The seven streams of the river Ota

78 Pages·3.663 MB·English

by  by Éric Bernier ...[et al.] , with an introduction and commentary by Karen Fricker.

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Methuen Modem PLays
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First published in Great Britain in 1996 \ql\\o
by Methuen Drama Like so many of Robert Lepage's works, 1M Snm Streams of
Methuen Publishing Ltd tlu Rillff Ota is a project defined by paradox. It was a
215 Vauxhall Bridge Road paradox that inspired the piece: on his fint trip to
London SW1V 1EJ Hiroshima, expecting to find devastation, Lepage instead
discovered a place full of vitality and sensuality. He was so
www.methuen.co.ult struck by Hiroshima that he decided to create a production
that took the city's unexpected liveliness as its jumping-off
The s...., Sueams oft he River Ot1l copyright © 1996 by &ic Betnier, Normand
Bassonette, Rebecca Blankenship, Marie Brassard, Anne-Marie Cadieux point.
No~m~nd Fr~chette, A creative team was assembled, and rehearsals began in
Daneau, Richard Marie Gignac, Patrick Goyette:
Quebec City in January 1994. Lepage knew he wanted to
Ghislaine Vincent, Macha Ilmonchik, G&ard Bibeau and Robert Lepage
create the production collaboratively, drawing together
Introduction copyright © 1996 by Karen Fticket genres beyond the traditional theatrical media of text and
performance. He knew he wanted it to be international
The authors have asserted their moral rights notjust in the venues it would play, but in the make-up of
the company, in the subject matt'er, and in the way it
ISBN 0 413 71370 9 treated language. He knew he wanted it to be epic in scope.
Beyond that, little else was known; all the usual 'givens' of
Methuen Publishing Ltd reg. number 3543167 theatre - text, plot, characters, venue, end date - were
conspicuously absent.
A C!P catalogue record for this book is available at the British Library
In traditional theatre environments, the script is the
catalyst for production, whereas the physical setting is
Typeset by Wtlmaset Ltd, Wirral
among the last elements to be folded into the creative
Transferted to digital printing 2002
process. 1M Snm Streams reversed this pattern: the set was
one of the first things to be finished about the show, and that
Caudon
All rights whatsoever in _these plays are strictly reserved. Enquiries about rights wooden rectangle became a literal framework for a
for amate?u"r 'aadnda .p rofesstonal performances should be directed to Ex Machina production that reinvented itself constantly over the three
Quebec, td:(4.18) 6920 5323; fax:[phone]. No petformanc; years ofiulife. The collaborators created the show through
may be gtven unless a hcence has been obtained. a cyclical process of brainstorming, improvisation,
discussion, and structuring, making changes throughout the
This paperba.~ is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of process, and setting down the text only in the final days
trad~ or o~er;nse. be lent~ resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the before performance. As the production developed into three
pu~~~s pno~ consent m any form of binding or cover other than that in distinct versions - three, five, and eight hours long - whole
which It 15 published and without a similar condition including this
plot lines were developed, explored, and changed;
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
characters added and dropped; and playing orders shifted.
What remained constant was the production's
Introduction vii
vi Introduction
preoccupation with mirror images: East and West; male changes both major and minor in the production by the
~d f~ale; devastation and rebirth; photography, and the time this script sees print.
· nnages 1t captma; theatre, and the life it recreates. Rather
Karen Fricker
than reveling in difference, the production demonstrates
July 1996
and celebrates the necessary-and paradoxical - co
existence of opposites.
Whereas in traditional theatre the author's role decreases
considerably once the script has been handed to the actors
in this production the actors "''the authors, and this fact '
Noll ahoul translation: Many portions of this production are
informs both their extraordinary openneu to changes in the
performed in languages other than English. To retain the
show, and the upiquely alive quality of their perfOrmances.
production's multi-lingual quality, we have included these
~ so~~ne w~o has observed TAl Stvm Streams' progress portions both in their original language and in English
1111ce tts mcepnon, I never stop being surprised by the
translation. The stage directions are included in the English
freedom with which the company plays with the
venions, and we have placed ellipses(. ..) in the original
production, calling into question small details and major
language where the stage directions would fall.
elements at every stage of the proccu.
