Out of the Wings

Agonía (1995), Luis Miguel González Cruz

Agony : ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 1 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 2 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 3

Agony, translated by Gwynneth Dowling

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 1

Context:

Manuel meets his uncle, the Mayor, in the dance hall that will shortly be hosting the village Passion play. Manuel is not interested in the village, or the forthcoming play.

Sample text

MANUEL:: What do you want from me? Why didn’t you come to the funeral?; The MAYOR fills a glass and hands it to his nephew.
MAYOR:: Try this brandy. It’s not the weed killer Pepe sells.
MANUEL:: Spit it out.; The MAYOR comes out from behind the bar with a glass in his hand and goes towards the centre of the stage to a table and chairs. He sits down, with difficulty.
MAYOR:: You’ve probably already heard … this Holy Week … we’re going to revive the village tradition. A village tradition.
MANUEL:: What tradition?
MAYOR: (Under his breath.): The Passion.
MANUEL:: What Passion?
MAYOR:: Christ’s, of course! What else would it be? It’s an old tradition. From a long way back. Ask old Seso about it, you’ll see it’s true. A play: The Passion. They used to do it here, I’m sure your parents told you about it.
MANUEL:: No.
MAYOR:: It doesn’t matter. We’ll put new life into this village. People will come from afar to see it. No one will ever want to leave.
MANUEL:: Well, you’re the Mayor.
MAYOR:: Tradition comes first, then the rest.
MANUEL:: You’re the shepherd, watch over your flock.
MAYOR:: You’re one of us, a village son. You’ve a part to play.
MANUEL:: What part?
MAYOR:: A part in the play.
MANUEL:: Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not going to dress up as a scarecrow among the peasants around here.
MAYOR:: You must be our Christ.
MANUEL:: Don’t make me laugh.
MAYOR:: There’s nothing funny about it.
MANUEL:: Why can’t someone else do it?
MAYOR:: Why can’t you do it?; MANUEL smiles and sits down, facing his uncle.
MANUEL:: I won’t be Jesus Christ. I won’t be anything in this play. You’ll make a laughing stock of yourselves. It’ll be obvious that it’s make-believe, that you made it up. You’re not going to fool anyone.
MAYOR:: We don’t want to fool anyone.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Agony by Gwynneth Dowling is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 2

Context:

The Mayor is overseeing rehearsals. Lovely Agustina distracts everyone with her eye-catching dress.

Sample text

PIPORRO:: Palomo. Look. It’s Agustina.; PALOMO turns his head to look at the young girl who is standing on a table. His eyes widen. Neither of the two men take their eyes off her because, every now and then, the MOTHER – as she fixes AGUSTINA’s dress – lifts up the hem a little higher than she ought to. Suddenly, a voice from the stage distracts the attention of all those watching.
MANUELA:: She doesn’t need to be in costume. It’s just a rehearsal.
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: Leave her. This way she’ll get used to wearing it.; AGUSTINA’S MOTHER puts the final touches to her handiwork. She steps back from the table to assess what she has done, not taking her eyes off her daughter.
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: Let’s see, give us a twirl.; Her daughter obeys, showing off like a model on top of the table. PALOMO and PIPORRO crane their necks, not wanting to miss any of the show.
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: Isn’t she beautiful!
MANUELA:: You can say that again.; Everyone on the stage has stopped what they were doing. Even the MAYOR, who stands open-mouthed in contemplation of the wonder.
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: It’s a beautiful dress, don’t you think Manuela?
MANUELA:: You can say that again!
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: And it suits her so well!; The MAYOR takes a step forward and approaches the table, thoroughly scrutinising the dress and its model.
MAYOR:: Can someone tell me what’s going on here?
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: This is my daughter, Mr Mayor. Agustina.
MAYOR:: I know it’s Agustina. I’m talking about what’s on Agustina.
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: What do you think it is? It’s her dress … her new dress. For the play.
MAYOR:: And would you mind telling me what part Agustina’s playing?
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: Of course I don’t mind. You cast her yourself. She’s a shepherdess. A country girl.
MAYOR:: And does this look like the kind of thing a shepherdess would wear?
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: Sir, it’s a dress for the fair. The fair’s on Holy Thursday.
MAYOR:: It is indeed, but we’ll not be going to any fairs. We’re coming here to put on a play, not a debutante ball. Do you understand? This is a play and we must make it realistic. What would you think if you went to see a Western and there was a girl wearing a bikini?
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: But a play isn’t a film.
MAYOR:: It’s the same thing! No more discussion. Take that dress off her right now and put her in a tunic … rags. She’s supposed to be Jew. A Jewish shepherdess.
AGUSTINA’S MOTHER:: Absolutely not! My daughter’s a decent girl. She’s definitely no Jew.
MAYOR:: I know she’s not a Jew. But she is a shepherdess in Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem at the time of Christ everyone - except the Romans – were Jews.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Agony by Gwynneth Dowling is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 3

