Real and Phantom Pains: An Anthology of New Russian Drama. John Freedman

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ puts BLIZZARD’s ID into his pocket.)

      You’re coming with me down to the station.

      (They go.

      LENOCHKA, MANIAC, SNOWFLAKE, ORANGINA, BUSHY-TAIL and SNOWSTORM. They meandered and danced and talked but they never got tired. Finally they begin collecting their things, putting on their coats, paying the bill, looking at their watches.

      MANIAC (To the girls): Want some candy?

      LENOCHKA: Is it good?

      ORANGINA: The colored ones taste better than the solids

      MANIAC (Studying the wrapper): The colored ones are more interesting

      SNOWFLAKE: It’s all chemicals and nothing else

      MANIAC: What is benzoate nitrate?

      ORANGINA: What is modified starch?

      SNOWSTORM: Just what I wanted

      LENOCHKA: The first time I ever ate these things I nearly gagged on all the sugar, I just gagged on it

      MANIAC: And if you leave them out a little bit then they really get like rubber

      SNOWSTORM: I had these friends who were taking some concoction for bodybuilding and they mixed something else in there, too. You’d drink that stuff and, man, you’d instantly love everybody, ’cause everybody was suddenly so smart and so cool

      SNOWFLAKE: Try drinking that alone

      LENOCHKA: I can’t do it

      MANIAC: I did and I threw up

      SNOWSTORM: Everybody throws up at first

      MANIAC: Basically, there is no reason to love people

      LENOCHKA: Yeah, but you have to

      MANIAC: By nature people are vile and greedy

      BUSHY-TAIL: I love people, though

      ORANGINA: Those are your rose-colored glasses talking

      MANIAC: My friends would take those tranquilizers they give cats before taking them on a trip. Turns out those things are really strong psychotropics

      SNOWFLAKE: Man, what people won’t take

      LENOCHKA: And why, is what I want to know

      ORANGINA: I read about this one guy who specially raised jellyfish in an aquarium and then he’d dry them and eat them

      SNOWSTORM: This other guy would catch scorpions, rip off their tails, dry them and smoke them

      LENOCHKA: The historical record shows that there were people who ate nothing but clay

      SNOWFLAKE: Or nothing at all

      LENOCHKA: I’ve read that clay is teeming with life

      MANIAC: Everything is teeming with life

      ORANGINA: I used to eat dirt when I was a kid. To win bets

      MANIAC: I still do that all the time

      SNOWSTORM: We’re all of us all just the same

      (The police station. BLIZZARD is being searched. They unzip his pants and search down his underwear. They pull out a small packet, call over witnesses, run tests, take fingerprints, collect a urine sample – in short, they found drugs.)

      BLIZZARD (For the hundredth time): I’m a musician. I’m not an addict. I’m a good guy. I don’t deal. It’s for my own personal use. I bought it off an Armenian. I’ll give you a written pledge not to leave town

      VOLODYA: A musician you say

      BLIZZARD: I’m just a DJ

      VOLODYA: A DJ you say

      BLIZZARD: Well, a VJ, actually

      VOLODYA (Sighs): A VJ

      BLIZZARD: If you let me go I swear I’ll never do it again

      VOLODYA: But maybe you will

      BLIZZARD: No, I won’t. I mean, I don’t know if I will or I won’t. But I don’t want to

      VOLODYA: We’re going to have to search you

      BLIZZARD: I don’t have anything on me

      VOLODYA: You know for sure you don’t?

      BLIZZARD (Thinks): For sure

      VOLODYA: If you don’t then maybe I’ll let you go

      (MANIAC’s apartment. SNOWFLAKE and MANIAC enter and walk around. They lie down on the bed without taking off their coats or shoes. They are very far from each other. And silent. SNOWFLAKE closes her eyes, it’s like she’s already asleep. MANIAC gets up, turns on the television.)

      SNOWFLAKE (Opening her eyes): Oh God, only not that

      MANIAC (Turns off the television): What then?

      SNOWFLAKE: Well do something. You’re the jaded one. You know what to do in moments like this. You have such intelligent eyes (Smiles. Begins to laugh.)

      MANIAC: It’s cold. Listen, it’s cold in here (Wraps himself in a blanket and walks around the room.)

      SNOWFLAKE: Want something to drink?

      MANIAC: No

      SNOWFLAKE: Eat?

      MANIAC: No

      (Cell phones ring. MANIAC gathers them up and turns them off.)

      I’m just not ready to communicate with anyone right now (Walks around, looks through the compact discs and picks one. Turns on some music.)

      SNOWFLAKE: Oh, that’s nice. That’s nice

      (Maniac lies on the bed. They both lie on the bed listening to music. Silence.)

      MANIAC: Transcendental meditation. Quasi-physical state

      (SNOWFLAKE smiles, eyes closed.)

      Almost like we’re floating. Such clear thoughts. And so noble. Next to that all these body movements don’t mean a thing.

      SNOWFLAKE: More illusions

      MANIAC: It’s been like that for ages. People have known that forever. Our feeble minds can’t get a grasp

      SNOWFLAKE: Beethoven?

      MANIAC: Beethoven

      SNOWFLAKE: He’s so good

      (They СКАЧАТЬ