STIG DALAGER
The following is a short selection from the play originally published on pages 105 - 114 of Issue 28.3.
THE DREAM - A PLAY
by
Stig Dalager
ACT ONE
The stage is constructed with a large glass wall or roof, in such a way that the sky and stars above the mountains surrounding the house are clearly visible. The house is a typical older Provençal stone house near the foothills of the Alps. It contains various rooms and a central kitchen with an old-fashioned stove, table, chairs, etc., possibly a staircase. Somewhere in this scenery, the deceased grandfather occasionally appears. He comes and goes like a shadow with his own pattern of movement. At certain times he speaks.
SCENE ONE
Lights are low. Elisabeth sleeps in her bed. She’s restless, mumbles.
Elisabeth: (loudly) Peter...
She wakes up, mumbles something, sits up in bed, groggy and confused. The door opens.
Hanne: (turns on the lights) You were shouting...
Elisabeth: Please turn off the light...
Hanne turns off the overhead light. Elisabeth turns on a lamp and lights a cigarette. Hanne stands there uncertainly, watching her.
Hanne: You shouted...
Elisabeth: I don’t think I just lie here shouting...
Hanne: You shouted Peter.
Elisabeth: Why would I lie here shouting Peter?
Hanne: But I heard you, Mother... You woke me up!
Elisabeth: Maybe I was talking in my sleep. Nothing unusual about that, is there. Just go back to bed.
Hanne sighs and is about to leave the room.
Elisabeth: I was dreaming...
Hanne stops in the doorway.
Elisabeth: I dreamt about... (German pronunciation) Peter... He...
Hanne: Yes?
Elisabeth: He was wearing his uniform...we were in Kärtner-strasse, there were lots of people, but he stood out... The sun fell on him, he looked handsome, he... He was smiling and reaching out his arms, but I couldn’t move and he didn’t get any closer, just kept walking and walking... I... Oh, what a silly dream...
Hanne: What did you do?
Elisabeth: I woke up!
Hanne: No, in the dream.
Elisabeth: I... Oh, it doesn’t matter; just go back to bed. Don’t mind me, I’m not a patient, am I?
Hanne stands there for a moment looking at her, shakes her head slightly and is about to leave again.
Elisabeth: Don’t you want to know what I was doing?
Hanne turns back toward her mother.
Elisabeth: I was crying... I started to cry, but it was as if he...
She starts to cry. Hanne walks over to her and sits down and holds her.
Hanne: Just take it easy...
Elisabeth: He didn’t even look at me. He was looking at something else, something behind me. Maybe it was St. Stephan’s Cathedral... he was so fascinated by architecture... he was Catholic, always went to mass... he... he suddenly just walked right past me, I couldn’t move... I tried saying his name, but couldn’t. Shout, I told myself, shout, if only you shout his name he’ll come back...
Hanne: But you did shout!
Elisabeth: You don’t understand...!
Hanne: Yes, I do...
Elisabeth: He didn’t come back. He’ll never come back. He...
She cries again. Hanne holds her silently. Lights down.
End Scene One
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