Hi Fi (English)

HI-FI

Hi-Fi was first performed at the Dramski Teatar, Skopje, Yugoslavia, in 1983. It was subsequently performed that season in eighteen different theaters in Yugoslavia.

BORIS, 60 MATEI, 20, his grandson SONIA, 40, Boris's daughter, Matei's mother MIRA,18 THE AMERICAN THE RUSSIAN THE ARAB

Translated from the Macedonian by Patricia Marsh Stefanovska

PART ONE (The living room of a three-room flat. Lying around the room are various musical instruments, electrical equipment, dismantled loudspeakers, amplifiers, tools, etc .. Full ash-trays, empty glasses and bottles. Pop and rock 'n' roll posters and pictures on the walls. After midnight. In the middle of the room SONIA and THE ARAB are sitting on a sofa. SONIA is smoking nervously. THE ARAB is on the point of falling asleep; his head is nodding. Long pause. The sound of a key in the door. SONIA takes a few steps towards the door. The door opens. BORIS stands on the threshold in a raincoat. Half-drunk. He looks at the flat in amazement. Pause.) Welcome home. (Pause.) We've been expecting you since eight. You wouldn't've been able to get in. The lock's changed. Everything's changed. You can see for yourself. BORIS: What's all this? SONIA: Matei. BORIS: What d'you mean, Matei? SONIA: He moved into your flat a year ago. BORIS: So? SONIA: There. BORIS: He's still here? SONIA: He's asleep. BORIS: SO, what now? SONIA: Wake him up and ask him. We're not on speaking terms. BORIS: You've been hiding this from me for a year, haven't you? SONIA:

(Pause.)

I thought I'd manage to get him out. I waited on the stairs for him at night. I phoned. I left him notes. I drew the line at calling the police. BORIS: Well, I'll be damned. (Pause) Where's my furniture? SONIA: Moved. BORIS: Where? SONIA: Some of it's in the other rooms. Some of it's in the cellar. BORIS: How could you let things get into such a state? SONIA: Wait 'till you see him. BORIS: I left the keys with you. SONIA: He pinched them. You don't know what I've been through. BORIS: You haven't seen your own son for a year? SONIA: Well, aren't you my father, too? I've been sitting here like a stump for hours. You might've put off the boozing for a day or two. Or you could've brought a bottle home. BORIS: Home? This, home? (Pause) Why didn't he wait up for me? SONIA: He did. For ten minutes. That's how much he cares. (Pause) He can't stand sitting in the same room with me. He's crazy. BORIS: I'll be damned. SONIA: You won't be laughing tomorrow morning. (Pause) Or are you laughing from despair? BORIS: I thought nothing could surprise me any more after these last five years. (Looks at THE ARAB) SONIA: This is a colleague of mine. From Iraq. Halil. THE ARAB: (Shaking hands with BORIS) Habib. BORIS: Halil or Habib? SONIA: Halil Habib. BORIS: Which is his first name and which is his surname? SONIA: I don't know. BORIS: Ask him. SONIA: I don't speak Arabic. BORIS: Well, how do you understand each other? SONIA: We don't. BORIS: Bravo. SONIA: He's here on a year's scholarship. BORIS: I see. Now you know it all yourselves, you've begun schooling the others, have you? (Pause) Shooby Dooby, I've just got out of jail, Verstehen? Jail? Bars. A wall. Nicht way out. Fiinf Jahre. Verstehen? Sprechen Sie deutsch?

SONIA:

THE ARAB: BORIS:

Ja.

Now he's got me. (Pause) Let's stick to Macedonian. Makedonisch,

ja? THE ARAB: BORIS:

Ja.

Gut. (Pause) Where did you find this one?

He found me. Why doesn't some decent guy attach himself to you for once? SONIA: I've got nothing to do with him. He's in a hotel. BORIS: Well, then, you can sit at home alone, he can sit alone in his hotel, my grandson alone here in my flat, and I'll just go down in the cellar with the wardrobes and dresser. I've heard of freedom, but this is ridiculous! SONIA: There's one Easter egg in the refrigerator. Easter was six months ago. The faucets drip. The water-heater doesn't work. I wanted to put it on so you could have a bath. BORIS: I don't have baths. I haven't had a bath for years. I use a deodorant. (Pause) Feet only smell because they actually come out of your arse. SONIA: Shall we leave you now? BORIS: What d'you mean? SONIA: To have a sleep. BORIS: I don't sleep. Haven't slept for years. (Pause) I use a deodorant. SONIA: You must help Matei, Dad. He's lying in there drunk, or drugged. He frightens me. I don't understand him. You've got an air of authority. He's got to get out of here. By force, if necessary. This is your house. He's thrown off all the reins. You rein him in again. BORIS: You want him back with you? SONIA: Certainly not. He's got his father's pension. He can find himself a studio. (Pause) BORIS: I'll have to use hypnosis. SONIA: What d'you mean, hypnosis? BORIS: I had this cell-mate who was a hypnotist. He taught me a bit about it. SONIA: I think you'd better try something a bit more reliable. BORIS: Let me show you. SONIA: Not now. BORIS: It won't take a minute. Close your eyes. SONIA: Look, Dad, I'm tired. BORIS: Verfluchten sarmusaklin usanama betch. SONIA: What? BORIS: Verfluchten sarmusaklin usanama betch. Your head feels heavy. You're sleepy. You're very sleepy. You're dropping off. You're nearly asleep. You're asleep. (Pause) Are you asleep? SONIA: No. BORIS: But you're feeling sleepy? SONIA: I was before you started. BORIS: I'll have to practice a bit. SONIA: Do what you like. Just get him out of here and all this mess. I said I'd look after the place for you. I feel guilty about it. SONIA: BORIS:

I'll reeducate him. (Pause) We've got time to start from the beginning again. (Pause) To live together. (Pause) To change our lives radically. SONIA: You're drunk. Come on, Halil. (To BORIS) Ring me tomorrow. BORIS: With a dispatch from the front line. THE ARAB: (On his way out) Verfluchten sarmusaklin usanama betch. (They go out) BORIS: It took me two months to learn that. He just heard it once and he got it. Perhaps it means something in Arabic. (Pause. BORIS looks around him. He goes up to an amplifier. He has a good look at it. He switches it on. The amplifier starts to buzz loudly. BORIS turns it off. He reacts as if he had had an electric shock. He licks his finger. Pause.)

BORIS:

(The same room. centre opens. THE passes by BORIS.)

BORIS

on the sofa. A door in the comes out. He has a beard and long hair. He

asleep fully-clothed

AMERICAN

(He goes into the bathroom and BORIS sits up, looking taken aback. He rubs his eyes. Pause. THE AMERICAN returns. He sits down on the floor in the lotus position. He prepares to do some yoga. BORIS looks at him.)

Who the hell are you? Hello. BORIS: We've already said that. I want to know who you are. THE AMERICAN: Do you speak English? BORIS: Nein. Deutsch. You speak deutsch? THE AMERICAN: No. BORIS: Of course not. You can't win 'em all. THE AMERICAN: I'm Mark. I'm from America. BORIS: Americana? THE AMERiCAN: Yeah. BORIS: Ja. (Pause) Gut. (Pause) Mein Vater, ja, Amerika und Argentina, picking up jobs where he could. Verstehen? Seasonal worker. Mazedonische Tragedie. THE AMERICAN: Yeah. BORIS: Ja, my foot! Don't suppose you understood a word. (Pause. THE AMERICAN does some breathing exercises.) Gary, Indiana? (Pause)

BORIS:

THE AMERICAN:

Gary Cooper? (Pause) Donald Duck? (Pause) If you were my son for three days, I'd soon show you. (Pause) (MATEI

and

emerges from the central door. Strange hairstyle, look at each other. Pause.)

earring. He

BORIS

Welcome home. Thank you. MATEI: Happy freedom. BORIS: Thank you. MATEI: This place is a mess. BORIS: Never mind. (Pause) I'd never 've recognised you. MATEI: This is Mark. BORIS: We've been introduced. Had quite a little early morning chat. Is that an earring in your ear? MATEI: Yes. BORIS: You had it pierced? MATEI: Yes. BORIS: It hurt? MATEI: No. BORIS: How much did it cost? MATEI: Five thousand lira. BORIS: Didn't get it done here then? MATEI: No. In Italy. BORIS: I knew straight away it hadn't been pierced at home. It does look nice on you. Do they pierce for the older man, too? MATEI: Gently. And at a discount. (Pause. They look at each other in

MATEI: BORIS:

silence.)

