Two characters seated side by side, the second one has a suitcase on their lap.
One – Have you been here before?
Two – Yes, but it was a long time ago. And you?
One – No, it’s my first time. What did you see?
Two – Oh, I don’t remember very well… It was with… What’s his name again… He’s a very famous actor…
One – Oh, yes…
Two – I think he passed away.
One – Really?
Two – I think so.
One – That’s a unfortunate. Did he have a family?
Two – Yes, I suppose. Just like everyone else.
One – Well… And so, he… he was very famous…
Two – Oh yes, indeed… He had quite a presence in movies. Later on, it was mostly on TV. Eventually, he became more active in the theatre. And towards the end, he practically disappeared from the public eye.
One – Not at all?
Two – He had somewhat faded into obscurity, as they say.
One – It happens, unfortunately.
Two – Yes…
One – At our age, we’re not even sure if it’s the famous people who are forgotten, or if it’s us who are losing our memory…
A pause.
Two – What does “airplane mode” mean?
One – What?
Two – The usher earlier said to turn off your mobile phone completely. “Even in airplane mode.”
One – Oh yes, that’s true.
Two – What does that mean?
One – I don’t know… I never take the plane. And you?
Two – Me neither. Besides, I don’t have a mobile phone.
One – Me neither.
Two – That way, we won’t risk forgetting to turn it off.
A pause.
One – And did you come with your suitcase?
Two – I never part with it. Since…
One – Since what?
Two – I forgot it on the train. The bomb squad came. I arrived just in time. They were about to blow it up!
One – No?
Two – The fear I had… Just imagine leaving it at home, the police dogs come to sniff it out all the way to my doorstep, and the bomb squad breaks down the door to blow it up?
One – You’re right, it’s safer to keep it with you… (A pause)This suitcase really has an unusual smell, though…
Two – You think so?
One – Shouldn’t it have started by now?
Two – Yes, you’re right…
One – They asked us to turn off our mobile phones a while ago.
Two – Or perhaps it has already begun.
One – How could it have started already? Nothing seems to be happening.
Two – You know, with modern theatre…
One – Do you think this is modern theatre?
Two – I’m not sure… It’s sponsored by the town hall, though…
One – That’s the same reason I came. I didn’t realize it was modern theatre.
Two – Do you think there’s an intermission?
One – Do intermissions even exist anymore?
Two – I have no idea… It probably depends on the play’s duration.
One – Do you think it’s lengthy enough to warrant an intermission?
Two – Well, it wasn’t mentioned in the program.
One – It’s been quite some time already, hasn’t it?
Two – Indeed, we’ve been waiting for it to start for quite a while.
One – What if we ended up dozing off?
Two – Both of us at the same time? I doubt it.
One – Perhaps it’s already intermission…
Two – Or maybe the whole thing is already finished.
One – It can’t be over when it hasn’t even begun!
Two – With modern theatre, you never know…
One – So, what’s the plan?
Two – Let’s give it a little more time… It would be too absurd to leave now.
One – You’re right.
A moment of silence.
Two – If only the ushers would bring us ice cream.
One – Isn’t it the cinema where they usually have ice cream?
Two – Oh, I’m not sure…
One – Neither am I.
Two – Even at the cinema these days, I’m not sure ushers still offer ice cream.
One –So, you’re thinking at the theatre…
Two – It’s a shame. I bet more people would come to the theatre if the ushers served ice cream.
One – That’s quite possible…
Two – Let’s give it a bit more time…
One – And then, if it still doesn’t start, we can go grab some ice cream.
Two – Let’s not hold back! We should have gone there straight away…
One – Just think about the ice cream we could have bought with the price of the ticket.
Two – Well, it’s offered by the town hall.
One – Yes… The town hall… They should have offered us ice cream too…
Two – Okay, that’s enough.
They both stand up.
One – Come on, let’s make a run for it.
Two – Let’s go grab a couple of ice creams.
One – A couple?
Two – Two scoops!
One – Oh yes… And don’t forget your suitcase…
Two – You’re right…
They exit.
Black.

All the texts available on this website can be downloaded for free. However, performance rights, which constitute fair compensation for the author’s work, are a legal obligation. Whether you are an amateur or a professional, you must request authorization to perform the play and pay the corresponding royalties for the production.

To get in touch with Jean-Pierre Martinez and ask an authorization to represent one of his works: CONTACT FORM.

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

L’article Ice cream est apparu en premier sur La Sketchothèque.

Him and Her arrive, clearly lost and exhausted.
Her – Haven’t we been here before? It feels like we took shelter under this oak just fifteen minutes ago…
Him – At the same time, one tree looks much like another. By the way, how do you know it’s an oak?
Her – There are acorns underneath…
Him – I wonder if we wouldn’t be better off sitting down and waiting…
He sits on the ground, discouraged.
Her – Wait for what? We’re in the city park, not in the Amazon jungle! Do you really think the police will mount a rescue mission just because they see our car alone in the parking lot tonight?
He doesn’t respond. She sits down too, resigned. He stares fixedly at something straight ahead.
Her – What are you looking at like that?
Him – The crow over there… I have the feeling I’ve seen it before…
Her – Ah, you see, what did I say… We’ve been here already…
Him (thoughtful) – When I was a kid, my father brought a crow home one evening… He was a lumberjack, my father… So he cut down the tree and… Naturally, the nest… I fed it with a small spoon… You can’t imagine the noise a baby crow makes when it’s hungry… At first, I didn’t even dare to approach… And then little by little, I tamed it… It followed me everywhere, like a little dog.
Her – On foot?
Him – It must have thought I was its mother. Since it didn’t see me fly, it had no idea of doing it either.
She looks visibly as if she wonders if he’s delirious.
Him – He used to steal my father’s pencils from his desk and bury them in the garden. We had a good laugh about that…
Her (perplexed) – Mmm…
Him – And then little by little, it learned to use its wings!
Her (lost) – What?
Him – At first, it was just small jumps. From one garden chair to another… And then from the chair to a tree…
Her – It must have seen other crows flying. That gave it ideas…
Him – At first, it only left for a day or two… We knew it would come back… And then one day, it left for good, and we never saw it again… It went back to the wild…
Her – Or maybe a hunter shot it. If it wasn’t shy…
Him (continuing without hearing her) – Since then, every time I see a crow, I wonder if it’s not Baback…
Her – Baback…?
Him – That’s what we called it…
He still gazes at the crow with a dreamy look. She looks at him more and more perplexed.
Her – Wait, your crow must have been dead for a long time!
Him – Don’t believe that. A crow can live more than a hundred years…
She stands up to break the spell.
Her – Well, I wouldn’t want to disturb these touching reunions, but maybe we should think about heading back. It’s starting to get dark…
He looks in the direction of the crow.
Him (disappointed) – It flew away… Maybe it wasn’t him after all…
She seems relieved to see him coming back to reason.
Him – Or maybe you scared him away…
They leave.
Her – Are you sure it’s this way? I’m not ready for a return to the wild yet…
Black.

All the texts available on this website can be downloaded for free. However, performance rights, which constitute fair compensation for the author’s work, are a legal obligation. Whether you are an amateur or a professional, you must request authorization to perform the play and pay the corresponding royalties for the production.

To get in touch with Jean-Pierre Martinez and ask an authorization to represent one of his works: CONTACT FORM.

A sketch from the collection Lost Times Chronicles
Link to the collection for free download (PDF)

Find all of Jean-Pierre Martinez’s plays on his website:
https://jeanpierremartinez.net

L’article Lost and found est apparu en premier sur La Sketchothèque.