Catastrophe Practice (25 page)

The Moor is holding Anderson's rods like a fishing rod. He leaves his stove and comes with the rods to the front edge of the first floor where they wave out over the audience. It is as if he cannot see through the steam: he is about to fall over
.

An elderly woman, Florence, comes on at the front of the stage, left. It is as if she were a stage-manager. She looks up. She calls
—

The Moor swings round, with his rods, until he is pointing them towards the bend in the flue-pipe where there is the hole through to Dionysus' room
.

Florence calls
—

Now! The Moor has managed to get the point of his rods through the hole in the bend of his flue-pipe
.

Dionysus has his back to the exit of the flue-pipe in the next room. He is staring up at the boarded-up skylight, top right, as if he were seeing a vision there
.

The Moor lunges forward. The point of his rods
goes through the wall of the central partition and seems to go through the body of Dionysus. Steam drifts through the hole into Dionysus' room. The roaring and shaking begin to fade. Siva's amplified voice can be heard more quietly
—

In the room on the left, the Moor seems to be overcome by fumes. He sinks down on to his knees, facing the stove. His rods remain through the wall
.

Dionysus, as if transfixed, stares up at the grille at the top of the wall opposite
.

Anderson has sat up on the bed. He dabs at his eye
.

The roaring and shaking cease. Everything becomes still
.

Siva's voice can be heard faintly but clearly
—

Let it have three.

The figure of Siva, a young girl, has appeared at the front of the stage in front of the bottom of the disused ventilation shaft, right. She can be seen putting a microphone down in the wings. She wears mountaineering clothes, and carries climbing equipment. She looks up towards the boarded-up grille into Dionysus' room at the top of the shaft
.

Florence remains at the front of the stage, left. She watches Siva
.

Hortense gets off Anderson's stove
.

She comes to the front of the structure and looks down at her nest
.

Hortense looks to the front of the stage, left. It is as if she both does and does not see Florence
.

Anderson sits up and blinks. It is as if he can now see with both eyes
.

Siva has stepped inside the structure, at the bottom of the ventilation shaft, right She seems to begin, quietly, to prepare her climbing equipment
.

Upstairs, Dionysus, as if impaled on the rods, has begun to droop
.

Hortense is looking out of the front of the structure towards the left, as if to see where Siva's voice has been coming from. But Siva is out of sight within the ventilation shaft
.

Hortense looks at the audience
.

Then she goes and switches on the light above the table
.

There is a small explosion in Dionysus' room above. The explosion seems to blow open the boarded-up grille, or skylight, at the top of the wall, right, at which Dionysus has been staring. Hortense looks down at the table
.

She looks up. She seems to quote
—

— Huts. Watchtowers —

Hortense stares at the audience
.

Hortense stamps on the ground. She seems to be testing whether the structure is secure. Then she seems to try another quotation
—

Hortense moves towards the right
.

She stamps on the ground
.

Anderson gets off the bed. He goes to the area of junk, right, and puts on overalls. Then he puts his hand up to the ceiling
.

Anderson comes to the front of the stage and looks at Florence, still standing front left. Florence goes off in the wings and reappears dragging a table, which she sets up in the space between the front of the structure and the footlights, left. Then she goes off again and reappears carrying a vase of flowers and a chair. She sets the vase on the table. She puts the chair behind the table. Then she sits, facing right
.

Anderson goes and joins Hortense at the front of
the stage. They look down at the nest at the front of the structure
.

They listen
.

Siva, at the bottom of the ventilation shaft, right, having prepared her equipment, now begins to climb up the shaft
.

Siva climbs as if the shaft were a ‘chimney' — with her legs straddled to either side
.

Siva gets half way up the shaft. She rests
.

Hortense speaks looking at Florence
.

Anderson speaks looking at Florence
—

Florence speaks looking down at the table
.

Siva has moved on up the shaft. She gets her fingers on the edge of the blown-out grille into Dionysus' room. She rests
.

Hortense speaks looking at Florence
.

They wait
.

Anderson faces the audience
.

He waits
.

Then he stamps on the ground
.

Siva, in the ventilation shaft, has climbed on
till she can see
through the grille into Dionysus'
room
.

Hortense is moving round Anderson's room looking closely at the walls, etc., as if she is trying to find something there
.

Anderson faces the audience. He seems to quote
—

Hortense stops; looking at Florence
.

Siva has managed to raise herself so that her head and shoulders are through into Dionysus' room. She is thus visible to all the audience
.

Anderson calls, imitating a young girl's voice
—

Florence speaks in a matter-of-fact voice
.

Hortense looks up as if to try to see Siva. She seems to try out
—

Florence speaks with her eyes closed
.

Siva, with her head and shoulders through the grille into Dionysus' room, seems to be considering how to get down
.

Siva, with her head and shoulders through the
grille, watches Dionysus who is against the opposite wall
.

Dionysus is staring at her as if he were seeing a vision
.

Hortense and Anderson face the audience
.

Florence seems to doze
.

After a time
—

Siva, in the opening of the grille, top right, is rearranging her mountaineering equipment She drops a rope down into Dionysus' room. She fastens a rope round herself. She prepares to lower herself down into Dionysus' room
.

Hortense is looking at the audience
.

As Siva begins to lower herself into Dionysus' room, Anderson says as if to Florence
—

As Siva lowers herself there is lowered from the flies, centre, in front of the structure, a dummy body like that of Siva's, on a rope. A hook passes through the body The body is dressed in the same clothes as Siva. It is lowered at the same rate as Siva lowers herself into the room: it pauses when she pauses. When Siva reaches the floor of Dionysus' room the dummy stops at the same level and dangles there, like a bait. Dionysus watches the real Siva
.