What's for breakfast? Hazelnuts. BORIS: I meant something to eat. (Pause) Why don't you send our little American friend to get some burek1? MATEI: Burek's dead food. BORIS: And are hazelnuts alive, then? I prefer dead food. With live beer. (Puts his hands on his stomach) Look at my spare tire. (Pause) How old were you when I went in? A pubescent boy? I didn't want you to come and see me. What was there to see? (Looks at THE AMERICAN) What's he up to, then? MATEI: Breathing. BORIS: I thought he was suffocating. Who is he? MATEI: I just ran into him. He's hitchhiking. On his way to Greece. BORIS: And you brought him home to do a bit of breathing. MATEI: There's enough room in this flat. BORIS:

MATEI:

This is my flat. MATEI: I never said it wasn't. I just said there's enough room. (Pause. They look at each other in silence.) BORIS: Of course there is. "If the guests don't make trouble, the house seems to double." (Pause) Just ran into this American, then, eh? (Pause) How come you don't just run into a Russian sometimes, huh? MATEI: You don't get that many Russian hitchhikers around. BORIS: And why is that? Have you ever thought about it? And whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that there aren't many? MATE!: I'll find you a Russian. BORIS: What Russian? MATEI: The genuine article. (Pause) BORIS: (Flicking through a book) This his book? MATEI: Yes. (Pause) Something suspicious about it? BORIS: No, no. Just looking. (Pause) Have I changed a lot? Look older? I know you'll say I don't. Just to be nice. MATEI: You look older. BORIS: What's wrong with me? MATEI: Nothing. You just look older. BORIS: (Taking some police handcuffs out of his pocket.) They arrested me with these. I had a hard time letting me have them. You can keep them. MATEI: No, no. They're yours. BORIS: You can have them. MATEI: What do I want them for? BORIS: Play at prisons. Shall I show you how they work? Hold your hands out. (Pause) Go on! (MATE I holds his hands out. BORIS puts the handcuffs on him.) Nice little toy. This is steel. Stainless steel. What stories they could tell of the hands that have passed through them! MATEI: Take them off. BORIS: It's all right. Feel free to wear them for a bit. Walk around - see how they feel. MATEI: Let me go. BORIS: Cold, are they? Yes, they are. (Takes them off.) You look after these, understand? Don't you dare throw them away. Swear on your mother's honor you'll look after them. MATEI: If I swear on that, don't believe me! BORIS: Then swear by what you love most of all. What d'you love more than anything else? MATEI: Fucking. BORIS: Shame on you! MATEI: The more shame the better. BORIS: I didn't mean specific things. Generally speaking, what do you BORIS:

love most? Nothing. I don't love anything generally speaking. BORIS: What about freedom? Your country? (Pause) MATEI: Yes. BORIS: What d'you mean, yes? MATEI: Yes, sir. (Pause. They look at each other in silence.) BORIS: Well, now I'm out of jail. What do I do with myself now? MATEI: What did you do before you went in? BORIS: None of your business. (Points to the amplifier.) What's this? MATEI: None of your business. (Pause) Guitar amplifier. I'm fixing it for some friends. BORIS: Not in a hurry to leave university, are you? Nibbling away at your Dad's pension. They'll fix you in the army. Go on, play something then. MATEI: I don't play. BORIS: Go on. Anything. MATEI:

(MATEI picks up the guitar. He plugs it into the amplifier. He makes a loud, harsh, long feedback, an unpleasant cacophonous noise. He turns off the amplifier. Pause.)

That's not music. No. (Pause) It's noise. (Pause, they look at each other.) BORIS: Your mother's given you up for lost. But I understand you. I'm young at heart. I was a tearaway at your age, too. I'm still a bit of a devil. We'll get pissed one night. Get to know each other better. (Pause) Why empty an ashtray in the trash can, when you might just as well do this? (He grabs the full ashtray and empties the contents onto the table.) You should do what your own inner freedom tells you. MATEI: (Gets a brush and dustpan. Cleans up the ash.) Modeerf. BORIS: What? MATEI: The word "freedom" backwards is "modeerf". (Pause) I turn words backwards to see if they mean anything the other way round. BORIS: Why? MATEI: To see if they mean anything the other way round. "Mood" the other way round is "doom" and "live" is "evil". (Pause) BORIS: SO, you actually think, do you? (Pause) I've got some rather interesting reflections in my diaries. I kept a diary in prison. You can give me a hand to type them out a bit at a time, you know. That way you'll be able to study them in more detail, too. There are some strong images from life in them. (Pause) Yes. (Pause, He reflects.) "Anna" the other way round is still "Anna". Anna - Anna. (Pause for reflection. ) BORIS:

MATEI:

THEAMERrCAN: (Gets up) I'll take a shower now, Matthew. (Goes into the bathroom.) BORIS:What d'he say? MATEr:He's going to have a shower. BORIS:How come you know so much English? MATEr:I study. BORrs:I study, too, but I don't seem to learn anything. He doesn't know who I am. He might think you picked me up somewhere on the open road as well. What did he say, "Matthew"? You're Matei. You don't translate people's names. Is he paying you anything to stay here? MATEr:No. BORIS:Why don't you charge him something? Just something symbolic, eh? (Pause) And when you go to America, you'll stay with him, will you? MATEr:Yes. BORrs:What if you don't go to America? MATEr:I won't stay with him. BORIS:And then all this will have been for nothing, eh? (Pause) How long's he been here? MATEr:Three days. BORIS:If he'd been staying in a hotel, he'd have spent a bit. What do his father and mother do? MATEr:I haven't asked him. BORIS:He might be some millionaire you're putting up for free. They go around the world looking all scruffy and all the time they've got a million dollar check sewn in their underpants. Is he on his summer holidays? MATEr:He works for six months and then travels around for the other six. BORrs:What about his social security and pension rights? MATEr:I really don't know what he does about them. (Pause) BORIS:Well now, I've come, there isn't much room in the house. You'd think it might occur to him to go, to say "Thank you very much, but I see I'm in the way. I'll go". (Pause) I'm just supposing. I mean, he doesn't have to go. But he could say he will and then we'll tell him to stay. What's he doing here? MATEr:He's going round the monasteries. BORIS:He's not stealing icons, is he? It said in the papers there's lots of that. They sell them for a fortune abroad. MATEr:He's writing a book. BORIS:Him? (Pause) Him with the hair writing a book? (Pause) He got any Yankee cigarettes, then? MATEr:He can dance the oro2• BORrs:So can I.

MATEr:He knows them all. That's what he studied. BORIS:Oooh! Which university was that? I'll go and get myself a degree in myoId age! (THEAMERrCAN comes out with a towel round his waist.) Mark, come 'ere. The Ovchepole running oro, verstehen? (He whistles two bars from the oro. MARK whistles the next two bars of the same dance.) Well, I'll be ... (BoRrswhistles another two bars. MARK whistles the next two. Pause. To MATEr)Do you dance the oro? MATEr:No. Rock 'n' roll. (Pause) Mark can't dance rock 'n' roll. (Pause)

(The centre door opens and MrRAcomes out, wearing pyjamas. She's just got up. She sits down on the sofa. Pause.)

