THE ABANDONMENT OF POETRY: LEIPZIG
Scene1: Tracks ( There are two dialogues in scene 1. This, the
first, takes place in the beginning and ends at approximately 00:00:55 or
when the wind quiets. ) The voices in this part are refuges both past and
present.
A Those flowers …
A As Before!
D The same wind …
D The same train
M In My fatherʼs time …
D They were taken …
D Never seen again …
M Not today?
A Who can say ..
A Keep on the move …
M It seems deserted …
D A Wild wind …
M A place to hide…
A We should go!
D Always time …
M Where we were!
M How it was …
D My father saw…
D Man in Chains !
A It will be:
A A Journey …
A A Passage …
A Now and then
A The walls are solid …
M The path is worn.
M Much used …
D Some want to return.
A Let them go …
D Some will …
M Footsteps …
A Donʼt Budge …
A Stand Here!
Scene 1, part 2: The First Gate ( Begins at about 00:01: 17 or
when the building on the right side first appears )
D Over there … a gate out?
M A Gate In?
D Not That … We were there before … There was a man …
M Such a man …
D Not wanted … Donʼt come back …
A Itʼs green on the other side.
D Donʼt come back
M Times are different …
A The old ones remember …
A The young are restless …
A Night is coming …
A Where are the others?
D Taking refuge …
M Along the tracks …
D Shall I make the first move?
A Itʼs green and fertile and very quiet …
M Iʼm scared …
D So are the old ones …
A It is not normal …
A To be this way …
M From out of the wilderness …
D Have faith …
M So many prophets …
A The young ones want a story …
D Rest here I will find a way.
M Along the tracks …
D Take Shelter …
Scene 2 is without dialogue.
Scene 3: Hiding … Doors and Broken Windows ( Begins at 00:
07:32 or when)
A Follow the path
D Someone is coming.
M Out of the darkness
D Take the stairs
A The ladder
M Can you see something …
A Only Shadows
D Footsteps
M Closer
A Almost there …
D Going up …
M Did you see it?
A Maybe a little dust.
D What time is it?
A Time to go
M Hide for the day
D For the night …
A Damm it …
D Donʼt push …
A Follow me.
M What do you see?
A Nothing.
D Come look for yourself.
A Nothing.
D What do we do.
A Keep going …
M It looks the same .
A Move on.
D Which way …
M Itʼs deserted …
D Many doors …
M Locked …
D Someone was here …
A Deserted …
D Better for us …
M If only …
A Itʼs late …
D Itʼs empty
A Itʼs peaceful
M I want to go back
D Many have …
M Should we go up …
D Some have already …
A There is a report …
D Something seen …
A News in bits and pieces …
D Nothing essential …
M That noise again …
A Thunder …
D Volcanic Rumblings
M Flashes of light …
A I see nothing …
D Hear nothing
A It takes time …
A Gather together …
M Itʼs an ending!
D A Beginning …
M It was foretold …
D Gather the Lambs …
M They have scattered …
A Remember this day …
D This hour …
A We were chosen …
D Delivered …
M Besieged …
A Brought Back …
D Blessed are the old ones
M Blessed the ones in hiding
A Blessed the brave …
D The slow
M The shy
A The babies
A The ones who went first!
Scene 4: Church
Start at 00:09: or at the iron gate
A We seek silence.
A Generations will pass..
A All is forgotten
A Re Made
A Memories dimmed
A Let the children play.
Start at 00:10:55 or when the white chairs appear
D Give us rest.
D Respect.
D God will it.
D Let it be green!
D A fresh wind.
D Clear sky
M There is more:
M Time …
M More to do!
M Things to say …
M To make.
A In silence!
Scene 5: Trams I have inserted some pauses to indicate how I
will distribute the dialogue.
A Was it a Dream?
D We are free!
M Under a blue sky!
A More or less …
D The same flowers!
M Hours …
A Days, Months …
D Years!
M Here again.
A Like we never left …
D Itʼs all about time!
M More to come.
A Sights seen and unseen …
D Busy streets
M Lovely Isnʼt it.
A Some died for it …
D Memories …
M An enveloping mist …
A As it must be …
D What was it about?
M Not clear at all …
A The wrong place …
D The wrong time …
M The last stop!
A Passed?
D The train never stops ..
M The young ones …
A Carry on …
D Carry candles …
M Look to the stars
A How will it be:
D Along the tracks
M The roads
A Through the gardens?
D Dreams!
M Just dreams!
A Close your eyes.
Epilogue These will be recorded separately and will be used in
the silent areas between scenes.
Amy and Matthew
Our home has light … not as you know it … it is different for us
Our light penetrates the walls … it finds us wherever we are
We have a developed awareness of light
Donʼt worry …
We donʼt steal
We share
We return what we take a hundredfold.
We are building cities everywhere … We start in the cellars … In attics … we work
all night, all day. You must have seen us, we remind you of yourselves. Take us
in: together we are the future. We are at the Crossroad(s) …
Readings:
Dermot
Some cities are empty, the past is contained in the sounds they make: Wind
rushing through the barren streets, hushed whispers at night as the souls of the
dead relive their lives, mingling freely with other lives, other pasts. Here, in this
odd present, only history is discussed in an attempt to understand a misty future;
to enhance or prepare for a resurrection of the flesh: a fading hope. The dead
discuss time in eternity along the Via Imperia. ( Along the High Street )I
Matthew
In some cities memories are sacred and stored like food or weapons. Every
detail of the past is catalogued. The citizens are trained from birth to remember
details and become specialized as they mature. Remembrance is an industry …
as an incentive the city is full of parks and cafés … places to read and study. It is
quiet. Silence nurtures memory. Still, errors are made.
Amy
There was a place I visited once where the inhabitants were always busy: always
engaged, planning, building a future. There was a system that involved them
from morning to night. They were told that death was impossible … the system
forbade it. Everyone believed they were happy … they smiled at each other as
they went about the business of the system: Equalité, Fraternité, Liberté. Maybe
they were right?
Matthew
In our time cities have a life above ground and a different life below ground.
Below ground itsʼ citizens are happy and free while their upper level counterparts
above overwork and worry about the future. Very few of the above ground
citizens make the transfer to life below; it is not that they are prohibited, just that
they donʼt find the time. They are practical people.