know me, Dad, I’d never hold out on you. Winnie: No, course he wouldn’t, Joe, he’s always been honest with us. Monty: Life’s been good to me in recent years. I’ve not looked back since I’ve been in Spain. Joe: Forget us did you? Not a postcard. Monty: Been busy. Anyway, I’m here now. Winnie: How long you staying, then, Monty?
Copyright © 2005 Terry Collett |