MATEr:This is Mira. My grandfather, Boris. BORIS:Good morning. MrRA:(Nods her head. Pause.) BORIS:How many more of you are there in the place? MATEr:This is all of us - we're very select. BORIS:Is Mira one of ours? MATEr:Yes. BORrs:How many beds are there in that room? MATEr:There aren't any beds. (Pause) BORIS:You're living in sin, are you? MATEr:In sin? BORrs:Yes. MATEr:No. BORIS:I mean, you're not married. MATEr:I mean we are. A fisherman married us at the seaside. BORIS:We're not getting through to each other. MATEr:No. (Pause) BORIS:Well, I'll be damned. (Pause) I've spent my whole life like I was in a choir singing some really important song. I'm dying for a piss, but I can't go and mess up the song. Should I go on singing or hold on? Actually, I do have a little piss from time to time, but very secretly and it goes all over my trousers. But you lot are a choir of people who piss. If anybody feels like doing a bit of singing, he sings to himself so that he won't bother the others. It's easier to hold your song in than your bladder. MATEr:Do you think so? (Pause) BORIS:Well, never mind. You just go on as usual. Don't bother about me. Pretend I'm not here.

You tOO. (Pause. MATEI goes up to MIRA. He puts his arms round her and kisses her. A long kiss. BORIS first watches and then turns

MATE!:

away.

THE AMERICAN

is getting dry.)

They're a disgusting gang of depraved little bastards. You can't imagine. SONIA: I don't have to imagine anything. I told you last night. If you wait any longer, he'll throw you out of the house. This flat will belong to whoever fights for it. BORIS: I'll let them think I'm on their side for a bit longer. I'll destroy them from the inside. (Pause) They've gone off into the countryside looking for monasteries. People spend their whole lives trying to get to the cities and this lot wander around in the wilderness. SONIA: I've got to get back to work. BORIS: You're the Director. You don't have to do anything. SONIA: You think it's still like in your day. You still think cigarettes cost one-and-a-half dinars, too. BORIS: I'm still farting about doing nothing - like in my day. SONIA: You'll get used to it. BORIS: I don't want to get used to it. I've been getting used to something all my life. Getting used to prison, getting used to freedom. I've made a habit of getting used to things, whether they're things I should get used to or not. SONIA: It's not my fault you messed up your life. BORIS: I've still got some left to mess up, thank you. Of course, you've really made something wonderful of yours. SONIA: I don't expect anything more of my life. BORIS: That's why you've got a new suit and shiny shoes. SONIA: And tranquilizers in my handbag. BORIS: What more do you want? You all slaughter lambs and don't get your hands bloody. You eat them and don't get your hands greasy either. Nice jacket, waistcoat, trousers, starched collar and bow-tie, of course. Slightly greying hair, neat hairstyle. Cleansing lotions, moisturisers, discreet duty-free perfume. Full pension. Patch things BORIS:

up here and there. Just so long as we survive, the rest can go to hell. Well, there have to be a few tranquilizers in return for all that. SONIA: You had your share. BORIS: I could have had more, too. Didn't want to. I've got some self-respect. I don't gnaw at everything. This isn't your world. It's mine. I made it. With these hands. SONIA: With those hands you did something else, too. BORIS: I've paid for that. And more. You came twice a year to see if I was alive and to congratulate me for hanging on. If you and that husband of yours had moved your little fingers I'd have got five months instead of five years. Oh, no. We don't know how to take care of each other. That's what's wrong with this family. You didn't want to make any problems for yourself. You'd just become a director and now you had to make the most of it. Sociology, articles, papers, nature, society. So the hell with the rest of you. SONIA: Well, at least I'm not a deputy consultant. I never did understand what your job was. BORIS: I did my bit. SONIA: And so did I! You set the foundations and I'm building the house. You may have made the world, but someone's got to look after it. You've done your bit, now move over. Don't put your nose in where it's not wanted. BORIS: You couldn't even look after this flat and you talk about looking after the world! Look at Matei, for God's sake! You don't give a damn about the flat, or the world, or Matei. You're on your own allinclusive package tour. Leave the dirty work to Boris. Let him get Matei out of here. SONIA: It's just a technical problem. BORIS: Then we'd better call in a bulldozer! (Pause) How do you go on living? You don't believe in me. You don't even believe in yourself. SONIA: Faith, hope, love. It's amazing how little you understand anymore. BORIS: It's amazing how you all became the bosses all of a sudden. Nobody obeys anyone any more and nobody wants to serve anyone any more. There are no waiters. All the waiters are bosses. Everyone's a guest. Even the hosts are guests along with the guests. SONIA: And what do you suggest? BORIS: That all decisions be made once and for all. And carried out conscientiously. SONIA: And who's going to make all the decisions once and for all? You? That's what you'd really like, isn't it? BORIS: At least I know what I want. I'm not a quiet little calculator. (Pause) You betrayed me. SONIA: Just as Matei betrayed me and his children will betray him.

• HI-Fl. BORIS:Somebody should put a stop to it. SONIA:And who's going to put a stop to it? You? BORIS:Yes, me! I began it and I'll finish it. SONIA:You can't touch me. Vent it all out on Matei.

MATEI:(Taking the headphones MIRA:What? MATEI:YOU say something? MIRA:Me?

off.) What?

(MATEIputs the headphones back on. MIRAgoes on with her writing. Pause. BORIScomes in. MATEIhas his back to him.) (The same room. Evening. MATEIis fixing an amplifier. MIRAis writing. THEAMERICAN is getting his sleeping-bag ready for bed. Pause.) MIRA:Boris is fixing the faucets. MATEI:Really? MIRA:Yes. MATEI:Thank God someone's doing it at last. MIRA:I've been asking you to do it for months. MATEI:Why didn't you do it yourself? You're all for equality of the sexes. MIRA:You are being particularly nice to me today. MATEI:To err is human. (Pause) I'm not interested in whether the faucets need fixing or not. MIRA:Or in whether they bother me. MATEI:Or in whether they bother you. I'm sick of everything. Myself most of all. MIRA:Cynicism isn't always the answer to everything, you know. MATEI:Nor is there an answer to everything. Or any point in finding an answer. MIRA:That doesn't mean we have to live among cockroaches and stink. Boris thinks we don't notice. That that's just what we're like. Young and free. He doesn't know we're fed up to the teeth with each other. As if we'd been married for a hundred years. MATEI:Speak for yourself. MIRA:And you keep quiet for yourself. You're doing fine in someone else's flat, with someone else's money. And with someone who'll make the lunch and wash your underpants now and then. MATEI:Nobody's forcing you. MIRA:Unfortunately I get hungry sometimes, too, and like being clean. MATEI:This place is going to be mine sooner or later, anyway. MIRA:Just sit back and wait. That's the modern way. You're just another little Boris. You only need to let your stomach out a bit and go bald. MATEI:Why're you still here, then? MIRA:I love you. (MATEIputs headphones over his ears. Pause. MIRA looks at him.) Brave new world.

BORIS:I've fixed the faucets. They were dripping in floods. I had a hard time finding washers in town. I looked around for two hours. Some too small, the others too big. I chopped the big ones down to size and they were just right. Just a little piece of rubber, but it does the job. There are things called washers in taps. (Pause) You can change them. (Pause) You don't have to throw the whole tap away if it starts dripping. MATEI:(Happens to turn round. He stares at BORIS.He hasn't heard anything. He takes the headphones off.) Hello. (Pause) BORIS:I was just talking about the faucets. (Pause) I was saying I've fixed them. MATEI:Aha? BORIS:Aha. MATEI:Were they dripping? BORIS:No, I just made them drip to have something to do. (Pause) (MATEIturns on some very loud music. Long pause. something at MATE!.MATEIturns the tape-recorder off.)

