Word-Play (NHB Modern Plays)
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About this ebook
There is a flurry of accusations, and demands for an apology; but as his team debate what to do next, it's already too late. His words have found their way to dinner parties, bus journeys and newspaper columns across the nation – and not everyone is angry.
Rabiah Hussain's play Word-Play explores how language seeps into public consciousness and reverberates with far-reaching consequences that will last for generations. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in July 2023, directed by Nimmo Ismail.
Rabiah Hussain
Rabiah Hussain is a writer for film, TV and theatre. Her plays include: Word-Play (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2023); We Are Shadows (Tamasha Theatre, 2019); and Spun (Arcola Theatre, London, 2018 and Canadian tour; winner of the German Baden-Wuttemberg Youth Theatre Prize 2020).
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Book preview
Word-Play (NHB Modern Plays) - Rabiah Hussain
RIVERS OF BLOOD
Characters: A (male), B (male).
A This is a moment.
B It is a moment.
A A moment to remember –
B – A moment to remember.
A Will it be?
B What?
A Remembered.
B It should be –
A – Should?
B It could be.
Beat.
A Could indicates that you don’t believe it will be.
B I believe it should be talked about. And it could be talked about. But –
A – But what?
B I’m simply going by history.
A It’s a considerable moment. In history.
B Sometimes even considerable moments end up relegated to textbooks.
A Surely it’s bigger than that?
B So much bigger.
A It created something. Unity –
B – Chaos.
A Good chaos –
B – Life-altering chaos. I agree.
A Then surely it is, should be and will be talked about.
B I’m simply saying that sometimes, sometimes, these events that feel, and are a moment for those of us who are experiencing them in the here and now, can also remain a moment in the memory of history confined to our present. And so, can be seen by those in the future, as a moment back in time.
A But this isn’t and shouldn’t be just a moment in the distant past for them.
B I agree.
A It should be bigger.
B It should be bigger.
A It should be vast –
B – It should be a wave.
A A wave?
B A wave…
Continuous. Sweeping. A moment that is so alive it echoes through time. Oscillates. Immerses with other waves in the future to create multiple moments so it can become more than just a moment in the distant past for them. We want it to be felt. Not just remembered…
A …And how do we ensure that happens?
B We give it a name.
A A name? It has a name.
B No, no, no. Not a name that simply refers to where it happened. So many moments have happened and will happen in that place. There will be hundreds of moments