BLUES FOR BILLY excerpt
Woman and Jack enter, semi-dressed and canoodling in a tipsy fashion. Very early morning.
WOMAN You said you paint?
JACK Yes.
WOMAN Italians are good at painting, aren't they? They're famous for it.
JACK They were. The really famous ones are dead..
WOMAN Ah but their memory lives on. They never die. Of course in one sense they are dead, like Leonardo do Vinci and Botticelli-
JACK You like Botticelli?
WOMAN Don't be so surprised.. He is a beautiful painter.
She kisses Jack, who in turn becomes keen
WOMAN No.. Yes, I want to, but I like this... Getting to know you a little.
JACK There's not much to know.
He tries to kiss her more
WOMAN Stop it Romeo-
JACK Stop what?
WOMAN Be real for a moment.
JACK I am being real.
WOMAN No you're not. I want to know a little about you.
JACK Here's a little more.
He physically shows her a little more
WOMAN No. I know you have a cock already. Surprise surprise. Most guys do. And I do want to see him again. They kiss But... When I asked Martina who was coming to the party she said Spike and Josh and Joanna and Phil and all the others, and then this nice, sensitive Italian she'd met through work at the rehab centre thingy-
JACK Martina's very good with Billy, the man I take care of-
WOMAN There you were! For one second-
JACK I don't understan-
WOMAN I was interested, when she described you-
JACK I was surprised to be invited-
WOMAN Shhhh. I was interested, and when you showed your interest in me, I liked that and wanted that, but it's being..I love sex, I do, but you're not, you understand me? You haven't being talking to me. Not really.
JACK I pay you attention. We have talked.
WOMAN My aunt used to say that a person can talk a lot but say nothing. You've talked a lot of crap all night and O.K. so I listened and here we are, but now I'm talking and I want you to do the same.
JACK We don't need to talk.
He advances sexually
WOMAN Please Jack, I love that, but I already have a sex man... He says nothing, but, there you go. I know you can say something but you're not saying it.
JACK Say what?
WOMAN I don't know. We were in bed for an hour and you didn't come. Is it a problem? Because I think it is something else.
JACK Is it a problem for you?
WOMAN Yes and no. You said that you came to England with a girl but it didn't work out. What was her name?
JACK I don't remember. She doesn't matter anymore.
WOMAN But I'm curious.
JACK It is all in the past.
WOMAN Yes, like all the da Vinci's and Botticelli's and your temples and those big buildings in ruins. They're all in the past too, and yet you get so many tourists, still interested.
JACK Taking photographs.
WOMAN Was her name Nell?
Pause. Jack nods
WOMAN You called me that in bed.
JACK I'm sor-
WOMAN I was enjoying myself, I didn't bother.
JACK It was a mistake, I-
WOMAN Ashpeti, ashpeti, Senor Jack.
JACK What?
WOMAN Ashpeti? Asssphetti?
JACK Ahh, aspetti! You speak some Italian?
WOMAN Not as well as I thought.
JACK You had an Italian boyfriend before. Now I understand it all. You're playing games too-
WOMAN Too?
JACK I didn't mean it like that.
WOMAN You did. Maybe you're right.
Pause
JACK Was he Italian?
WOMAN Sort of. He was from Newcastle... Michael. He wanted to be a singer, something he was afraid to tell me in case I would laugh. You understand? He wanted to sing opera.
JACK Ahhh.
WOMAN It was an unusual interest, or in his case, a passion, for a bloke his age and his circumstances; family, the lads... He took me to the opera once. La Boheme?
JACK La Boheme, Puccini.
WOMAN It was his favourite. Before we went, the whole week before, when we'd meet, he'd sing to me, softly, something from La Boheme, all in Italian, and he'd explain what it all meant. I thought the story was very, well, boring, but when we went to see the show, it was magical. I'd never seen a man cry before... I bought the CD and play it sometimes, and I think of that evening.
JACK Where is he now?
WOMAN He died.
JACK Oh, I am sorry.
WOMAN Nah, he's not dead. I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that. I don't know where he is. It didn't work out, but we had that evening. We have that evening and always will. Aspetti Signorina. For some reason that line stuck in my brain all these years.
JACK It comes from the Che Gelida Manina aria. It is quite famous.
WOMAN They were kneeling on the floor?
JACK Yes. Mimi and Rodolfo are on the floor looking for her keys, and Rodolfo blows out the candle, leaving them in the dark,and in the darkness he finds her hand, Che Gelida Manina, her cold hand, Si la lasci riscaldar, let me warm your cold hand, he takes her cold hand and warms it in his...
Jack does likewise
WOMAN Gently Stop... You're not Michael.
JACK No. And you're not Nell.
WOMAN No... When did you break up?
JACK She broke up with me. About two months ago... And four days.
WOMAN You still love her?
Jack nods
JACK Sorry.
WOMAN There's nothing to be sorry about.
JACK Do you want me to leave?
WOMAN What time is it... Almost five.
JACK Maybe I can sleep on the sofa?
WOMAN She dies in the end? La Boheme?
JACK Mimi? Yes, she dies in the end. Very sad.
WOMAN Yes, very sad... No, stay with me. We don't have to, you know... I mean we can just lie together. We can do that, can't we?
JACK That would be nice.
WOMAN My hands are cold. You can warm them.
JACK Che Gelida Manina.
WOMAN Come back to bed Michael.
JACK Alright Nell.
They exit
END OF EXCERPT