This i8 not to say that they are cavalier with change
every shift is pondered, discussed, and agreed upon before
it's executed-but it is clear that the group has created an
atmos.phere that not only allows them, but requires them, to
take nsb. The company is loath to take individual credit for
lines, cltaracten, and ideas; to their minds, an ensemble
created this show, which I'VCr time has acquired a life ofita
own, and yet remains completely theirs. And it is their
ability to give up control over the show that has made their
ownership of it so complete.
The n~tion of publishing the text of this production is,
appropnately enough, a paradoxical one. The Stvm Streams
comes to life on stage through a seamless blending of text
stagU;-g,. and performance; to attempt a full and accurate'
descnptton of the production, I have included here
extended commentary on the physical performance in the
place ofs tage directions.
As photography is an important element of The Sevm
Streams, it seems a!'Propriate to think of this script as a
sna~shot of The Rtwr Ota at a certain point in its history
spectfically, as it was performed in Vienna in june 1996
be
The river will have flowed on, and doubtless there will
This venion of TluSevmStr•amsofllu Rivor Ola was first
performed at the Carrefour International de Theatre de
Quebec in Quebec City on 17 May 1996. It subsequently
played in an altered form, in Vienna, Dresden, Copenhagen,
Ludwi~burg, London, Stoclcho1m, Paris~ and ~ew York.
The text printed here reflects the production as 1t was
Yor.lioa 1 (three hours) presented in Vienna, in which the cast and the order of
Edinburgh International Festival August 1994 playing were as follows:
Manchester '94-City of Drama October 1994
The Tramway, Glasgow October 1994 Prolo&,ue
Ghislaine Vincent
Riverside Studios, London October 1994 JaaaCapek
Maison des Arts de Creteil-Festival
a I Moving Pictures
d'A utomne Paris November 1994 Norma,nd Bissonnette
Lake O'Ccnmor
Macha Limonchilc
Yor.lioa2 (fiye houn) Nozomi Y•maslrita
Marie Brassard
Wiener Festwochen, Vienna May-June 1995 Nozomi'o mother-iD-Iaw
Theaterformen '95, Braunschweig,
2 Twojeffreys
Germany Junel995 Macha Limonchilc
Karea, llu lmullady
Spoleto Festival, Spoleto, Italy June--July 1995 Normand Daneau
Je&rey Yama.ohita (Jef&ey 2)
Festival d'Estiu de Barcelona GREC
Marie Brassard
Nozomi'• Mother-iD-Iaw
Ajuntament de Barcelona July 1995
Normand Bissonnette
Prisidialabteilung der Stadt Zf1rich- Jef&ey O'Comaor (Jefl'rey 1)
Zuercher Theater Spektak.el August 1995 Lake O'Ccnmor, as an old man Richard Frechette
Rebecca Blankenship
Aarhus Festuge, Aarhus, Denmark September 1995 Ada Weber
Richard Frechette
Tokyo Bunlcamura, Tokyo October 1995 TheSphim<
Normand Bissonnette
Harbour&ont Centre, Toronto November 1995 Lake O'Colmol'
Kampnagel, Hamburg December 1995 Kevin Rejean V all~e
Michel F. COte
Tcmy
Ymiod(eighthoun)
Le Cam:four International de ThCltre 3 AWedding
Rebecca Blankenship
Mayl996 Ada Weber
deQp~bec
Richard Fuchette
Wiener Festwochen, Vienna June 1996 The Libl'ariaa
Marie Gignac
Staatsc:hauspiel Dresden, Germany June 1996 The Doctor
Normand Bissonnette
Kebenhaven '96, Copenhagen August 1996 Jefl'rey O'Comaor
Rl:jcan Vallee
Ludwigsburger Scholssfestspiele, The Waiter
LudwigJburg, Germany September 1996 Touristo Marie Brassard
The Royal National Theatre, London September Michel F. COte
October 1996 Normand Daneau
Stockholm Stadsteater . October 1996 Richard Fr~ette
Maison des Arts de C~teil-Festival Ghislaine Vincent
d'A utomne i. Paris November 1996 Macha Limonchik
The Brooklyn Academy ofMnsie,
New York December 1996
The roles ofNozomi YIUilllshita, Karen, Sophie
Jef&ey Yeme..Jriq Normand Daneau MaltaisJLa M&me Crevette, and Nathalie were played
Rando Nialldbwa
Marie Brassard in Qjlebec and Dresden by Macha Limonchik and in .