BORISshouts

BORIS:I said, isn't it rather loud? MATEI:Yes, it is. BORIS:Don't the neighbors complain? MATE!:Yes, they do. BORIS:So? MATEI:The neighbors are always complaining about something (Pause) Anything else? BORIS:That's all for the moment. (MATEIturns the music on very loud again. THEAMERICAN is smoking and reading lying down in the sleeping-bag. MIRAis writing. Pause. BORIS starts to sing something very loudly. MATEIsuddenly turns off the tape-recorder.) BORIS:(MATEIputs the music on at full blast. It covers Boris's singing. Long pause. BORISgets up and starts pacing up and down the room, with his hands behind his back. The music goes on. MATE I suddenly

• HI-Fl. to read it. He puts it down. Pause. He looks at Feeling edgy? No. On the contrary. I used to walk up and down like this in my cell. MATEI: D'you want to go to bed? BORIS: If I feel sleepy, I'll just lie down here and have a little snooze. MA TEl: Does the music bother you? BORIS: No. It's very restful. MATEI: Do you mean to be witty, or does it just come to you? MATEI: BORIS:

It comes to some, it goes from others. (Pause) It's good music. It's got energy. MATEI: SO you do remember. (Pause) BORIS: Anyone for a game of whist? (Pause) I could read you something from my diaries. (Pause) Well, we can leave that till tomorrow. (Pause) Got any drugs, then? Bit of marijuana, or something? (Pause. Silence.) You haven't got any at the moment, or you don't indulge? (Pause) I do, and plenty. Doesn't really affect me, though. I've got a good head. Rather have three brandies, two beers. Then I'm blotto! (Pause) You think I'm old and done for. I am getting on a bit, but there's no difference between you and me. You can't understand that now, of course. If you could see inside my head, you'd get a shock. I could dress up in high heels, for example, put on some black stockings, make my face up and go out on the streets in my underpants. Let people pinch my bottom. Wouldn't worry me a bit. But there's such a thing as respectability. You can do this, you can't do that, and that's it. There's some kind of order in everything. I know there are others to keep order, but I'm too frightened. We all want to walk the street with no clothes on, but we all wear ties. Like nooses round our necks. Nice and quiet and proper. (Pause. MIRA gets up and leaves the room. Pause. Silence. MATEI gets up and leaves the room. Pause. Silence.) No 'good morning', no 'good night'. Ah, Mark, if onlyI could tell you what a first day of freedom I had, if only you could understand. THE AMERICAN: Good night. BORIS:

(The same room. Afternoon. BORIS is reading the papers. MIRA is writing. Pause. BORIS folds the papers up. Pause. He takes up a book and begins

MIRA.

Pause.)

What a lot of writing you do! (Pause) I even write postcards in block capitals - just don't know what to write. (Pause) What do you study? MIRA: Languages. BORIS: I'm sorry. You're working. (Pause. MIRA goes on writing.) What languages? MIRA: Greek and Latin. BORIS: Ephkharisto parakhalo. MIRA: Ancient Greek. Classics. (Goes on writing. Pause.) BORIS: Can you say anything interesting in Latin, then? MIRA: Inter faeces et urinam nascimur. (Pause) We are born between excrement and urine. (Pause) St. Augustine. (Pause) BORIS: I have a passing knowledge of English, a good knowledge of German and I know Russian almost up to university level. (Pause. He reads something written on the tape-recorder.) What does this "hi-fi" mean? MIRA: It's an abbreviation of "high fidelity". BORIS: Aha. (Pause) High fidelity to what? MIRA: To the sound. The reproduction is true to what has been recorded. BORIS: If I'd died yesterday, I'd never have known that. MIRA: Well, now you can die tomorrow, Mr. Stefanovski. BORIS: Don't call me Mr. Stefanovski. I feel as if there's a wall between us. Boris. (Pause) Can people be "hi-fi"? True to themselves? MIRA: They have to be. BORIS: And if they're not? MIRA: They'll have problems. BORIS: And how do you make yourself like that? MIRA: It's hard. BORIS: And what does it look like? MIRA: Like Buddha. When he walked along the street, the people who saw him used to fall into a trance from the joy of watching him. He walked in such a liberated way. So simply and so majestically. BORIS: Are you hi-fi? MIRA: That's a good question. BORIS: That's why I asked it. MIRA: I don't know myself well enough. BORIS: You young people can hardly wait to get sad about things. MIRA: I'm not complaining; I'm just stating a fact. BORIS: Am I hi-fi? (Pause) Am I? MIRA: I don't know you. BORIS: Can't you see at a glance? (Pause. BORIS goes out of the room. MIRA BORIS:

goes on writing. Pause. BORIS comes back dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, a cravat and a straw hat. He is barefoot.) And now? (MIRA looks at him. She laughs.) Am I hi-fi now? MIRA: It doesn't depend on your clothes. BORIS: These clothes are a part of myself. MIRA: Then you are. BORIS: If a person is naturally bad, will he be hi-fi if he goes on being bad? (Pause) What good is it being hi-fi when I'm in short sleeves and it's cold outside? MIRA: You have to pay the price. You have to try everything. BORIS: Everything? (Pause) What about strangling someone? (Pause) You don't know anything. You can't try anything. Whatever you try is a deadly sin. Whatever you try lands you in jail. Whenever you do anything with all your heart, with hi-fi, you'll be in trouble. And for fear of getting into trouble again, everything you do afterwards will be without any heart, without any hi-fi, and only to try to patch up what you did in the first place. And you want me to go out in the snow in short sleeves. How sweet and innocent. (He flicks his hair over to the other side.) Like this? (He flicks it back.) Or like this? (Pause) Hi-fi or no hi-fi, we're all going to die like laboratory mice. (Pause) What does your father do? Has he got a lot of money? MIRA: Why? BORIS: I'm just interested. MIRA: He's an everyday working man. Works in a shop. BORIS: I thought he was a millionaire. MIRA: What made you think that? BORIS: You, of course. Can I put my head in your lap? MIRA: Why? BORIS: My hi-fi tells me I'd very much like to put my head in your lap. MIRA: Put it there then. BORIS: (Puts his head in MIRA'S lap.) My heart's beating as if I was at the dentist's. (Pause) I envy you all. You're young. You know everything and you've still got time to learn some more. My life ... my life. I ate grass in the mountains during the war. I had lots of different jobs. I was in favor. I was out of favor. I got divorced. I drank. Hi-fi and a half. I can't put all the pictures together in one. They're all scattered about the place. They keep getting away. (He puts his hands on her breasts.) MIRA: Don't. BORIS: Hi-fi. MIRA: No. BORIS: Why not? MIRA: I don't like it. BORIS: If that's all, don't worry. You'll survive. Kiss me. Don't ask why.

Kiss me. No. BORIS: Why not? MIRA: I've got my own hi-fi. BORIS: I want to see you naked. MIRA: Leave me alone, please. (She pushes him away and gets up.) BORIS: (He remains half-seated, half-lying on the sofa) Come here. I won't touch you. Just be close to me. You don't know how much you mean to me. You make me feel strong again. I'd love to ... drink your blood. You talk about high fidelity. Here's your high fidelity for you. Now put up with it. You're just a common little tart. Go back to your suburbs. Sleeping around in other people's flats. Spreading disease in this family. Don't look at me like that. D'you hate me? Throw acid in my eyes. The classic lover's revenge. (MIRA goes out quickly. Pause. BORIS smoothes his hair. He takes off the straw hat.) MIRA:

(The same room. A minute later. come in.) MATEI: BORIS: MATEI: BORIS: MATEI: BORIS: MATEI: BORIS:

and

THE RUSSIAN

We'll make a man of you yet. You've started to wear my shirts. You have to try everything. Where's Mira? She's gone out. You just missed her. Here's a Russian for you. Sorry? You asked for a Russian - now you've got one. (To THE RUSSIAN.) Russian?

THE RUSSIAN:

BORIS:

MATEI, THE AMERICAN

Hitch-hiker?

THE RUSSIAN:

From the war. (Pause) A bit from the war, a bit after the war. (Pause. To THE AMERICAN) You contribute something, too. THE AMERICAN: Pardon? BORIS: I said, contribute to the conversation - take part. Ah, Mark, Mark. (Pause) Come on, now, you two, shake hands. (He takes their hands. He puts them together. THE RUSSIAN and THE AMERICAN shake hands.) That's the way. You go on like that - not making wars. (Pause. THE RUSSIAN and THE AMERICAN drop their hands.) Who's more powerful, Russia or America? (Pause. Silence.) Who's more hi-fi? Where do you have more freedom, in Russia or in America? (To THE AMERICAN) Russische or Amerikanische grande frei, all right? (Pause) Who's more for the Russians, who for the Americans? (Pause) If you lot didn't exist, God knows how we would have settled that sort of thing. We wouldn't have known who was what. We wouldn't 've had any hi-fi. Like this, we've got two. (Pause) What d'you two think about it all, then? (Pause) Mark? THE AMERICAN: Pardon? BORIS: Who knows what you might have become if you'd 've known how to say something else. Matei? MATEI: You just strike an agreement with the guests. We two won't have any trouble coming to terms. BORIS: Alexei? BORIS:

BORIS:

(Pointing to

THE AMERICAN.)