Context:

This is the end of the performance. The villagers’ Passion play has reached its climax, as Manuel is lifted to the cross. Somewhat reluctantly, Palomo pierces his side, supposedly performing the role of a Roman soldier. Manuel dies, although few villagers seem to care.

Sample text

The ROMANS raise the cross with MANUEL hanging from it. The JEWS renew their attack.
CHAPARRO:: Crown him. Hah.
CHIVO:: Ha-ha, just to crown it all. Crown him. King of the Jews.
JEWS:: Crown him, crown him.; As if abusing the referee at a football match.
JEWS:: Crown him! Crown him!; A voice comes over the speakers. Strident. Grave.
VOICE:: I am here, my son.; The JEWS go quiet. They exchange looks. They wonder. Gradually, the light dims. Only the Roman torches remain.
MANUEL:: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.; MANUEL pretends to die. The JEWS exchange looks. Wind, thunder claps. The JEWS start to whisper.; The black curtain behind the cross is torn in two, leaving the walls behind the stage visible.
GURRIATO:: Is he dead?
CHIVO:: He must be. He’s not saying anything.
CHAPARRO:: That doesn’t mean anything.; CHAPARRO approaches PALOMO and drags him to the foot of the cross.
CHAPARRO:: Check if he’s dead.
PALOMO:: If he’s not dead already, he’ll die soon.
CHIVO:: Kill him. Kill him now.
PALOMO:: Are you scared he’ll come back to life? Like his disciples say.
CHAPARRO:: Disciples? What disciples?
GURRIATO:: Of course we don’t think that.
CHIVO:: Kill him, kill him.
GURRIATO:: Go on, just like when you chase the cockerels.
PALOMO:: Truly, he is the King of the Jews. You’re all scared of him.
CHIVO:: Kill him. Kill him and shut up.; The JEWS shove PALOMO forward, who looks up at MANUEL. MANUEL also opens his eyes and watches, surprised.
PALOMO:: If you are the Son of God, save yourself.; PALOMO takes his stick and throws his weight behind it to plunge it into MANUEL’s side. MANUEL cries out, stricken. He writhes in agony, unable to speak, until he dies.; MARIA comes out from among the crowd and looks at MANUEL with his pierced side. In silence, the JEWS shuffle back from the foot of the cross.; PALOMO, open-mouthed, stands frozen before the cross and the corpse.; Old SESO stands among the few audience members that have come to see the show.
SESO:: We killed the father, and now we’ve killed the son.
MARIA:: You’ve killed him, you’ve killed him!
CHAPARRO:: Calm down.
MARIA:: You’re all murderers. You’ve killed him. (She starts to cry.) I knew it … I knew that something was going to happen. Murderers, murderers …
SESO:: It’s going to be a big funeral.; The villagers remove their costumes and leave the stage through the torn curtain. PIPORRO goes to PALOMO and gives him a pat on the back.
PIPORRO:: Good shot.
PALOMO:: I didn’t think I’d got him. And with no rehearsal, too.
PIPORRO:: You’re a natural!
PALOMO:: I think I’m going to throw up.
GURRIATO:: Pepe, close the curtain!; PEPE closes the curtain over the small stage, hiding it from the old people in the audience and SESO. They get up from their seats, but not because they can no longer see the stage.
OLD WOMAN 1:: Well I for one liked it. It’s a lovely story.
SESO:: A tragedy. It’s a tragedy!
OLD WOMAN 2:: And the buns? Have they eaten all the hot cross buns?; Curtain.

Copyright