A Sketch by Jean-Pierre Martinez
One character is already there. Another arrives and begins to gaze at him, at first discreetly, then more openly.
One – Have we met before?
Two (extending his hand) – Anthony!
One – Anthony? But my name isn’t Anthony…
Two – Anthony! That’s my name! We did theatre together.
One – Theatre?
Two – Don’t you do theatre?
One – Well, I did… But that was a while back. And not for very long.
Two – In Brighton.
One – Yes…
Two – At the Theatre School of Brighton.
One – Yes, that’s it…
Two – We worked on a Shakespeare scene together. “Romeo and Juliet.“
One – Really?
Two – I played Juliet.
One – No way?
Two – The teacher was a bit eccentric…
One – Probably why I didn’t stick around. I don’t recall doing that scene.
Two – But you did!
One – Well, it must have made an impression on you.
Two – But you remember me, right?
One – Yes, yes, of course… But… well…
Two – It doesn’t make us any younger…
One – Well… You haven’t changed.
Two – Me? No, I’m good… But you…
One – Me?
Two – I almost didn’t recognise you.
One – It’s been a few years.
Two – Still. It’s crazy.
One – What?
Two – How much you’ve aged.
One – Well… But you’ll get over it, I hope.
Two – Yes, yes, sorry… It’s just that… it’s weird to see you like this.
One – I see.
Two – And what about me, do you think I haven’t changed?
One – Excuse me, but… are you really sure we did theatre together?
Two – Absolutely. I have a good memory for faces. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have recognised you. You’ve aged so much…
One – In Brighton, then?
Two – Well yes… Romeo and Juliet.
One – Okay… It’s coming back to me now.
Two – What?
One – I went to that class just to check because my son was enrolled there.
Two – Your son?
One – Fred. It’s probably with him that you played that scene.
Two – Fred, isn’t that you?
One – He’s my son. He’s the same age as you. I stayed in the class for two weeks. Just enough time to realise that theatre wasn’t for me. And doing theatre with my son… After that, I left.
Two – That’s probably when I arrived. I was on the waiting list… As a spot opened up…
One – Yes… And you played that scene with Fred, my son. We do look a lot alike, but still…
Two – I thought so too. How could he have aged so much in five years? So, how old are you, actually?
One – I could be your father…
Two – Well… Honestly, you look much younger…
Black.
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A sketch from the collection Memoirs of a Suitcase
Link to the collection for free download (PDF)
Find all of Jean-Pierre Martinez’s plays on his website:
https://jeanpierremartinez.net