He's a hitch-hiker. American.

THE RUSSIAN:

XOpOIiiO. (Pause. To MATEI) You all come for something in particular? MATEI: Nothing in particular. (Pause) BORIS: What am I supposed to do? MATEI: Why d'you have to do anything? (Pause) BORIS: (Gets a bottle of brandy.) Well, I'm glad we've all come together like this. Rakia3? BORIS:

THE RUSSIAN:

BORIS:

A Russian and he doesn't drink?

THE RUSSIAN:

THE RUSSIAN:

Ah, nasty! My mother had a lot of trouble with her kidneys. Mark? THE AMERICAN: No, thank you. BORIS: Also for reasons of health? THE AMERICAN: Pardon? BORIS: Granted. (Pours himself some brandy) I won't offer you any, Matei. You're not a guest; you can help yourself. (Raises his glass) To peace in the world. To US-Soviet friendship. To health and happiness. (Drains his glass. Pause.) Russia ogramnaya. (Pause) Ah, Alexei, Alexei. (Pause) America ogramnaya, too, but a little bit smaller. (Pause) Tolstoy - great Russian writer. (Pause) Shakespeare - great American writer. BORIS:

Now, now, don't change the subject, brother. That's not what I asked you. (Pause) People 're always contrary. Nobody ever wants to talk about anything serious.

BORIS:

THE RUSSIAN:

BORIS: BonbHo:A:? THE RUSSIAN:

THE RUSSIAN: MaTe:A: cnyI1IaTb

BORIS:

American, English - same thing. How's my Ruski?

QTO

B~

6onbHo:A:

H

H

npHliion

Bac.

What's he going on about? I went to the University. I thought up some story about you being on your death-bed and it being your last wish to tell something in confidence to a Russian. BORIS: Why? MATEI: I had to get him here somehow. You wanted him.

BORIS:

THE RUSSIAN:

CKa3an,

MATEI:

(To

MATEI)

I wasn't serious. MATEI: You should've said so. Too late now. (Pause) Doesn't matter. He hasn't got a clue to what's going on, anyway.

BORIS:

That's all I needed. Sonia. BORIS: Sonia not here. THE ARAB: (Points to the door.) Sonia. BORIS: Ah, Sonia's coming. Well done. (Pause) She sent him to announce her. (THE ARAB sits down) Takes a seat. Nice, civilized chap. (Pause) Well, that makes it easier now. I've got the two blocs and the Third World. (Pause) Gut. (Pause) Damn me if I know what the devil's going on. (SONIA comes in.) Well, now we're all here. We can start. (He sings the International]:' Arise! ye starvelings, from your slumbers; Arise! ye criminals of want, For reason in revolt now thunders, And at last ends the age of cant. (To MATEI) Why aren't you singing? MATEI: Don't know the words. BORIS: Don't know the words? MATEI: Not all of them. BORIS: Well, you're going to learn all the words before I die, my lad. MATEI: Why? BORIS: You don't know that, either, eh? I'll teach you that, too. All the things they didn't teach you in school, I'm going to teach you here. You're all out of hand. Your Granddad's going to teach you everything, my beauty. Why didn't you say you didn't know? (Goes up to THE AMERICAN) Passport! You, too, all of you, get your passports out, on the double! (Goes to the door, locks it and puts the key in his pocket.) Get your passports out, don't just look at me. SONIA: What're you doing? BORIS: What I like. SONIA: Why did you lock the door? BORIS: SO no one can get away. SONIA: Unlock it and let me out. BORIS: You just tell Tarzan here to get his passport out. He didn't understand. SONIA: Open the door. I feel faint. I can't stand being closed in. BORIS: Sorry, Alexei, but procedures is procedures. (THE AMERICAN is rolling a cigarette. He finds the new situation amusing.) Hashish? THE AMERICAN: (Laughing) Yeah! BORIS:

THE ARAB:

Roll me one, too, you fucking little junkie. (Snatches the cigarette from him. Sniffs at it. Puts it in his pocket.) THE AMERICAN: He has a sense of humor. BORIS: Humor? Yes. I'm a big laugh. And what about you? You go mooching around our monasteries and stealing our dances. Now, this Russian thinks I'm ill and he's the one who should go and get his kidneys seen to. I want you all on the first train out of here tonight. Otherwise I'll report you to the police. Humor? So he means we as a nation are a laugh. What about them? Let him go and put his own house in order! They kill each other on the streets with machineguns. They torture the Blacks. And as for Stalin, we know all about him! We haven't forgotten that. Oh, no, that kind of thing doesn't get forgotten. (To SONIA) Take this greasy creep home with you. I'm not collecting any more international scum in this house. From now on I'm going to be hi-fi. No more messing around. Everybody out. All these gadgets and wires, out! 'I want this flat empty by tomorrow morning. Then I'll take you back, each according to his own deserts, if he deserves it. Come on. What're you waiting for? Come on, Mister, get lost. Tavarish, I don't want to have to tell you again, out! (He unlocks the door. He pushes them all out. He rubs his hands together. Only MATEI is left behind and he is laughing his head off.) You'll be laughing on the other side of your face. (MATEI switches on the tape-recorder. He has secretly recorded all of Boris's last speech.) BORIS: (Recording) "Humor. Yes. I'm a big laugh. And what about you? You go mooching around our monasteries and stealing our dances. Now, this Russian thinks I'm ill and he's the one who should go and get his kidneys seen to. I want you all on the first train out of here tonight ... " (BORIS listens dumbly to his own voice. Long pause.) BORIS:

Your mother's bringing us food. She knows we're carrying out a little experiment. MATEI: A little experiment? BORIS: This is nothing. You've no idea what goes on. MATEI: How long are we going to go on like this? BORIS: Until you change. MATEI: What's wrong with me? BORIS: Everything. MATEI: Then you don't have to change me. Just kill me. BORIS: You think I'm not right in the head. You don't look at yourself. MATEI: I'm not keeping anyone in handcuffs. BORIS: I don't need the handcuffs. I'll strangle you with my own hands if I have to. MATEI: I know whose hands you'll do it with, but I don't know with what right. BORIS: You've no choice, Matei. I won't let you out. Come on. MATEI: I can't cut my hair. I'll die if I cut it. I'll lose my strength. BORIS: It's not the hair that matters; it's the principle. MATEI: What principle? BORIS: I don't need to explain anything to you. MATEI: Then I don't need to cut my hair. BORIS: You'll cut it. MATEI: You explain the principle first. BORIS: First of all, then, hygiene. MATEI: I wash my hair every day. BORIS: I'm talking about hygiene in general. Everything in this country is going to be neat and clean. MATEI: Huns, Goths and barbarians have all been through this country and you worry about my hair! BORIS: We all start with what's closest to home. MATEI: You don't have to start with my home. BORIS: You don't have to, I don't have to, he doesn't have to - someone's got to start somewhere. I'm older than you. It's going to be done my way. MATEI: Get the scissors and cut. BORIS: I want you to do it yourself. With full awareness. MATEI: With a song in my heart. BORIS: You'll still be alive and well afterwards. MATEI: I'm alive and well at the moment. So you think that'll be enough? After the hair, you'll want the earring off and then the ears, after that. BORIS: Men don't wear earrings. MATEI: Men don't wear ears. BORIS: How did you all come to be so bloody clever? At your age I BORIS:

PART TWO (The same room. It is completely empty, except for one chair and a blanket on the floor. BORIS is sitting on the chair. He hasn't shaved for two or three days. He is barefoot. He takes swigs from a bottle of brandy now and then. Long pause. He gets up. He takes a key out of his pocket. He opens the door in the center.) Come on. (Pause) Come on, then! (MATEI comes out of the room. He is wearing handcuffs. He is dirty and dishevelled.) Sit down. (Pause. MATEI remains standing.) What did you decide? (Pause) MATEI: The local government decides - Matei just resides. BORIS: It's no good being obstinate. MATEI: How come nobody's been by for two days? BORIS: I put a note on the door saying there's no one here. MATEI: What about Mira? BORIS: It applies to her as well. (Pause) I expect she's gone off to Greece with the junkie. (Pause) What's her father do? MATEI: He's a businessman. Lives abroad. BORIS: A millionaire. I thought so. MATEI: She doesn't take a penny from him. Makes her own living. BORIS: Tell that to the marines. You love her? MATEI: We lived together. BORIS: So? (Pause) She a virgin or something? MATEI: Yes. (Pause) Since she was sixteen. (Pause) You've disconnected the phone. We'll die of starvation. BORIS:

thought kids came out of their mothers' tummy buttons. Where do they come out then? BORIS: The furthest I'd ever been was down the road to Zelenikovo. You go and pierce your ears in Italy. You've made a pigsty out of my flat. God knows what you'll do with your own. Probably shit on the table. I know what hi-fi's all about, but this is against God. MATEI: My flat will be empty and dark. Just a juke-box lit up in the center on full blast. One long party all day, lots to eat and drink and no one knowing whose house it is or who pays the bills. BORIS: That's just how it's been up to now. Except it was my house and I was paying the bills. You'll see in a few years when you don't get any more of your Dad's pension. MATEI: Whatever happens, I won't live like you. BORIS: You won't live as you think, either, let your Grandad tell you. MATEI: You think anyone who isn't bald is half-witted. BORIS: Long hair isn't fashionable anymore. MATEI: When it was, I didn't wear it long. BORIS: Who taught you to be like this? MATEI: Nobody ever taught me anything. Nobody ever taught me what was good and what was bad. I missed that lesson. BORIS: Well, I'm here to teach you. MATEI: Thank God. Where've you been till now? Shit, you're just tormenting me. BORIS: And you like it. Otherwise you'd have shouted out at the top of your voice, or thrown yourself out the window. MATEI: SO I either have to go crazy or kill myself to show how I feel. BORIS: People only learn things the hard way. MATEI: Whenever I sat with my feet up at home, my Dad would say "Don't do that. You're not in a cafe". But when I sat like that in a cafe, he'd say "Don't do that. You're not at home". I never did understand what he wanted of me. (Pause) After that he died in a car crash on his way back from fucking his mistress. She survived. She came to the funeral instead of my mother and stroked my hair. There's no one left to tell me about putting my feet up. Now I'm in trouble on account of "hygiene." BORIS: There are some things you just don't understand and I haven't got time to wait for you to realize them. You'll just go to the dogs. I haven't got time to wait for you to grow up. MATEI: But I have got time to grow old in. BORIS: Nobody asked me either. MATEI: You once asked your Religious Knowledge teacher if God could make a rock that was so heavy He wouldn't be able to lift it. Well, I'm asking you now if you can make it so my hair'll grow, but not get too long. Either cut it, or leave me to have it like I want. I just want to MATEI:

know where I stand. (Pause) Get back in there! (Pause) Back! (MATEI goes back into the bedroom. BORIS locks the door. He puts the key in his pocket.)

BORIS:

(BORIS is walking up and down the room. Long pause. He takes the American's cigarette out of his pocket. He sniffs at it, then puts it back in his pocket. Takes a few paces. Pause. Sits on the chair. Takes the cigarette out, lights it and takes two deep puffs. A monotonous hum begins and grows stronger. Light change. The walls of the room collapse. There is a soundless explosion backstage. BORIS is hallucinating. He takes off his coat. He is left in a long white tunic.

All my life I thought new worlds to be building, My heart pure as snow, my strength so unyielding, I ploughed and I delved, dived low and flew high, Wrestled with serpents, taught hellish monsters to die, And all this, I vow, not to win lonely renown, But to bestow on my people great glory, the crown. And I thought it honor enough, with plenty to spare, If they only respected me, that reward so rare. But in their wild ravings, their ungrateful hard hearts, Mine own folk at my labors aimed their cruel darts. And held my great sacrifice as nothing to boot, Wrenching all I had sown straight up by the root. My death with their poison shall they not prize, For I shall spit it right back in their eyes! To all that I have been and all I have essayed With their evil and blindness an end shall not be made. Whither now and wherefore hereon should we go Once the father never saw his son of age to grow, The grandsire never dandled his grandson on his knee And all anew must be done with no hope and no glee? So let the golden devil reign anew with his sword Once such is the stuff of the angel's reward! To what was the high fidelity faithful Once now it flees and conceals itself shameful? Yet lo! when is raised 'gainst me this hue and cry And in all shades of blame my person they do dye, Could it be my heart's not as pure as I tell

BORIS:

• HI-Fl. And that alas! I have erred, though ever meaning well? Then hath my own face to my face told lies And to those seeming happy I have caused many sighs. Thus what out of love in my deepest heart was born Hath become direst poison, my heart's sharpest thorn. (He raises his arms high. A wind blows. Enter MIRA dressed in a white school tunic, white socks and sandals, her hair in a pony-tail. She carries bread and salt. BORIS takes some. MIRA kneels before him and he strokes her head. Enter SONIA with light stylized ballet movements. She kisses Boris and puts a garland of flowers round his neck. Enter THE AMERICAN, dressed in a Russian peasant tunic, THE RUSSIAN in a cowboy outfit and THE ARAB in Macedonian folk costume. With MIRA and SONIA they dance something between a Macedonian folk dance and a specially arranged dancing display in honor of BORIS. Real Kitsch. They chant the following words: Your hi-fi is our hi-fi, your hi-fi is our hi-fi! BORIS is pleased. He wipes a few tears from his eyes secretly. The dance ends. MATEI appears. He is wearing a tunic that was white but is now daubed with thick black paint, which is still wet. They all hide behind BORIS. MATEI comes up to BORIS and they eye each other. Pause.) Whence comest thou here, 0 strange passer-by, With what fair thoughts, what good news hither dost thou hie? What gift bearest thou before the Hi-Fi God to lay On this day of all days, this our great holiday? Why art thou in black, in such contrast to us? The decree is for white, thou know'st 'tis thus. The breadth of our mercy in this our behest Wilt thou here on this day put now to the test? MATEI: You what? (Pause) Is there anyone around here who talks normal and can translate, please? What the hell's he going on about? BORIS: 0 Lord Hi-Fi, our God, pray what is this tongue? It lacks all refinement, 'tis unfit to be sung. CHORUS: Your hi-fi is our hi-fi, your hi-fi is our hi-fi. BORIS: Base slave, on thy knees bend now for pardon Lest the heart of Lord Hi-Fi 'gainst thee should harden. CHORUS: Your hi-fi is our hi-fi, your hi-fi is our hi-fi. BORIS: Thy insolence here shall be paid with thy head, Home to thy mother shalt thou return only dead! CHORUS: Your hi-fi is our hi-fi, your hi-fi is our hi-fi. MATEI: Sticks and stones may break my bones, But words will never hurt me! BORIS:

o Lord God Hi-Fi, now all has been said And here I am come to cut off thy head! (He goes up to BORIS) Verfluchten sarmusaklin usanama betch. (BORIS closes his eyes. MATEI puts handcuffs on his hands. Pause. The others look on. They go up to MATEI, rub their hands in the black paint and daub it on their white clothes.)

Your hi-fi is your hi-fi, our hi-fi is ours, your hi-fi is your hi-fi, our hi-fi is ours.

CHORUS:

(They all scatter in different directions. BORIS is left alone. Light change. The walls come back into position. The hallucination is at an end. BORIS is terrified. He opens the door to Motei's room.) Matei, Matei! Help me! I smoked some hash. I had hallucinations. What d'you mean, hash? BORIS: That cigarette of the American's. MATEI: That wasn't hash. Just ordinary cheap tobacco he bought at the market. BORIS: You sure? MATEI: Sure I'm sure. Anyway, if it had been hashish, you wouldn't have had hallucinations. Hashish doesn't cause them. BORIS: But I did have hallucinations. MATEI: Well, that's just your bad luck. BORIS:

MATEI:

13TH DECEMBER. The day started late, as there's not enough sunshine in the winter, i.e., the sun rises late, so the days start late. There's beans for lunch. I reflect on why human beings must always be eating. Why couldn't we not do that, i.e. not eat for some time, e.g. eat once a day and that'd be enough. Perhaps it would work if we chew slowly. The doctors say if one chews each mouthful 32 times, one feels fuller. In jail one reflects on everything to do with life. 14TH DECEMBER. Raining. Chap brought in today who sneezes every time he sees a beautiful woman. He saw one, sneezed and put his back out. In the hospital for six months. Then he went and raped her. Now he's here.

