Catastrophe Practice (7 page)

They wait: they seem discouraged
.

After a time —

Ackerman leaves the loggia and goes to Judith and rumples her hair
.

Judith jerks her head away
.

Ackerman goes to the wings, left, and looks out. Judith sits up and arranges her skirt
.

Jason turns from the footlights and watches Judith
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Judith speaks formally —

Judith lies back and closes her eyes. Ackerman comes to the front of the stage and looks as if at the screen above the footlights
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Ackerman puts a hand out over the footlights. Behind him, Judith jerks her head away
.

Ackerman looks towards the wings, right. After a time Jason goes and sits on the steps of the loggia. He faces left across the stage. He acts like a story-teller: or as if he were embarking on another experiment
.

He waits
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He and Ackerman stare at the audience as if waiting for a reaction
.

Jason continues —

We took a child, in its pram, to the airport — Ackerman seems to be watching dials above the footlights.

They'd been watching for people like us — Ackerman turns to Judith, who is lying back with
her eyes closed.

There were aeroplanes flying —

Ackerman puts a hand out, tentatively, towards Judith: then he turns and looks at the audience
.

In each, there was a connection between the pilot and the ground —

Ackerman takes his hand away
.

Helena appears on the balcony above Jason's head
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Jason continues to watch Ackerman
.

We put the child, in its pram, by the control tower —

Helena is wearing her clothes from the last act. She gazes out across the stage theatrically. She appears to be somewhat drunk
.

Judith speaks with her eyes closed
.

Ackerman turns and looks at Helena. He speaks as if he is amused
.

After a time Jason seems to carry on with his experiment
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Jason seems to give up. He leaves the loggia steps. He goes to the balustrade at the back and looks over
.

Judith speaks with her eyes closed
.

Helena puts a leg over the balcony as if she is about to climb over
.

Ackerman speaks to Jason —

Judith speaks as if answering Ackerman
.

Helena, as if drunk, seems about to fall over the balcony
.

Ackerman goes and stands underneath her and puts his hands up as if to help her on to his shoulders
.

Judith sits up and arranges her skirt She speaks again formally
.

Helena gets a foot down on to Ackerman's shoulder
.

Show it a circle, give it food: show it an oval, give it —

Jason looks down at the wire which trails over the balustrade. He seems to be considering whether or not to touch it
.

He puts his hand on the wire
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Helena gets both legs down over Ackerman's shoulders
.

Ackerman and Helena move off round the stage with her on his shoulders like elderly acrobats
.

Judith lies back with her eyes closed. She acts —

Jason pulls the wire up and coils it. Then he comes to the front of the stage carrying the wire. One end remains fastened to the crack in the rocks. He looks down over the footlights
.

Helena, on Ackerman's shoulders, looks up to the back of the auditorium. She speaks in a young girl's voice
.

Ackerman moves with Helena to the balustrade by the wings, back left. He seems to be trying to set her down there
.

Jason seems to get an electric shock from the wire that he is holding. He drops it down over the footlights. Then he looks out over the audience
.

Ariel comes on from the wings, back left. He wears a duffle coat. He seems to have stopped acting. He goes to Ackerman and seems to have a conversation with him
.

Helena is still on Ackerman's shoulders. She is trying to get down. After a time, Ariel helps her
down on to the balustrade
.

Judith calls —

Ackerman stops talking to Ariel. He turns to Judith
.

Jason squats by the footlights
.

Helena enunciates carefully, as if relaying what Ariel has been saying —

Jason takes hold of the wire over the footlights and pulls at it gently, as if it were a fishing line
.

Helena enunciates carefully —

She climbs down from the balustrade
.

Jason lets go of the wire. He stands. He looks amongst the audience
.

They wait
.

Ariel goes out at the wings, back left
.

Ackerman remains at the back as if he is off-stage, watching
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Jason turns to her
.

Jenny comes on from in front of the loggia, right. She wears a T-shirt and jeans
.

She comes to the front of the stage and begins undressing
.

When she is in her underclothes she looks at the audience. The others have paid no attention to her. She goes and stands by Jason
.

Where do they come from?

They wait
.

Jenny doubles up, holding her middle. Jason squats down by the footlights with his back to the audience, facing the stage. It is as if he were about to lower himself down by the wire over the footlights
.

Jason is watching Judith
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Judith gets up off the chair and goes and stands by Ackerman. She faces Jason
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They wait
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They wait
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