the return of frederick goodge: friday 27 January @ Etcetera Theatre Camden ...

The Descent of a man

A new play by Frederick Goodge

Dramatis Personae

Thomas Macavity

Vivien Monroe

Scene 1. Thomas Macavity is a man on the edge and also the window ledge of the 30th floor of a very tall building that looks a bit like a vegetable.  Enter Vivien Monroe, a woman. She is a wily creature, a temptress and a pretty good waitress too. You should see her tips. For years now, she and Thomas have been having an on and off, up and down, in and out, tempestuous, torrid and tawdry love affair. Thomas turns around and sees Vivien.

Thomas: I'm on the window ledge of the 30th floor of a very tall building and I'm about to jump.

Vivien:     Don’t do it.

Thomas: Why not?

Vivien:     Life’s too short.

Thomas: That doesn’t make any sense.

Thomas jumps off the window ledge and plummets to his death.

Scene 2. Vivien is at home, inconsolable, literally beside herself with grief. She is listening to “Where do you go to, my lovely” by Peter Sarstedt on repeat. Eventually she falls asleep. 

Blackout.  The end.

Now that I am older

I used to have this fantasy that I would bump into the girl of my dreams in a branch of Millets and we’d be there fighting over the last tent left but in the end we’d decide to share the tent and spontaneously elope to France together and live happily ever after. But now I’m now less romantic and more realistic, you can buy tents on line, not just from Millets and I never want to live in a country where it’s illegal to name a pig Napoleon. Just in case.