4 Mirron Copenhagen, Ludwigsburg, London, Stockholm, Pans, and
Ada Weber New York by Anne-Marie Cadieux.
Rebecca Blankenship
J-~ Ghislaine Vincent The roles ofKevin, Fran~XavierJMonsieur
YoaasJ-~ Marie Brassard Petypon Regis and Pierre Maltais were played in
Rachel Goldberg
Marie Gignac Quebec, Ludwig;burg, London, Stockholm, Paris, and New
Maurice ZimmermllDII. Richard Frechette • York by Eric Bernier and in Dresden and Copenhagen by
German soldier Normand Bissonnette
Rejean Vallee.
5 Words
The roles ofLuke O'Connor, Jeffrey O'Comwr, The
Sophie Maltais and
Interpreter, EtieDJU!, and the German soldier were .
La M&me Crevette Macha Limonchik
played in Quebec, Ludwigsburg, London, Stockholm, Pam,
RTh-e· l•notex p:a eter Normand Bissonnette and New York by Patrick Goyette and in Dresden and
Nishfk•wa Marie Brassard
Copenhagen by Normand Bissonnette.
Walter I-apointe Richard Frechette
Patricia Hebert
Marie Gignac Directed by Robert Lepage ..
Fnn~s-Xavierand Assistants to the Director: Normand Daneau, Phthppe
Moasieur PetfPOU Rejean Vallee Soldevila, Bruno Bazin, Alexandre Legault
Madame Petypo:o.
Ghislaine Vincent Scenic design by Carl Fillion
EtieDJU!, tlu Pe!JPons' manservant Normand Bissonnette Lighting design by Sonoyo Nishikawa .
Jef&ey Y•mnhin Normand Daneau Costume and wig design by Marie-Chant ale Vatllancourt and
6 An Interview Yvan Gaudin ,
J-~ Ghislaine Vincent Image design by Jacques Collin an.d Eric Fa~q,ue
Patricia Hebert Music eomposed and performed by Mtch~ F ..C ote . .
Marie Gignac
Additional music by F. Poulenc, M. Mtyagt, G. Pucctm, A.
Nathalie,·tlucamerawoman Macha Limonchik
Rep•, tlu sound man Rejean Vallee Dvorak
Walter '•pointe Richard Frechette Piano score by Claude Soucy
Puppets by Le TheAtre de Sable
7 Thunder
Properties by Sylyi~ Courbron
Walter '•pointe Richard Frechette Slllge Manager: Enc Fauque
Pierre Maltais Rejean Vall~e Sound Manager: Luc Desilets
Kaneko Nialldbwa
Marie Brassard Lighting Manager. Christian Gagnon
David Y•muldta Normand Daneau Chief Slllgehand: Marc Provencher
Ada Weber Rebecca Blankenship Costume and Props Manager: Catherine Chagnon
J-~ Ghislaine Vincent Assistant to the Costumes and Props Manager: Cathy Lachance
Sophie Maltai• Macha Limonchik ·stagehands: Marco Olivier, Martin Levesque
Teehnieal Director: Richard Gravel
Tour Mmroger. Louise Roussel
hsoeial4 Protluar, Elmpr. Richard Castelli-Epidemic THE SEVEN STREAMS OF
hsociatl Prot!uar, Uniletl .Kingdom: Michael Morris-Cultural
Industry Ltd. THE RIVER OTA
hsociatl Protluar, North Amniea: Menno Plukker
Produm: Michel Bernatchez
TluStvmStreamsoftlu Rioer Ota was produced by Ex Machina
in co-production with the Edinburgh International Festival;
Manchester '94, City ofDrama; La Maison des Arta de • Prologue:Iaido
Creteil; Wiener Festwochen; Theaterforrnen '95,
Tire lights come up on tlu exterior ofa Japanese house, which has a
Braunschweig; Change Perfomting Arts, Milan; IMBE
wootfm porch and stairs leading down to a narrow ralud ston1 gardm.
