La Reine Claude: Part IX
Blackout
Lights up. Some time has passed. The stage is mostly as it was, white sheets on the floor, paint scattered, the boots and rain coats now in piles. Mulcahy is still propped on the chair. Blood stains on the floor around him. His head hangs back, He is slipping in and out of consciousness, beginning to come out of his drugged state. He is now wearing the maids outfit, and instead of shoes he has one oversized chicken carcases on each foot.
We hear the sound of a bath running in the other room, and the faint sound of Paulina humming snippets of ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ in both Polish and English. The sound of a kettle boiling in the kitchen.
There is now a hole in the wall where the trompe l’oeil was.
Karolina is using the carving knife, methodically chipping away at the wall making the hole bigger. She is on edge. She has dried blood on her hands, she is dressed in Mulcahy’s suit with a Hitler moustache drawn on in white paint. She keeps looking over her shoulder at the kitchen door to listen for the kettle boiling. She stops chipping and stares at the door for a moment urging the kettle to boil. It doesn’t work.
She goes back to chipping at the trompe L’oeil. The light bulb flickers, Karolina jumps, very startled. A huge overreaction.
KAROLINA In Polish Shitty SHIT bollox FUCK.
She holds her chest trying to catch her breath again. Trying to catch her breath, again.Silence.
PAULINA Singing louder and in Polish I want you to show me-eeee
KAROLINA jumps again, freezes, then darts an angry look through the wall to her sister. She goes back to stabbing at the hole again, it calms her a little. Stab, stab stab, stab, stab stab, stab. She settles back into the rhythm of chipping away at the wall. Stab, stab stab, stab.
The light bulb flickers.
KAROLINA launches herself across the room and on to the table, she is just about to kill the bulb with the carving knife when we hear the click of the kettle boiled in the kitchen.
KAROLINA straightens up, delighted, she jumps down off the table and disappears into the kitchen.
The faint singing continues from the bathroom, we hear a tea spoon in a cup from the kitchen. MULCAHY groans slightly, his fingers flex and he tries to reach up to his face. He realises he is trapped and gives in. KAROLINA returns with a cup of tea in hand, smiling, energised, she moves quickly.
She looks for somewhere to put it down, offers it to MULCAHY with a silent gesture. He has gone limp again from the pain and the effort of stretching his hands.
There’s nowhere to put the tea. She leaves it back in the kitchen then returns.
With much effort she drags MULCAHY in his chair to the window.
MULCAHY reacts to the light on his face. He can feel warmth on his face. He makes little hopeful sobbing noises and moves his head tilting it towards the warmth, as though nuzzling into the light.
KATRINA takes no notice. She is untying the leather strap and holds his upstage hand. Once untied, she gets the tea from the kitchen. She stands with the cup of tea in her hand looking at MULCAHY. At his face. It’s unbearable to look at.
KAROLINA Under her breath. Ugliness, ugliness Michael.
She kneels down at his side, lifts his hand and almost tenderly wraps his fingers around the handle of the tea cup.
KAROLINA Harshly. Take it.
Gently, like a mother talking to a child. Take it Michael.
In Polish Fucking gobshite of a man TAKE IT
She squeezes his fingers into it. His hand closes around it and he reacts in pain. She stands back, delighted.
The slush of bath water. PAULINA is getting out of the bath. KAROLINA jumps, frantic, she grabs one of the white sheets from the middle of the room and throws it over MULCAHY, then disappears into the kitchen.
PAULINA comes through the doorway still naked and dripping wet, she strolls through the apartment lazily looking for something. She spots it, the tape recorder, sitting on top of a pile at the other side of the room.
The pile is made up of a suit case, two Percy French paintings, a tiny suitcase and a pair of loafers.
PAULINA floats over to the pile and picks up the tape recorder, then turns and saunters carelessly across the room and back through the door.
KAROLINA peers from the kitchen.
Slush of bath water. KAROLINA disappears again, and comes back with two bottles of red wine and a bottle opener. She starts to open the bottles as quickly as she can always keeping an eye on the door that leads to the bathroom.
Clunk. The sound of the play button,
KAROLINA jumps, spilling wine on herself. Darts an angry look. Breaths.
Foster and Allen’s Mountains of Mourn plays from the bathroom
Clunk clunk. The stop button, fast forward sound hums
Clunk clunk. Stop. Play. Percy French Eileen Og plays,
Clunk clunk. Fast forward.
Clunk clunk. This continues faintly from the bathroom over the next section
KAROLINA has now opened the two bottles. She pulls the sheet off MULCAHY and throws it on the floor, some tea spills from the cup that he obediently holds in his upstage hand.
KAROLINA In Polish. Gobshite
She tries to sit the wine bottles on MULCAHYs lap. It’s not working, she jams them between his legs. He squints, hoping she won’t move them any closer
She thinks about it. She doesn’t.
KAROLINA Gently. Squeeze……squeeze. Barks. Squeeze your legs together Michael.
He does. She stands back to look at the image she has created. Yes, it’s good. She’s ready. She picks up the tiny briefcase and walks to the main door of the apartment.
She takes a few moments to ready herself, rolls her shoulders, clenches her fists and stretches her fingers a few times. A boxer before a match, bubbling energy hums from her.
She opens and closes the door with a slam. She turns, suddenly, in character, as MULCAHY, her impression of him. She stands slightly hunched like a dirty old man, a scowling, miserable expression on her face and she stares madly at MULCAHY in the chair.
KAROLINA She speaks quietly but very clear and menacing. Get me my wine. Dear.
MULCAHY drops the tea cup, it smashes on the floor. Now more conscious, lifting his head fully.
KAROLINA Did you hear me my little polish dolly. Where. Are my. SHIRTS.
She mumbles this as she moves closer. 45, 45 shirts, tromp loy do you like my tromp loyyyyyy, let's have chicken.
As KAROLINA moves towards MULCAHY we hear another clunk from the bathroom.
‘Are you right there Michael are you right
Do you think that we’ll be home before the night
Ah you’ve been so long in starting
That you couldn’t say for certain
You might now Michael so you might’
