Title: Making the journey
by rachael from Herefordshire | in writing, fiction
A typical street at the edge of a town somewhere in England ' houses on either side, neither an apparently rich or poor area, just familiar.
A mother and son are stood stage right by the door to their house, about to enter. The boy looks about 17, the woman in her forties, with a couple of bags of shopping.
The mother unlocks the door, and then steps back to allow her son to go in first
(There may be some background street noises ' quiet traffic, maybe children playing)
The mother (apparently sub-consciously) reaches out to lead him through
The son pushes her arm away, looking embarrassed and annoyed.
He goes to step through the door, before turning, as though having suddenly realised something
Boy No!
The mother laughs, but when he does not move, she looks concerned
Stepping forward to lead him inside;
Mother Come on!
The boy steps off the doorstep, pushing past his mother
His mother now looks genuinely concerned
Boy (while pushing past his mother)
Stop it!
Pause ' the pair look at each other, the mother worried, the son determined, but a little scared, as through aware he must do something which he doesn't really want to do
Boy I need to ' go.
The boy begins to walk away.
Mother looks more worried, confused
Mother (takes a step after her son) But I need you with me!
The boy stops walking. He has reached the gate onto the pavement where he turns to look at his mother. He looks her up and down, confused, seemingly mocking her, before opening the gate and walking onto the street
The mother rushes over to her shopping, trying to hurriedly shove it inside the door so she can follow her son
She trips over her shopping and is left sitting on her own doorstep looking lost and hurt (mentally!)
The boy has reached a group of other teenagers further along the street and is talking, seems to have forgotten all about his mother
The mother sighs, seems to compose herself and walks over o the gate
Mother (calling to her son, who can't hear her) Wait! Let me help you!
After seeing he can't hear her, she looks down at her hands, holding the gate,
Mother (quietly) Please.
Lights go off the mother, we can now only see the son, stood with a group of people on the pavement
Throughout this section all lights fade until there is just a single spotlight on the boy
Each person in the group should represent a different pressure that he will be faced with in his life, e.g bills, taxes, peer pressure, sex, responsibilities'
One other boy, also about 17/18 tries to pull him towards a different house:
Friend 1 Follow me!
A girl then reaches out and holds his other arm, trying to give him some papers/books
Girl 1 Do this!
A man in a suit (also part of this group of 'friends') takes some money out of the boy's pocket (he should represent the taxman!)
Man 1 (roughly) Give me that!
Another girl tries to place a box in his hands,
Girl 2 (almost pleading) Look after this
The group are crowding in and the boy is trying to break out of this continuing cycle, he looks panicky, and gets more and more angry
Two girls, dressed in short skirts/low tops etc, try to lead him away next
Girls 1 and 3 Follow us!
Friend 1 has returned, with a bundle of blankets (crying baby)
Friend one Take him!
The man is back wanting more money
Man 1 Give me more!
The girls, still laughing, now appear to be laughing at him, mocking him
Girls 1 and 3 (pointing and laughing) Look after those!
Girl 2, who looks more pleading, grabs the front of his jacket
Girl 2 Don't let us down!
The boy pushes her off and turns, leaving them behind, running back down the street to his house
The stage is in darkness save for a single spotlight on the boy.
He cannot find the house in the dark
All other characters have left the stage
He stands, looking angry and confused
An old man's voice is heard, but we cannot see where the voice is coming from
Old man So you're alone.
You're lost
The boy looks round, trying to find where the voice is coming from.
Boy (angrily, confused) Who are you?
The man walks into sight. He looks in his sixties, again a typical 'granddad' figure ' not intimidating but equally not to be laughed at.
Old man Look around you, what do you see?
The boy looks confused, assuming this man is some drunkard or similar
However, we should begin to see this man's calming influence on the boy
Boy (sarcastically) Nothing
Old Man (nodding to himself) Hmm, but do you even know what you're looking for?
(at this, the boy begins to walk off, dismissing this old man as a lunatic)
Well, there's obviously nothing left for you here son. Go on (giving the boy a gentle push) It's time to look somewhere new.
The boy turns to look at the man. He studies him hard, having calmed down, before asking
Boy Where?
The old man smiles, and slaps the boy on the back (nicely!)
Old man Who knows? You've got to find your own way now
(gives the boy a little shove in the right direction and stands, back to the audience, watching him walk offstage, down the street)
The boy walk off stage, the lights dimming as the sound of traffic grows louder and louder)
Curtain
This story represents the journey we all must take when we leave home and begin to 'find our own path' in life; it's a scary, difficult journey, and none of us really know where we're going, but equally, we are all desperate for that little bit more independence. This play represents our fears and hopes, and inevitably the fact that it's ok to be scared.
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