thud, beep, buzz

by E P Csirmaz

(published) Published in BRAND 06

You have a strong sense of theatricality, and also a confidence in your ability to experiment and create confident and interesting language. All three of your plays are very individual, whilst displaying the common traits of being intriguing, succinct and poetically rich.

Feedback from Soho Theatre, London
on the child..., the one who has seen and thud, beep, buzz

Persons: She, Her

Estimated running time: 7 minutes.

The episodes of She's life unfold slowly from the fragmented text of the play. At the beginning, She is in hospital to have her cancer removed, and possibly as a result of the operation, She fails to give birth to her baby. Because of the chemotherapy she receives, She also loses her hair, and becomes obsessed with wigs.

She meets Her three times during the play, and their three sexual acts conclude in She's murdering Her and taking her hair repeatedly. From an utterance at the end of the play, it can be inferred that She committed several such ritual murders, for which, as it is hinted, she is soon to be held responsible.

The unrealistic and ritual nature of the play is emphasized by continuous sound effects (ticking, heartbeats, dial tone, etc.), a morbid verse in the style of nursery rhymes and some phrases in Middle English from John Wycliffe's translation of the Genesis.

The winter covers roads with snow
I'll give the children salt today
They like to lick, they told me so
They eat the salt and melt away.

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