A Sketch by Jean-Pierre Martinez
One character is blowing soap bubbles. Another arrives and watches. They are children, or adults dressed as children. Gender is irrelevant.
Two – That’s funny.
One – It looks as if they’re going to rise all the way up to the sky.
Two – Unless they burst first.
One – What could be drawing them up there?
A pause.
Two – Do you know Icarus?
One – Icarus? No… Is he a friend of yours?
Two – It’s a myth the Greeks left us. Icarus is the son of Daedalus. To escape from the labyrinth where they have been imprisoned, they make wings out of wax and feathers. Intoxicated by the feeling of being able to fly like a bird, Icarus flies too close to the sun. The wax begins to melt, and he falls into the sea.
One – What a story…
Two – Obviously, it has a symbolic meaning.
One – Oh, really…?
Two – It’s the notion of hubris. When Man tries to escape his condition and become a god, the gods grow angry with him and punish him for his pride.
One – I’d like to fly too. Like a soap bubble.
Two – Yes… but a soap bubble only lasts a few seconds.
One – Because the gods make it burst to stop it rising all the way up to the sky?
Two – Perhaps…
One – Then I’d like to be a butterfly.
Two – A butterfly only lives for a single day.
One – What about a bird?
Two – A raven can live for more than a hundred years.
One – I wouldn’t really like to be a raven.
Two – Neither would I.
A pause.
One – It’s hot.
Two – Yes.
One – It’s summer.
Two – In summer, it’s hot.
One – And in winter, it’s cold.
Two – I prefer summer. I like it when it’s hot.
One – So do I.
Two – In summer, you can be outside all day.
One – It stays light longer.
Two – And then summer means holidays.
One – I’d like it to be summer all year round, wouldn’t you?
Two – Yes.
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A sketch from the collection Apocalypse
Link to the collection for free download (PDF)
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