BORIS:

15TH DECEMBER. Raining. Then it stopped. My fate is written in tar. (Looks at MATE!. Waits for a reaction.) 16TH DECEMBER. Beans for lunch. Magic lesson. 17TH DECEMBER. I found a useful book in the library about physics and mechanics. Quote from Chapter Two: "There is no body in nature which can be completely at rest. To move means to change one's place in relation to the surroundings. To be at rest means to stay in the same place in relation to the surroundings." This underlined. End of quotation. (To MATEI) Did you understand that last bit? MATEI: Yes. BORIS: Shall I read it again? MATEI: No. BORIS: Well, if you've understood, tell us what it was all about. In your own words. MATEI: I can't tell you in my own words. BORIS: Shall I read it again? MATEI: No. BORIS: I don't know why I bother to read to you when you don't understand. MATEI: Don't read then. BORIS: Aren't you interested? MATEI: No. BORIS: Not interested in my prison diaries? MATEI: I'm not interested in anything. BORIS: Not even in the fact that you're not getting any water today?

bellydance? (Pause. BORIS sits down on the floor and tries to cross his legs in the lotus position.) This is how Buddha used to sit. Made people fall on their arses with delight. (Trying to cross his legs.) Come on, Boris. Slowly now. You can do it. You want to do it. You must do it. Come on, do it yourself. Self, self, self. Hi-fi, hi-fi, hi-fi. Boris, Boris. (Fails. Pause.) Who does that Buddha think he is, anyway? (Pause. Drinks.) You don't know why I was in jail. I tell everyone something different. That I robbed a village post-office, that I raped a deaf-mute old lady, that I was disloyal to higher interests. Everyone thinks they know everything - and no one knows anything. And I don't quite remember any more. All I know is that it had to do with my whole life. All put together it was one big guilt. Was there any point in going to jail for that? (He hasn't noticed that MATEI has come up behind him. MATEI puts the chain of his handcuffs round Boris's neck He pulls it tight. BORIS groans.) MATEI: Is there any point in going to jail for this? (Lets him go. Goes into his room and shuts the door. Pause.) BORIS: Matei! (Pause) Come back, Matei. (Pause) I want to talk to you. I want to tell you everything. (Pause) I'll go otherwise. I'll leave you locked up in here. (Pause) This hurts me more than it hurts you. (Pause) Are you listening? (Pause. Gets up. Goes to the front door. Gets out his key-ring. Can't find the right key. Throws the keys down. He is almost in tears.)

(SONIA has just entered the room. She is wearing carries a plastic full of food.) (MATE! BORIS

is sitting on the floor with a bottle of wine in front of him. Pause. comes out of the bathroom. He is drunk He is doing up his fly.)

I pissed without it hurting. (Pause) Aren't you going to congratulate me? (Pause) People are always envious of the successes of others. (Pause) This all seems very simple-minded to you, I suppose? (Pause) You think I'm simple-minded, don't you? (Pause) Don't be taken in, Matei. I'm cleverer'n I look. I'm just the tip of the iceberg. What's underneath, eh?! (Pause. Offers MATE I a drink) Want some more? (MATEI has some wine.) Where else could you find this, eh?! (Pause) Tonight we're drunk and happy. I suggest we forget about politics for a moment and devote ourselves to cultural life and entertainment. What the hell's the use of getting drunk if you don't do something to be ashamed of in the morning?! Shall we do a

BORIS:

a wet raincoat. She

I've brought you something to eat. SO I see. (Pause) SONIA: It's stuffy in here. BORIS: It's stuffy everywhere. (Pause) SONIA: You're waiting for me to go now, aren't you? (Pause) I've done what I came for, so why am I hanging on? (Pause) If we could only sit down together for five minutes without expecting something from each other. (Pause) When are you going to be finished? BORIS: Who can say. SONIA: What exactly are you doing? BORIS: Can't you see from looking at me? (Pause) SONIA: I feel awful. BORIS: SO do 1. You can go now. SONIA: You don't have to listen. I'll just talk. As usual. (Pause) We keep SONIA: BORIS:

our sights trained on each other, as if we had ten lives to waste. (Pause) You two are here together, while I'm there alone. Do you know what it's like to be always there alone? (Pause) I'm expendable. I want to take part. All my meetings, minutes and decisions - that's not taking part. They're just maneuvers in the dark. I don't know how to think. I'm for and against and abstaining at the same time. (Pause) I'm a foetus pretending to be self-sufficient. Floating about in a jar for the students of medicine. It's cold. It smells of winter. (Pause) That Arab. Give him an inch and he takes a mile. (Pause) I must have been planted badly. I don't know what's the matter with me. I can't show you where it hurts. Somewhere here, inside, everything hurts. BORIS: It's your hi-fi. SONIA: What? BORIS: It's a long story. Go now. (Pause) You come here complaining to me. (Pause) Then you go away as if nothing ever happened. (Pause. Enter THE SONIA. Pause.)

ARAB.

He is angry. He looks dishevelled. He glares at

So you found me, huh?! (Pause) Managed to find me, did you? (Pause) Get out! (Pause) Get out of here! (Pause. THE ARAB takes a measuring tape out of his pocket. He begins to measure the room. Pause.) Get out! (She grabs the tape and throws it out the door.) Get lost! THE ARAB: (Glaring at her) Zania! (Exit. Pause.) BORIS: I don't know what he said, but it must have been something very nasty. (Pause) MATEI: (From behind the door of his room) Mother! (Pause) SONIA: Matei! MATEI: Mother! SONIA: Why's he calling me? BORIS: He's all right. Just go now. SONIA: Why doesn't he come in here? BORIS: He's just playing the fool. You go now. MATEI: Mom! SONIA: He's calling me. BORIS: He's called you before and you didn't go to him then. (He pushes her out. Pause.) MATEI: Mom! BORIS: Momma's not here. Grandpa is. SONIA:

(BORIS and closed.)

MATEI

are standing facing each other.

MATEI

has his eyes

Verfluchten sarmusaklin usanama betch. You're tired. You haven't eaten for ages and you're thirsty. Feeling really weak. Your head feels heavy. You're sleepy. You can't see anything, or hear anything and you don't understand anything. You're going to have a long sleep. You're going to obey my commands. Verfluchten sarmusaklin usanama betch. Take three steps forward. (MATEI takes three steps forward.) Take three steps back. (MATE I takes three steps back.) Do you love your grandpa? MATEI: Yes. BORIS: How much? MATEI: (Holds his arms wide in a childlike gesture.) BORIS: What would you do for your grandpa? MATEI: Anything. BORIS: Would you cut your hair? MATEI: (Makes a rude gesture.) BORIS: You won't get anything to eat today. MATEI: Have you ever really managed to hypnotize anybody with this stupid rigmarole of yours? BORIS: It's a good system. I just don't apply it right. BORIS:

(BORIS is asleep. wakes up.)

MATEI: BORIS: MATEI:

MATEI

knocks from behind the locked door. Pause.

BORIS

Open the door. (Pause) Open the door. I'll cut my hair. Are you sure? I can't hold out any more.

(BORIS gets up. He unlocks the door. MATEI comes out. BORIS unlocks his handcuffs. MATEI rubs his hands. He turns to BORIS. He tries to put his arms round him.)

Grandpa! (Pause) Grandpa! (He makes to hit him, but BORIS evades the blow and hits MATEI in the stomach. MATEI collapses. BORIS sits on top of him and grabs him by the neck.)

