(r)Evolution
By
Jeremy Linnell
(N.B. All parts are gender neutral. Him is used due to author
laziness. At several times the script calls for blackout. However this could be
replaced with high pitched static, a siren or anything else that overwhelms the
sense of sight or sound. Deprivation or assault)
Scattered about an area
through which audience can walk freely are 4 characters Lion, Mouse, Monkey and Rabbit.
They wear ornate masks. Their voices come from a place that is not
themselves. Lion sits on a tall,
ornate chair, on a raised platform with Mouse
kneeling beside him. Monkey and Rabbit mill about the room, sometimes
inspecting the audiences clothing, or their faces, with wonder or jealousy. They
gaze at the platform with open, wanton lust. At various points they can
interact with the audience Monkey
cajoling, taunting and mocking, while Rabbit
seduces and suggests. Mouse will
whisper in ears of the best path to take and Lion will simply bark orders from the stage. A musical choice could
really aid the atmosphere, one of paranoia, whispers and false hope that might
be true.
Rabbit: Who’s Lion today? Is it you?
Monkey: It’s the same Lion as yesterday.
Rabbit: Where’s Parrot?
Monkey: Gone. Lion won.
Rabbit: Perhaps today?
Monkey: Unlikely. We’re short now. Lion will
remain for a while, I think.
Rabbit: When will Parrot return?
Monkey: Never. As another animal perhaps, but
when?
Rabbit: What if we…
Monkey: No, not with Mouse beside them. Mouse
sees all. For protection.
Rabbit: The shades return. They surround us.
They might help.
Monkey: Who, though? You could use your
talents, Rabbit. Give them an incentive.
Rabbit: A Lion doesn’t use the skills of a
Rabbit.
Monkey: Form was given to suit. Too much time
doing what rabbits do?
Rabbit: You talk too much and give yourself
away. Jealousy ill becomes you Monkey. Silence always wins. Now hush, Lion
speaks.
A ritual begins,
movement around the space, urging the audience to move with it. Mouse leads as Lion refuses to move from the stage.
Lion: Today I am Lion. There is no Lion
other than me. Once I devour you all then Lion shall be free.
REST: You are Lion, to feast you’re free,
but devour the rest and set me free.
Lion: So sure in my power this I decree: If
it’s Lion that’s devoured then Lion you’ll be.
REST: Your generous rules keep us fair and
free.
Mouse returns to the stage, standing
slightly behind Lion. Monkey and Rabbit converse amongst themselves and
consider the audience.
Mouse: Rabbit and Monkey appear to be
plotting. I suggest, perhaps, that we, that is, you, could push them to devour
each other.
Lion: My interference is unnecessary, their
fight will drain and distract them, I shall devour their weakened corpses.
Mouse: If there is nothing left for us,
pardon me, you, then what?
Lion: There are other options.
Mouse: Surely we must consider the day lost.
Lion: And try again tomorrow. There are many
faces to wear. Death ends the day. I am Lion.
Through this exchange Monkey and Rabbit have continued to talk, to examine the audience and possibly
close the circle or open up pathways in the room. They explore, examine and
question. Monkey notices Mouse and Lion talking. Monkey beckons
Mouse. After a moments consideration Lion
gives their consent and allows Mouse leave.
Monkey: You betray us Mouse, Lion will devour
you too.
Mouse: Later. Last survivor sees all.
Rabbit: We could blind you.
Mouse: Open violence? In this place? You’d
ruin us all.
Monkey: An eternity seeking your ruin is more
meaningful than your escape.
Rabbit: I still remember when Parrot pecked
out your eyes.
Mouse: And yet here I stand, free to see.
Lion guards. Parrot failed. Back they go. They must start again.
Monkey and Rabbit look to each other
Both: Before this days end we will see your corpse
upon Lion’s teeth, and feast upon his marbled flesh. Parrot’s fate will not be
ours.
A dance, a
synchronising of ideals, with broken intent. They want to click like gears yet
they grind like the same.
A BLACKOUT OR PERHAPS A SIREN AND STATIC, AURAL BLANKNESS
TIME PASSES AND DEATH COLLECTS
At lights up Monkey and Rabbit are panting, desperate, separate. Broken? Not quite, But
close. Maybe they should be.
Mouse and Lion: The shades gaze. Why show your worst
to those worthless voyeurs. Our Faces protect us.
Rabbit: We showed nothing, you own and
control. Our eyes were shut. Anything seen was an illusion.
Mouse: You call Lion delusional?
Monkey: You twist through broken insight,
Mouse. Projecting your own faults. The lights were black and the gaze was
broken. You know the rules.
Rabbit: We can still break you little one.
