Pomona: [A New Play] (Modern Plays)

by Alistair McDowall

the lines are split between the actors as the director sees

The actors enter the space with the audience, and remain on stage throughout.

There are no entrances or exits unless

Well that’s a job for the police, yeah? Pass another one. She does. Ollie I don’t – I think she went – They said I can trust you – Zeppo Who said this? Ollie The person – Zeppo The person? Ollie The person who told me about you – Zeppo They said you can trust me?

cannot trust police

Zeppo I own a lot of the city.

Yeah, they said – They said you owned the city.

You know what the most important ethos is for today’s turbulent times? Ollie I – What? Zeppo Selective education.

Selective education.

And if this was twenty years ago or whatever I’d have to go and like, find a guy to tell me how they make them. I’d have to make phone calls. Drive places. Ask around. Probably I wouldn’t bother, because I don’t care that much. Back then you only looked into things you actually cared about, cos it was effort. But now? I can find out in like three seconds. Ollie About the nuggers. Zeppo About the nuggers. I can just type that shit into my phone and I’ll know. Immediately.

want to eat these. So I don’t open that door. You know?

You gotta pick and choose what you give a shit about.

you’ll find all this stuff, the detritus of our lives, it’s all built on this foundation of pain and shit and suffering. It’s like it’s impossible to be a good person now. You can’t be a good person any more. There’s no such thing. There’s just people who are aware of the pain they’re causing, and people who aren’t aware.

the detritus of our lives, it’s all built on this foundation of pain and shit and suffering.

There’s just people who are aware of the pain they’re causing, and people who aren’t aware. That’s why I don’t

want you to pile it up and I want you to burn it, understand?

I want you to make a big pile of it in the street and burn it. All of it. And if you can do that in front of a, a, food bank, or a homeless shelter, or, or something

Because it’s my money

It’s all coming

violence

Yeah. Don’t go in that room. It stinks of cum. Ollie What?

My first week here some guy had a lump of chicken in his pubes.

But actually this is like week four and you’re the first person who’s ever come, so probably not actually.

absurd

I don’t think even all my clothes together add up to two hundred.

Yeah. I don’t really – It’s not really a physical job? It’s more just a standing-all-day job.

They’re actually sort of a metaphor for the universe’s apathy for us and the meaningless nature of life, but that’s not important for the game.

I have to beat you. Charlie No, it’s a cooperative game

Whether you succeed or not is decided by rolling dice, like in a normal game, ’cept these dice have a lot more sides, see?

if you set off walking eventually – you end up back where you were, – but you might not realise because all the shops look the same – big, strip-lit, colourful

round and round and round – looking for – an open shop without even realising they were doing

she broke my flow of looping and thinking – The others

It’s a very expensive-looking car. I imagine Tom Cruise would drive a car like that. Or Jesus. If Jesus lived today he might drive a car like that.

conflation shows celeb culture

You get paid a lot of money to stand here at this gate. You get paid a lot more money than a job like this should pay.

So why are you involved? Charlie I’m not involved, I just work

Is this a good place to work? Fay No. Moe It’s not. Fay Of course it’s not. Moe Why not? Fay Because I have to have sex with people for money.

feel very disconnected. Because I don’t touch people. I feel very, Uh, Disconnected.

The whole world hates women.

I don’t want to do this any more . . . I can’t do this job . . . I can’t pretend any more. I can’t just put my fingers in my ears – We’re not security guards. We’re not. I can’t make myself believe that any more

We were playing a game. With a story. And he didn’t get to the end.