THE COCONUT CUTTER - Theater of the Absurd Play by Ana Dabmian (.pdf)

Description: Theater of the Absurd play "The Coconut Cutter" by Ana Dabmian, first produced by ATP Čkalja (Kruševac, Serbia) in 2019. EXCERPT FROM THE PLAY: SETTING: Night. The same square and the same pavilion. The hand lights are on again, causing the leaves to casts their shadows. AT RISE: LAMMONIE is sitting on the bench, gazing in front of herself. (After a while, HERMO enters, wondering aimlessly.) LAMMONIE Stop! (HERMO stops walking.) Could you move one step to the right, please? (HERMO does as she's said.) Move to the right just a bit more. (HERMO takes one step to the right.) That's right... now come forward a few paces. (HERMO takes a step or two towards LAMMONIE.) Now go left, get back to your curse. (HERMO moves to his left.) Now you can keep walking. Thank you. HERMO (doesn't move) Thank me for what? LAMMONIE For walking around him. Most people just knock them over. HERMO Knock what over? LAMMONIE My friends. (beat) You see, I know they're not real. (beat) But they're my friends. (beat) And I love them for who they are. (sits up) Come here. Sit with me. I'll introduce you to them. (HERMO approaches LAMMONIE and sits on the bench, next to her. She points at a member of the audience) That's Robby. He's a gardener and a writer, but he's on parental leave at the moment. You see, his wife gave birth to a baby six months ago. It's a boy. And she had to get back to work, so... (LAMMONIE smiles at the member of the audience whom she's named 'Robby', looking at him as if she was listening to him speak. She smiles.) He says that his son picked his first leaf today and gave it to his mom. (HERMO smiles.) Say 'hi' to Robby, he's looking right at you. (beat) His son's on his lap. (beat) He says the baby likes you. HERMO (to the member of the audience) Hi, Robby. LAMMONIE (pointing at another member of the audience) Oh, that's Sammy. Samantha is her full name... she's working at a supermarket and she has a husband, a teenage son and two little girls. Her son is crazy about birds... (to the member of the audience) Yes, Sammy, I agree. (to HERMO) She said you resemble a friend of ours, Joseph. (LAMMONIE laughs.) HERMO What's funny? LAMMONIE (pointing at another member of the audience) Dean has just reminded me of a joke. But you wouldn't understand it, I'd have to tell you a long story to make a sense of it... You know those funny things that happen, that are funny at the moment, but don't sound funny when you're telling them to someone who wasn't there? HERMO No. I don't know those things. LAMMONIE Really? Well, I'm sure you'll witness one of them someday and then you'll understand. Oh, Manny has just asked me to ask you... what do you make of The Gogglers? HERMO The Gogglers? LAMMONIE Yes, those people who just sit there and watch that recording over and over again? We don't get them. HERMO (takes a look at the GOGGLERS) You don't get them? LAMMONIE We don't understand why they do it. What do you think? HERMO (confused by her asking his opinion) I... I don't understand them either. LAMMONIE (smiles) They're just sitting there... gazing at that screen with blank expressions, like food staring at people at a supermarket... it's so sad... my friends, they find them funny. But I don't. I don't think there's anything funny about people wasting their lives like that. What do you think, Hermo? HERMO I agree it's sad. Yes, it's sad to me as well. (LAMMONIE smiles at him again, puts his arm around his shoulders and her head on his shoulder. HERMO gets confused for a second. Then he slowly puts his arm around her waist.) LAMMONIE You know, Hermo... I'm trying not to judge them. Do you? HERMO Do I do what? LAMMONIE (lifts her head from his shoulder) Do you judge them? HERMO (fazed with the question) I... I don't know. I haven't thought of them that much... no, I don't think I judge them... Well, maybe I do. I don't understand them! LAMMONIE I don't understand them either. And that's why I try not to judge them. One shouldn't judge what one doesn't understand. But it's hard to judge what we do understand. And we all have to judge someone to justify our own resentment towards humanity. (HERMO remains quiet for a moment.) Do you disagree? HERMO (fazed with the question) Well, I... I don't know. (after a short moment of thinking) I don't think I feel resentment towards humanity. LAMMONIE (smiles) Then you've never truly loved a human being. HERMO Well, even if I loved somebody once, I wouldn't remember it now... (They just sit in quiet for a few seconds.) Do you think that maybe, one day, I could remember who I was before I hit my head and be that person again? LAMMONIE I don't know. But for your own sake, I hope that you don't. HERMO Why? Was there something wrong with me? LAMMONIE (after short hesitation) Well... back then, you were normal. And, in all my life, I've never met a person who was both normal and truly satisfied. (They just sit in quiet for a moment or two. Then HERMO closes his eyes, puts his head on her shoulder, and sighs. She leans her head against his. They just sit like that for a while.) (CURTAIN) (END OF SCENE)

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Location: Zagreb

End Time: 2025-01-26T19:15:43.000Z

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