Lion: Not while I command.
Monkey: So you say, but Lion is the least of
us.
Mouse: Nonsense. He makes the rules.
Monkey: But easily displaced. He’s ours to
use.
Lion: Silence. Monkey your petty attempts
at usurping are not unnoticed. (A beat)
Your partner is silent.
Rabbit: Considering my options.
Lion: Consider this. Monkey offers you nothing
but taunting and betrayal. I offer comfort.
Rabbit: And your seated majesty promises
more.
Monkey: Do not listen.
Monkey slaps Rabbit. A bell rings. Deep. Dooming. Damning.
ALL: We fail and now it comes. We must
atone. Offer the prayer.
All sing. Loud.
Anthemic. Hypnotic. The song is awful, broken, but oh so memorable. A chant.
Rabbit approaches Lion. There is arousal, we all want it. Suck it. Drink it. Taste
them. Rabbit pauses before stepping
upon the stage, Lion gives a gesture
of approval.
Rabbit: Why trust the eyes of something so
small?
Lion: Your face displeases me, frame it for
my pleasure and I will listen.
Rabbit: You were once whore.
Lion: As were you. We rotate.
Rabbit: To please.
Lion: To survive.
Monkey: You broken fools destroyed us last.
Mouse: You do not get to interfere.
Monkey: They broke and damned us. My voice is
needed.
Lion: Quiet. We’re here through choice.
Monkey: The choice to leave.
Rabbit: Afraid to stay?
Monkey: We all know the rules.
Mouse: And we know that Lion can change
them.
Monkey: So why should he change them for you?
Rabbit: Why should we break for you?
Monkey: Your cock and cunt atrophies, your
stagnation drags us down. Parrot knew better.
Rabbit: That’s not an answer.
Monkey: Lion is not our only escape.
Mouse: The masks guide us.
Monkey: The roles enslave us.
Lion: If we move up the door will open.
Rabbit: Parrot was a fool. Death was our
door.
Lion: We can free each other.
Mouse: If we follow the rules.
Monkey: You know nothing. Our blood is
spilling and filling the veins of another. Parrot is gone and we shall follow.
We cannot leave.
Lion: I was appointed.
Mouse: The rules were given.
Rabbit grinds
upon Lion’s crotch
Rabbit: And we can follow.
Lion: We came. Freely. We joined.
Willingly.
Monkey: Who remembers the joining? Our
history is worthless.
Lion: It demonstrates my power
Rabbit: Tell us. Please.
Monkey: The words seduce, you fools allow them
to fuck your ears. I will not watch their spunk dribble inside your worthless
holes.
Monkey shrinks back in to the crowd, away
from the stage. He sits among them, refusing to take part. Pointedly he turns
his chair to face away.
Lion: I summoned all the lost and damned,
to prove their worth. Those that were unworthy were cast away. Those that I
favour will leave when I do. I shaped this place, and you, to bring out your
best selves. This is why I am Lion.
Rabbit and Mouse listen intently.
Mouse: You are wise.
Lion: I know.
Rabbit: And powerful.
Lion: I know.
Rabbit rubs Lion
Rabbit: Tell us more of this place.
Lion: The shades that surround us are also
my creation. To protect and guard; myself and my chosen.
Blackout. On Lights up Mouse is dead. The mask removed and
replaced with one that is blank and featureless. Empty vessel. The Mouse mask
sits on the floor beside Rabbit
Lion: Who killed Mouse?
Rabbit: Me, my Lion. To prove devotion. Mouse
was a traitor. Plotting to murder you.
Lion: And you no doubt. You have proven
yourself well.
Rabbit: My strength comes from you. I was
only able to kill with you beside me.
Lion: When the time comes we shall leave
together.
Blackout. When we
return this time Lion is dead,
slumped on the throne, mask removed and replaced with a blank face. Rabbit holds both trophies, rocking
back and forth on their heels, contemplating Monkey
Monkey: Clever, Rabbit. Using your Face to
hide behind. Looking to be the next Lion? They should have heeded my warning
and ignored you.
Rabbit: Let me have your Face. It can be
without pain. You have been Monkey too long, it becomes you.
Monkey: Surely you take me for a fool Rabbit.
Our Faces are the key. A key that one earns, not takes through selling
themselves.
Movement. Rabbit seducing Monkey. Monkey retreats
in to the audience. A bell rings.
Monkey: The death trigger beckons. My body is
not yours. The day is over.
Rabbit: But tomorrow I’m Lion. I shall devour
you.
Monkey: But you won’t leave.
Blackout, faded down as
the bell continues to ring. Sink out in to nothingness and oblivion.
END
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