Extract from James Bonney MP
JAMES BONNEY M.P. - short-listed, Verity Bargate award (1989)
- rehearsed public reading Soho Theatre.
1 hr 45 mins 3M 3F
PLOT SYNOPSIS:
The life and loves of a sitting Labour M.P. as he comes under attack
from a young militant.
CAST:
James Bonney............M.P. Midlands Constituency (Labour)
Christine Bonney.........His wife. A teacher.
Jennifer Allen.............Bonney's Secretary.
EXTRACT:
Bonney makes a real effort to mend his ways and end his affair with his
Secretary. Unfortunately temptation arrives in the form of a threat and
a promise…
SCENE SIXTEEN
PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE OF BONNEY
BONNEY IS SITTING AT DESK WORKING. DOOR OPENS, ENTER JENNIFER, WITH
CARRIER.
BONNEY DOESN'T MOVE.
PAUSE.
JENNIFER: I will sit down. (SHE SITS)
Saw you on telly. You were good. Just right in fact. Confident without
arrogance. Articulate but not beyond the common man.
BONNEY: Jen'.
JENNIFER: Brought back memories. I know that person. We have business
unfinished.
BONNEY: You shouldn't've come.
JENNIFER: (HANDING OVER CARRIER) I
scratched round for an excuse and...your things. Some of them anyway.
BONNEY: I can't see you!
JENNIFER: The rest are rotting at home.
BONNEY: Christine's paranoid. My position's changed.
JENNIFER: So has mine! And not to my liking! You haven't phoned, haven't
written, nothing. I kept thinking he'll get in touch soon, it must be
soon. I know you've got a plan!
BONNEY: How can I explain?
SHORT PAUSE
Imagine I'm a climber. There above me lies the summit. It takes effort,
and guts, and luck to reach
it, but if I persevere, one day I might. The way is full of danger. At
any stage I could lose my footing
through lack of judgement. I could shout too loud and start an avalanche
that'd bury me for good. I could
rush ahead and find I'm exposed to the elements with no back-up team to
get me out. And then the inner temptations. When the going gets tough,
and the summit’s obscured in mist; the voices that
tempt you to let go, relax, fall into the next crevass. I did fall once,
but stuck out a foot and halted my slide.
Next time I might not be so lucky.
JENNIFER: You've never climbed a mountain in
your life. You can't climb a chair without vertigo.
BONNEY: An extended metaphor, Jen’. For my
life.
JENNIFER: I'll extend it further. D’you want a back-up team that is young and fit and full of daring, or one
that sits comfortably at base-camp advising you to
come down before dinner gets cold?
BONNEY: Switching teams half-way up could lead
to disaster.
JENNIFER: Switching metaphors would put me out
of my misery. It’s rubbish.
BONNEY FEELS IN HIS TROUSER POCKET.
HE TAKES OUT SOME MONEY IN NOTES
BONNEY: Please. Take it. Three months wages in
advance. Pathetic I know but what else can I do?
JENNIFER DOESN'T TAKE IT SO HE
STUFFS IT INTO HER SHOULDER-BAG.
JENNIFER: I could get hooked on this.
BONNEY: You'll have to leave. I'll have to leave.
SHE TAKES OFF HER COAT, CROSSES
HER LEGS
No temptation. I'll show you out.
BONNEY WALKS ROUND TO HER SIDE OF
TABLE
While in control.
HE PICKS HER COAT OFF BACK OF CHAIR.
RAISES HER WITH ONE ARM. FUMBLES
HER COAT ON. THEY END UP BY DOOR,
CLOSE TO EACH OTHER
That bloody perfume.
JENNIFER: I thought you liked it.
BONNEY: I do.
JENNIFER: Well then. Will you come for your
things? (BONNEY NODS SLOWLY IN NEGATIVE). I'll
dump them! (BONNEY PUTS HIS ARMS ROUND
HER. SHE PUSHES HIM OFF). I mean it - the papers
you left. The briefs...the classified information. Send
it sailing into the street.
BONNEY: When? Christ, I shouldn't! We know I
shouldn’t.
JENNIFER: I'll be in all night, tonight.
BONNEY: If you have it ready. I'll just pop in...
JENNIFER: As quick as you like.
THEY EMBRACE.
DOOR OPENS, ENTER CHRISTINE.
CHRISTINE: I was just... my god!
SHE SEES THEM. STOPS SHORT
Oh my god!
LIGHTS DOWN
END OF EXTRACT