Brian Friel Plays 2 (43 page)

Angela
(
sings
) ‘I want to be happy –’

Trish
Damn right, Angela!

Angela
(
sings
) ‘But I won’t be happy –’

Trish
Why not?

Angela
(
sings
) ‘Till I make you happy, too.’

And
at
this
point
she
is
joined
first
by
George
on
the
accordion,
then
by
Trish,
and
then,
very
privately,
almost inaudibly, by Berna. After Angela’s first line, ‘I
want to be happy’, slowly accelerate the tempo to
normal.

Now
enter
–
immediately
after
the
line
‘Till
I
make
you happy too’ – George, Angela, Frank and Trish (in
that
order);
each
holding
on
to
the
waist
of
the
person
in
front;
all
(except
George)
singing
lustily;
all
doing
a
clownish,
parodic
conga
dance,
heads
rolling,
arms
flying
–
a
hint
of
the
maenadic.
All
are
dressed
in
bright
summer
clothes
and
each
carries
some
gaudy
summer
equipment
–
straw
bags,
sun
hats,
sleeping-bags,
sun
umbrellas,
cameras,
binoculars,
etc.,
etc.
Suddenly
the
pier
becomes
a
fairground.
George
is
the
accordionist.
His
neck
is
swathed
in
a
white
bandage.
On
those
rare
occasions
when
he
speaks
his
voice
is
husky
and
barely
audible.
Trish
has
a
plastic
cup
(wine)
in
one
hand.
Angela
swings
an
empty
wine
bottle
by
the
neck.
The
moment
they
come
on
stage
Terry’s
face
lights
up
and
happily,
extravagantly,
he
joins
in
the
singing
and
the
dance.

All
‘Life’s really worth living –’

Trish
Come on, Berna! Party time!

And
after
a
moment’s
hesitation
Berna
joins
in
the
parade
and
the
singing
with
earnest,
deliberate
enthusiasm.

All

Frank
now
stands
aside
and
takes
a
series
of
rapid
photographs.
Now
only
Terry
and
Angela
sing
to
George’s
accompaniment.

Terry and Angela
‘When skies are grey –’

Trish
Terrific, Angela!

Terry and Angela
‘– and you say you are blue –’

Terry
Your wife’s a star, Frank.

Frank
Blessed, amn’t I?

Angela
(
solo
) ‘I’ll send the sun smiling through –’

Give me your hand, Berna! So –

Now
back
to
the
very
slow
tempo
and
the
exaggerated
steps.
Angela
and
Berna,
hand
in
hand,
dance/
promenade
across
the
pier.

Angela and Berna
‘I want to be happy –’

Frank
The wonderful sisters!

Angela and Berna

Angela
suddenly
stops
and
holds
her
head.

Angela
Oh God!

The
music
stops.

The head’s beginning to reel!

Frank
(
sings
) ‘In the good old summer time –’

George
drowns
Frank’s
singing
with
a
very
formal
‘Amen’
cadence.

Terry
Thank you, George.

General
laughter.
Terry
holds
his
hands
up.

And now, my children – please.

Trish
Quiet, everybody!

Terry
Your attention, please.

Frank
Please!

Terry
I bid you all welcome.

Frank
Thank you, Terence.

Trish
Where are we, Terry?

Frank
Arcadia.

Terry
Ballybeg pier – where the boat picks us up.

Trish
County what?

Terry
County Donegal.

Trish
God. Bloody Indian territory.

Frank
Where does the boatman live?

Terry
Back there. At the end of the sand dunes.

Trish
(
to George
) Ballybeg, George. In County Donegal.

George
nods
and
smiles.

Terry
Right. So – stage one complete. Welcome again.

Angela
Sounds proprietorial, doesn’t he?

Terry
I’m only the sherpa.

Trish
Only what? (
to Berna
) What’s a sherpa?

Frank
(
up on catwalk
) Next parish Boston, folks!

Terry
(
privately
) Are you all right?

Angela
A little too much wine.

Terry
And you’ve changed your hair.

Angela
For the big occasion! Of course!

Terry
Lovely.

She
touches
his
shoulder
quickly,
lightly,
and
moves
away.
They
deposit
their
belongings
at
various
places
along
the
pier
–
that
place
becomes
that
person’s
‘
terr
itory
’
for
the
rest
of
the
night.
Now
they
all
move
around
slowly,
silently,
assessing
the
pier
itself
and
its
furnishings
and
the
surrounding
sea
and
countryside.
Terry
watches
them.
He
is
anxious
to
have
their
approval.

Well?

Frank
(
in approval
) Well–well–well–well.

Terry
So far so good?

Frank
So far wonderful, Terry.

Terry
(
to all
) Isn’t it?

Frank
Wonderful. (
He comes down from the catwalk
.)

Terry
Some place, George?

George
Yes. Yes.

Trish
Sorry, Terry – where is this again?

Frank
(
to Terry
) Permanently lost, that sister of yours.

Terry
Ballybeg pier.

Trish
In County –?

Frank
Wasting your time, Terry.

Terry
Donegal. This is where the boat picks us up.

Trish
You’ve told me that three times, (
to George
) The boat picks us up here.

George
nods
and
smiles.
Pause.
Again
they
gaze
around,
touching
the
furnishings,
sitting
on
the
bollards.
As
they
move
around
George
plays
‘Jesu,
Joy
of
Man’s
Desiring’.
Angela
busies
herself
with
her
belongings,
deliberately
ignoring
the
surroundings.

A long time since this has been used.

Terry
Not for fifty years.

Frank
More. I’d say.

Terry
Well?

Frank
Listen! Not a sound.

Terry
Trish?

Trish
Very … remote, isn’t it?

Terry
But worth four hours in that minibus?

Trish
(
not quite certain
) Oh yes …

Frank
The bus was fine. It’s Charlie’s terrible jokes I can’t take. If he were my driver, Terry, I’d muzzle him.

Terry
(
to Angela
) Some place, isn’t it?

Trish
Wonderful, Terry. Isn’t it, Berna?

Berna
Yes.

Frank
These (
rings
) were made to last.

Terry
And that stone – all cut by hand. (
He again
attempts to include Angela
.) What do you call that mossy stuff – lichen?

Trish
And that view! Look!

Frank
What were these stones for?

Terry
Weights for lobster pots.

Frank
Amazing. Another world altogether.

Trish
Heavenly.

Terry
Yes.

Trish
You’d think you could see
beyond
the horizon. It really is wonderful. Oh, my goodness … (
to George
) Ballybeg pier. In County Donegal.

George
I know, Trish!

Terry
(
to Angela
) What do you think of it?

Angela
‘Wonderful’ … I know another happy song, George.

She sings the first line of the refrain of ‘I Don’t Know
Why
I’m
Happy’.
George
picks
it
up
immediately.

Yes! He’s a genius!

She
sings
the
second
line
of
the
refrain.

Terry
Your wonderful wife – off again.

Frank
(
spreading his hands
) Your wonderful sister-in-law.

Terry
sings
the
third
and
fourth
line
with
Angela.

Terry
Once more!

And
accompanied
by
George
and
with
Trish
clapping
in
time
they
sing
the
whole
refrain
again.

Remember Father singing that every Christmas?

Trish
Don’t remember that. Did he?

Angela
Your George is a genius, Trish.

Trish
I know.