MATEI:

You just keep giving me more and more proof of how right I am. Strangle me, too. (Pause) Like him. BORIS: Like who? (Pa use) How do you know? That's just one of the many stories. It was an accident, anyway. My mates got me drunk. We'd been playing cards all night. By dawn I'd drunk a litre of rakia. He was about your age. He was serving the drinks and emptying the ashtrays. I was feeling really happy. I was even ·singing. My life seemed suddenly to have come together., to have some sense. I gave him a hug. I put my arm round his neck and squeezed him, just 'cause I was feeling happy. But he had something wrong with his lungs and his heart simply burst. I killed him out of happiness. That's the truth. No one believes me. You don't either. This is for your own good. All this is going to be yours. I just want to know you're going to look after it in the right way, that you're going to live a decent life. What will my life 've been worth if I haven't put you on the right road? What on earth do we two look like, shut up in this place?! What is all this?! Do as I say, cut your hair. You and I are one. I belong to you and you to me. MATEI: You'll start crying in a minute. I don't believe a word. You can't teach me what I must do! Who I must be! I don't belong to anyone. I'm on my own. I don't belong to you, or to your organizations, or to your god, or to your laws, or to your government, or to your traditions. I'm on my own. I don't need anything. I don't need anyone. I'm on my own! OK? On my own! My own! (He bangs his head against the wall.) BORIS: That's it! That's the way! That's how children grow up.

BORIS:

MATEI:

some kind of slimy mass which dangles like spit, which can't stand up straight but gets dragged down towards the ground, low down, and which slips through your fingers. No sculptor could make anything decent out of the stuff you're made of. You're shapeless. You hardly exist. Beg forgiveness once more so that you can start all over again and then find new reasons why you can't start afresh. Find justifications for not having started. And in the meantime, rape and curse. And cover it over nicely with a thick layer of cloying humor. What you're doing in this flat is not for any kind of principle. It's simply senseless. Nobody takes you seriously. Nobody takes any serious account of you any more. (For a moment she opens her raincoat. She has nothing on underneath. She pulls it round herself again.) BORIS: Mira! MIRA: Yes. BORIS: Come to me. MIRA: What do you want? BORIS: You. MIRA: You don't deserve me. BORIS: How can I deserve you? MIRA: I've been to see Matei. He looks like nothing on earth. I didn't want to wake him up. Tomorrow morning you're going to set him free, get out of this house and let me take him and his things and mine. Otherwise I'm going to call the police. Overnight you've managed to turn this flat into another prison. BORIS: What if I lock you up, too? MIRA: What if I won't let you? (MIRA BORIS

(BORIS is asleep. MIRA is standing next to him, dressed in a wet raincoat, with wet hair, as if she has just come in from the rain. Pause.)

Boris. (Pause) Boris. (Wakes up, frightened.) Mira. (Pause) What're you doing here? MIRA: I'm watching you sleep. BORIS: How did you get in? MIRA: I've got a key. I did live here for a year. BORIS: I feel as if I'm dreaming. What time is it? MIRA: Just before dawn. BORIS: Why did you come? MIRA: I couldn't sleep. I thought about it and then I came. BORIS: Why? (Pause) You haven't changed your hi-fi, have you? MIRA: No, but I've realized what yours is. Your hi-fi is made of mud. Of

MIRA:

BORIS:

takes out a bottle of liquid. She throws the liquid in Boris's eyes. starts to scream.)

My eyes! My eyes! (He staggers about the room, his arms wide. He bangs into the walls. Pause. MIRA observes him.) MIRA: Tap water. Tap water. (She leaves the room. BORIS opens his eyes. He can't believe he can still see.) BORIS:

(SONIA is standing. BORIS brings MATEI out of the room. bath and his hands are free. Pause.) SONIA: MATEI:

Matei! Yes, Momma. (Pause)

MATE I

has had a

• HI-FI. I told you he wasn't very well. He won't eat anything. I don't know what's the matter with him. SONIA: Matei! MATEI: Yes, Momma. SONIA: How are you? (Pause) Why are you like this? (Pause. Silence.) BORIS: Answer your mother, Matei. MATEI: I'm fine. I don't know why I'm like this. SONIA: (To BORIS) What have you done to him? BORIS: Nothing. SONIA: What do you mean, nothing?! Just look at him! BORIS: Let him speak for himself. Have I done anything to you, Matei? MATEI: No, teacher. SONIA: Why did he call you 'teacher'? BORIS: That's new. SONIA: (To MATEI) Why did you call him 'teacher'? MATEI: I don't know, Mummy. I don't know anything. Teacher knows everything. SONIA: He sounds as if he's not quite himself. MATEI: I'm not quite myself. Teacher is quite himself. I'm stupid. Teacher is clever. Teacher's read all the books in the world and written some of them. Yes, teacher. As you say, teacher. Whatever you say, teacher. I don't understand. I'm thick. Dear oh dear, how thick I am. Why am I so thick, teacher? Teacher, isn't it true nobody's thicker than me? I'm the thickest kid in the world, aren't 1, teacher? Yes, teacher. As you say, teacher. Teacher, just tell me what you want of me. May I give you a piggy-back? Would you like to give me a quick fuck, teacher? You want only the best for me and I only try to mess you around all the time. I bite the hand that feeds me. (BORIS starts crying) You spend your whole life fighting for my good and I'm not aware of it. That's the thanks you get for having cared for me like a father, for having got the dirt out from under my nails, for having worried over me when I had a temperature, for having held my head when I was sick, for having shown me not to be afraid when I had my first period. That's how I am. I'm a real cunt. Fuck me. I don't deserve to live. Strangle me, teacher, but slowly so I really feel it. (Pause.) BORIS: Come on, Matei. Go and get ready now. You're going home. (MATEI goes into the room.) What have I done to him? He was all right. What have I done to him? SONIA: Where am I supposed to take him in this state? BORIS: To hospital. SONIA: This isn't something that's just happened. That's the way he's made. Like mother, like son. BORIS: I just wanted to put him right.

BORIS:

43

He can't be put right. (Pause) What's the matter with you? You're shaking. BORIS: What are we going to do? SONIA: With what? BORIS: What are we going to do, Sonia? (Pause) I'm a silly old man. A poor silly old man. SONIA: Yes, you are. (Pause) You'll have to move out of this flat. I've let it to Halil Habib. He's paid two years in advance. In dollars. I've got the room in the attic ready for you. It's bigger than your cell. I don't want to hear another word about it. For what you've done here I could have you back in jail. BORIS: You bitch. SONIA: You have a somewhat limited range of insults. BORIS: Bitch! SONIA: That's why you have to repeat them. (Pause) SONIA:

(The bedroom door opens. MATEI comes out. He has cut his hair very roughly with a pair of scissors. He has thick make-up on his face. He is wearing high heels, black stockings with a suspender belt. He is in his underpants. He leans against the wall. Pause. He slowly moves towards the front door. Long pause.) Matei! (Pause) What're you doing, Matei? I'm hiding. BORIS: Why? MATEI: I'm running away. BORIS: Where to? MATEI: I'm running away. BORIS: Looking for hi-fi? There's no hi-fi, Matei. It's just made up. The gods torture us. Where's your hair gone? Why did you cut it off? It was nice. I didn't want you to be like this. I didn't mean it to end like this. Why did it have to end like this? Why are you like this? You shouldn't 've let me do this to you! Who am I to do this to you? God, what's happening to us? (Pause) Say something, Matei? MATEI: I'm ashamed. BORIS: I can't see. (Pause) It's only just started to work. (Pause) I'm losing my sight. (Pause. He puts his fingers to his eyes.) MATEI: I'm ashamed. (Pause) I'm ashamed. BORIS: (Taking Matei's hand away from his face and kissing him) Why? Who are you ashamed of? You've got no reason to be ashamed. There's no one to be ashamed of. There's no shame left. Nobody's ashamed of anyone or anything any more. We'll go out onto the street. We'll look people bravely in the eye. We'll cry. We'll laugh. Hold me, Matei. (He hugs MATEI hard. Long pause.) BORIS:

MATEI:

Can I kiss you, too, Matei? (Pause) May I? (Pause. Silence.) I'm running away. BORIS: No, Matei, you're staying here. MATEI: I'm running away. I'm running away. (They don't move. Long pause.)

SONIA:

MATEI: