My Journey with Dad
Michael lives alone with his ageing dad. Before his mum died, he promised her he would look after him, right to the bitter end. At the time, however, he had no idea just how bitter that end would be and how hard it would prove to keep his word. His efforts to fulfil his promise have turned his world upside down: he has lost the woman he loves and his job is on the line. But most painful of all is his relationship with his sick father, who is gradually losing his memory and falling apart. During the course of his journey, Michael eventually comes to know his father, to dispel the looming shadow of Uncle Richard and to understand at last the true story of his past life. To do this, however, he must stick it out to the very last station.
The stage walls can be seen. Scattered around the floor are pieces of furniture and household objects. Of these, four stand out from the rest: a fiddle, a couple of suitcases, a clotheshorse with a woman's clothes on it and a telephone.
Two actors come on stage. One sits down on a chair located at one side of the stage, while the other comes to the front and with the change of lights, starts talking.
DAD-ACTOR: “Old? Old is for things, not people” that's what the old people used to say (Hurt laugh) and we would laugh at them thinking it was just old people's talk. (Despairingly) And laughter soon dries up. And you start to forget. (Pause) You forget… First, you start forgetting things: what did I do with my keys? Then you start forgetting appointments: what day did the doctor say to go back? And you learn to write things down… (Despairingly) until you start forgetting to look at what you've written. You forget what happened the day before, what you said this morning and what you have to do this evening. You forget your pills, your glasses, names, birthdays, faces, trips. And in the end, you forget where you are and why youre there. And then you forget who you are. Forgotten. Everything. The good things and the bad. The things best forgotten and those worth remembering. There are no limits to forgetting. From being someone, forgetting turns you into a nobody. But it's not you alone: when you become a no one, so does everyone else. Just remember one thing: we get older every day. There's no escaping it. And there's no going back.
THE PLAY BEGINS
(LIGHT CHANGE)
The sound of a train comes nearer and nearer, getting louder and louder. The train is approaching fast. DAD is standing happily in the middle of the stage. He doesn't hear the train. He's busy playing his “imaginary” fiddle, completely immersed in his own world. He's composing a new tune, the most beautiful tune in the world. And it's going really well. The train's horn sounds.
On another part of the stage, the son, MICHAEL, is concentrating hard, doing multiplication after multiplication. He has no paper and is holding no pen. He's doing all the sums in his head.
MICHAEL: Nine thousand five hundred and thirty-five times eight thousand two hundred and thirty-one equals seventy-eight million, four hundred and eighty-two thousand, five hundred and eighty-five. 9535 times 8232 equals 78 million, 492 thousand 120. 9535 times 8233 equals 78 million, 501 thousand 655. 9535 times 8234…
