1965
The story of a Father, Child and Some
OTHERS.
Cast:
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Mr. Stewart ( always referred as father/master)
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James Stewart ( son of Mr. Stewart)
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Mr. Michael Mills (Head servant)
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Mr. Edmund Grilo(Gardener)
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Mr. Frank Tottle ( second servant)
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Marlish family (Mr. and Mrs., son Victor)
Scene 1:
(Stewart and James sitting on table in room 2, James reading book)
James (reading from book): THE HOUSE AND THE FAMILY, we all live in a house with our family. The family is usually made up of parents, children and their grandparents. We must never argue or fight with our brothers and sisters. We must be obi… obedi….
Stewart: What s it? (Reading the book) Oh, it’s obedient. Repeat…
James: Obedient.
Stewart: Right.
James: We must be obedient and kind towards our family members. Dad I need some water.
Stewart: Ok, I’ll get it.
James: Father, where have the servants gone.
Stewart: I don’t know. They just left.
James: Didn’t they leave because of what happened….
Stewart: What!!
James: What happened last Friday?
Stewart: Nothing happened last Friday.
James: Father…
Stewart (angrily): You have been saying this all week and I have told you again and again that nothing happened… Anyway I have sent an advertisement to the newspaper for servants. We shall have servants this week.
(Bell rings. Mr. Stewart moves to the door and opens. Lights on three people standing.)
Stewart: Yes…
Mills: Good morning Sir, we have come about the…
Stewart: Oh yes, oh of course. Come in. (opening door and letting them in) I wasn’t expecting you so soon.
And you are…
Mills: I’m Michael Mills. This is Edmund Grilo and Frank Tottle.
Grilo: Pleased to meet you sir, I take care of the gardening.
Stewart eyeing Tottle, expecting him to speak.
Stewart: Have you had much experience.
Mills: Oh sir, don’t let that face fool you sir, he is older than he looks.
Stewart: Can you iron?
No reply from Tottle, just a nod.
Stewart: What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?!!
Mills: He can’t talk sir; the poor guy’s a mute. Oh but he is a good worker, I can promise you that.
Stewart: Very well, Mr. Mills you shall sleep in the attic, Mr. Grilo you can sleep in the shed.
(Mills eyeing the dust on the table)
Stewart: As you can see the house work has been rather neglected since the servants disappeared a week ago.
Mills: They just vanished!!
Stewart: Into thin air. No notice, no nothing. They didn’t even collect their wages.
Mills: What a strange thing…
Stewart: You will soon find out that this place is not the ideal home. And it’s been acting even more strangely since a week. Hence my advertisement asking for honest and hardworking people.
Grilo: There’s nobody more honest and hardworking than us, isn’t it Mills.
Mills: Oh yeah…
(Crying sound from background, Stewart holds hand up asking for silence. Sound grows a bit)
Stewart: JAMES!!!!! (Starting up) James I’m coming!!!
Moves to room 2, enters, James still sitting on the table.
Stewart: James!!
James: What’s the matter dad?
Stewart: Why were you crying?
James: I wasn’t!!!
Stewart: There is no need to feel ashamed, you can tell daddy.
James: I don’t. If I had been crying id tell you.
Stewart: Oh really, so I was imagined it, did I.
James: No, it was that boy victor.
Stewart: Who’s victor.
James: The boy that was here a moment ago. I told him to let me study but he wouldn’t stop crying. I think he is a spoilt brat. He said that he doesn’t like the house but has to live here. His father’s a musician and needs the peace.
Stewart: so you have spoken to his father as well!!
James: No. He is with the others in the hall.
Stewart: But I’ve just come from the hall, there’s no one there.
James: Maybe they moved upstairs.
Stewart: That’s enough James. (Sighs) Anyway, these are our new helpers.
Mills: Hello child, my name is Michael Mills. You can call me mike if you like.
James: My name is James.
Stewart: So now James, you can play now, but due to your behavior today, you will learn two chapters tomorrow as a punishment.
James: But that wasn’t me…
Stewart: Enough…
(James leaves, FADE OUT)
Scene 2:
(James in room 2 with Mills, reading, Stewart working in room 1)
(Sound of footsteps, probably from upstairs, Stewart perturbed by it. Still carries on after it stops. It comes again. Stands and moves to rooms 2. Opens the door. Startled to see James sitting. James and mills also startled.)
Stewart: Oh… well Mr. Mills, can I have a word with you?
Mills: Oh yes sir…
(Both move to room 1, lights out on room 2)
Stewart: Well Mr. Mills, the postbox is out in the garden and the postman comes every Wednesday. (Takes out a letter) But I see that he has not come this week. So the advertisement never came out in the newspaper. So would you mind explaining what you are doing here?
Mills (smiling): Well I understand. Well sir that was exactly what I was going to say when you opened the door. The truth is we just look out for a chance to work. And you know a big house like this is always in need of some. Also we got the news that the servants had left the house.
Stewart: You mean you have worked in a house like this before?
Mills: this may come as a surprise but we in fact used to work here.
Stewart: HERE!! Hmm… so you say you know the house well.
Mills: Like the back of my hand.
(Footsteps)
Stewart: Incidentally Mr. Mills, I’ve had to put up with the noise of Tottle running around like there were three of him. Would you mind telling him that there is not much need to kick up such a rumpus to do a bit of cleaning?
Mills: Very well sir.
(Mills leaves to darkness in left flank, lights dim on both rooms, and Stewart starts to work)
(Footsteps. Stewarts gets up but just freezes looking towards the left flank. Spot on left flank. There we see mills talking to Tottle. Stewart walks to room 2 to look for James. Sees him sitting)
Stewart: Who was that?
James: What?
Stewart: The footsteps, I heard them, didn’t you?
James: Yes I did but it wasn’t me.
Stewart: very well, come to the other room so I can keep an eye on you.
James: As you wish.
(They move to room 1, just as they are about to sit, they hear footsteps. Stewart is alarmed. James Calm.)
Stewart: What was that??!!
James (suspiciously, as if hiding something): How would I know?
Stewart: I can very well tell that you know something that you aren’t telling!! I want the truth.
James: I told the truth yesterday and I got punishment. I DON’T KNOW WHO IT WAS.
(Sound of the guitar from room 2. Stewart highly alarmed moves to room 2. Lights up on room2. Just as he enters, music stops. But the guitar is out on the chair. <IF POSSIBLE: the door closes behind him>)
Stewart (high panic): MILLS!! MILLS!!
(All 3 servants run in to room2)
Stewart: I want the whole house searched. Tottle and grille you search, mills stay with James.
(Stewart moves out, mills moves to room 1)
Mills: Well child what was it?
James: it was them, victor and also the others, but you won’t believe me.
Mills: From when have you been seeing them?
James: 2 days, victor says it’s their house now.
Mills: Well child, is this all because of what father did last Friday?
(James is highly startled)
James: Nothing happened, and I know you don’t believe me.
Mills: No child I very well believe you. I CAN SEE THEM AS WELL!! Your father will understand soon, sooner or later he will come to know.
FADE OUT
Scene 3:
(Grilo on right flank gardening. Mills in room 1 cleaning. Stewart moves into room 1 carrying an old looking book)
Stewart: Mr. Mills, I was searching the house and found this. Can you explain it?
(Both look at the book)
Stewart: These pictures… they are all sleeping in the pictures.
Mills: No sir. Dead. This is a book of the dead. In the last century people used to take pictures of the dead thinking the soul might live on.
Stewart: well then get rid of it. I don’t want that kind of a thing in my house.
(Stewart moves out to right flank to Mr. Grilo)
Stewart: Mr. Grilo, I wanted you to search this garden. For if there is a grave here.
Grilo: Well sir, I have been working for a week now but I haven’t seen any.
Stewart: still, please search. I want to see if a family was buried here and if they had a child named victor. I’m going to the church to ask father Francis to come.
(Stewart moves back to house. Mills moves to Grilo)
Mills: Now he thinks the house is haunted.
Grilo: do you think we should let him go.
Mills: don’t worry the fog won’t let her go far, he’ll just return.
Grilo: and when do you think we should let this out into the open. (Pointing towards a pile of leaves he is working on)
Mills: I think the time has come…
Grilo bends to the pile and lights out.
Stewart walks back, spot on him, on right flank. Walks along. But startled to see. Sees the place where there were a pile now are 3 grave stones. Names Mills Grilo and Tottle on them. Startled, freaks out.
Stewart (shouting and moving to room 1): James, James!!! Where are you!!
James enter room1
Stewart: are you all right? Where are the servants?
Lights on left flank. The 3 standing on left flank.
Grilo: Yes sir?
Stewart: James just move to that room, lock it and don’t come out.
James moves to room 2<darkness>
Stewart: what do you want?
Mills: We have been trying to tell you about the house. About the new situation. We must all learn to live together. The living and the dead.
Stewart: If you are dead leave us in peace.
Grilo: Suppose we do leave you. You think they will. The intruders.
Stewart: There are no intruders!!
Grilo: Oh believe me they are. And now they are in there with you and your child.
Mills: And believe me, sooner or later they will find you.
(SHOUT from James)
Mills: The intruders have found him.
Grilo: You will have to go and talk to them.
(Stewart scared, thinking walks to room2)
<A male voice>: Why are you afraid come speak to me…
Stewart opens the door, lights on room 2, on the table there sit, Father of a church, a male a female<if possible> and a child. James standing nearby father Francis feeling scared.
Francis: Come speak to me. Tell me what happened?
Stewart: Don’t talk to him! James!
James: If I tell him they may just leave us in peace.
Francis: Why are you crying child, what happened in this room?
(James walks to father and whispers to his ear)
Francis: Hanged, is that how you both died?
James: what, we did not die!!
Francis: child if you are dead why you do remain in this house?
James: We are not dead! We are not dead! We are not dead!
Stewart: WE ARE NOT DEAD! We survived!
Stewart comes and tears off the papers they are working on the desk. Takes the child and goes out to room 1 running. Father jerks a bit.
Mr. Marlish: Are you ok?
Francis: yeah, just a bit dizzy. So both of them made contact. What they had to say was interesting? Isn’t it?!
Mrs. Marlish: INTERESTING! I was scared out of my wits. See Jason, so far we have handled this method in your way. Father said to play music to them, you did, and they became even more active. And now both of them make contact. Victor has even being having visions of that boy. We are leaving this home! That’s enough.
Mr. Marlish: Darling please calm down.
Mrs. Marlish: no Jason. I can’t let my child go through this.
Light out in room 2. In room 2, Stewart and child on floor crying.
Stewart: I couldn’t understand at first. We both were there that day. You stopped moving. I thought we might be dyeing. But then you moved. I thought like god had given us a second chance… I ….
James: Dad, if we are dead, are we in heaven or hell.
Stewart: I’m no wiser than you are…
Mills: Sir, so you realize. The intruders are leaving. But others shall come. Sometimes we may feel them other time may not. That’s how it is. May I make you a coffee sir?
Stewart nods. Mills leaves. All lights out, spot on Grilo and Tottle-
Grilo: I ONLY WISH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD COULD LIVE TOGETHER……
THE END
