The Oberon Book of Modern Monologues for Women: Volume Two. Catherine Weate
who are struggling to cope on their own. Jakey (18), KERRIE (15) and Cameron (13) have been abandoned by their mother, a heroin addict who feeds her habit through prostitution. KERRIE receives a text from her and, thinking she knows where she is, leaves in the middle of the night. She returns in the morning, alone, drenched and dejected. In the following scene, she explains what happened to Jakey and Cameron.
KERRIE
She sent me a text. It said, I’m at a special place. So I thought I knew where she was. There’s this park right near the river, where yer can see the Runcorn Bridge. I’ve been there with me Mum a few times. We’d sit off and look at it and I’d tell her all the stuff I knew about it, while we had a flask of tea and some cookies. We called it our special place. (Beat.) So I thought she had to be there.
It was freezin but I didn’t care coz I knew she was gonna be there, waitin for me. I kept thinking, she’ll hug away the cold.
…
It was still dark when I got there. The bridge was all lit up though and it was all reflectin in the water and it looked dead beautiful.
…
She wasn’t there. So I texted her and waited.
…
I waited for a reply.
…
But the special place she was at, wasn’t our special place.
…
I kept textin her and textin her, telling her where I was; to come and get me, until I had none left. Then the sun come up and the bridge wasn’t beautiful anymore. Just a bridge. Ugly, cold metal. (Beat.) Then finally she texted me back.
…
She said she’s with some old friends from years ago, on the South Coast and that they’re overlookin some river. She said there’s this really nice little bridge goin across it and that it reminds her of me. A special place. She said she’ll tell me about it one day when she sees me. Oh yeah and er… Keep safe.
APPLES
by John Retallack
Apples was first performed at The Empire, Middlesbrough on 2 June 2010.
This monologue is entitled ‘CLAIRE’S SOLUTION’. CLAIRE is 15 years old and was raped at a party by a boy from school after she had passed out from a cocktail of alcohol and drugs. She became pregnant and now has a baby boy, whom she isn’t able to name. Her life has been turned upside down by the baby and she is no longer able to go out with her friends or even get Gary’s attention: she still feels some connection to him despite the rape. CLAIRE has heard that her friend Eve recently slept with Gary but, in fact, Gary raped Eve as well. Eve and Debbie are on holiday in Majorca and CLAIRE feels jealous and resentful of her friends. It seems the only way out is to get rid of the baby. She speaks directly to the audience, except for the line in speech marks.
CLAIRE
We cried into each other’s faces
at least there was no one around to see me bawling
Five minutes later we reached the beck again
we stood at the side of the bridge
The water rose and surged like a black brick road
I thought of Eve and Debbie in Majorca
sunning themselves
not giving a care about the people back home
I imagined them banging a bunch of Spanish hunks
I was fucking jealous
Eve probably didn’t even care about Gary
she had that special way of using people
and getting whatever she wanted
To baby boy
‘What are we gonna do with you?’
He didn’t seem to know
His tantrums started all over again
the noise was incredible
What an ugly idiot he was
My brain was overflowing with babies, boys and bitches
it fucking knacked
I told Eve it was Gary’s baby
she still went and shagged him
I cuddled the little knobhead in my arms for a minute
The crying was unbearable
I really wanted to strangle it
It struck me for the rest of my life
I’d only have the Baby Boy for company
so far he hadn’t been much of a mate
I stood him on top of the bridge railing
we had a dance as the wind eased up a bit
I made a little prayer
scrunched my eyes
and accidentally on purpose threw him off the rail
There was a big plop in the water
and a bit of red where he must’ve smacked off the bottom
I faked a look of horror
Gary’s jaw and my hair colour and cheekbones
washing down the dirty stream
I felt a bit sick, but at least I’d got it over with
I pushed my lips together and charged down the road again
the breeze still going but nothing holding me back
I felt like all the estate’s eyes were on me
but killing the baby was just a silly mistake
We’ve all been there
When I got in
I made sure to phone 999 straight away
I waited for them to come round
I had a story in my head
I stared at the windows
I felt alright
The sky wasn’t exactly glowing but all the black clouds
they were diamonds
BUD TAKE THE WHEEL, I FEEL A SONG COMING ON
by Clara Brennan
This play was first performed at The Underbelly, on 5 August 2010, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, produced by Reclaim Productions and SPL.
FRANCES is a troubled sixteen-year-old who lives with her family in an old mill town, deep in the English countryside. She is pregnant to Liam (in his early thirties) who is apprenticed to her father, the local thatcher. FRANCES’ brother, Christian (in his late twenties), has returned after an eight-year absence hoping to develop the old mill for the company he works for. It has been a painful journey back as their father beat him savagely as a child. FRANCES has not exchanged a single word with her father since her brother left. In this monologue, FRANCES tries to bring Christian up-to-date with her life – at least, superficially. She begins by explaining the terms ‘Epic Win’ and ‘Epic Fail’.
FRANCES
Like – last summer I went to an ‘Epic Win’ party in a field out by White Farm with my mates. We camped. Some of them had just gotten