Life on Water, Death on Land
a radio play by Elod Pal Csirmaz
In a village that sends its men out every day to the lake it fears and lives on, James Cullen is dying. His last moment is foretold by the apparition of a child the villagers murdered a dozen years before. As the old gather to keep vigil and wait for the young to return from the fishing, the mystery of the apparition slowly seems to unravel. But the unexpected arrival of James’s son ultimately exposes a novel case of betrayal and love that steer the events toward an inevitable doom.
Characters:
NORA CULLEN, 56
BARTLEY CULLEN, 23
CATHLEEN KEOGH, 55
SARA KEOGH, 17
PHILLY KEOGH, 21
MAN 1—FLAHERTY—MAN 2—MAN 3 (can be spoken by one actor in his mid-50s)
Download the script for free »
The play was read
by The Script Readers at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.
The Hungarian version of this play,
Virrasztás (Vigil for the Dead James Cullen)
together with Concerto oscuro,
was awarded first prize in the drama category of the Hungarian Association of Young Writers’ 2005 literary competition.