Barcelona; Prllsidalabteilung Der Stadt ZUrich, Zuercher
Tire house has stvm sliding doors cooered in rice paper.
Theater Spektakel; Aarhus Festuge; Bunkamura Tokyo;
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto; Kampnagel, Hamburg; Les A musidan sits at the stnge left comer oft he rockgardm behiad a large
Productions d'A lbert, Le Centre Culture! de Drumondville; percussion set. His lioe percussion and syntlusi.ter music, as weU as
Le Centre Culture! de l'Universite de Sherbrooke; Les recorded music, accompanies tlu production.
Productions Specta; Staatschauspiel Dresden; Kebenhaven JIIDil Capek mters. Sh1 is wearing a traditional blue kmdo costume,
'96; Ludwigaburger Scholssfestspiele; Stockholm
carries a katana (Japanese sword), and has a shaoed /read. Sire walks
Stadsteater, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York;
to cmter stage and performs an iaido kala (martial arts e"ercise). Sire
Becks; and Cultural Industry Ltd.
thm addresses tlu audimce.
]IIDil Iaido is a modern form of the ancient art of the
samurai. These japanese warriors practiced weaponry to
overcome the enemy; but if you practice iaido today you
don't have to measure up to someone else: the only adversary
is yourself. To cut the ego with the sword is the ultimate
combat. The Seoen Streams oft he Rioer Ota is about people from
different parts of the world who came to Hiroshima and
found themselves confronted with their own devastation a;
their own enlightenment. For ifHiroshima is a city ofd eath
and destruction, it is also a city of rebirth and survival.
JIIDil slides the three cmter doors opm to reveal a screen, and exits.
~
•
Part I, Scene 2 S
totte jyu-yo-na keto nanodesu. [My name ~.Luke
lr MOVING PICTVRES O'Connor. The US Anny has assigned me to take pictures of
Hiroshima, 1945-46 houses and buildings and their surroundings to allow the
American government to nulke statistics ofp hysical damages
that have been caused by the bomb. So I have to take some
l1 Tbe Torii ofMiyajima pictures of the outside and inside of your house. I know it
may be painful for you, but it is very important for the army
A.n image of~ Torii ( fJf'th) ofM iyajimtJ is projeeted on t1u smm. and both ofo ur countries.]
Gagaku pl4ys. An Amniean soldier and a Japanue hoalmtJn
IIIIISit:
appe~r in silhorutte behind tlu smm. The boalmtJn helps t1u soldier The elderly WOtlltJft tomes out oft he house. ~how slightly. Luke
puts his bags down and elimbs the stairs, sets up his tamera and points it
put his gear-a duffel hag and a tamera on a tripod-onto his boat and
Pu.s_hu_?ff. The h~kt!ormd image llmls into nmning uideo oftlu Bay of attluhouse.
M!J~Yiff!D· The soldier holdsup a light gauge, sets up his eamera and Lake Would you please open the door, ma'am?
shoots p.tturu. When the boat reaches a smaU doek tlu boatman helps
Shedoem'treaet. He moues towards tludoor. Shetakuastep to stop
tlu soldier to alight. '
him.
The image of. tlu doekfades away as an elderly wotlltJft in a kimono
I';" enters stage nght and goes inside tlu house. Lake Listen. I'm gonna have to get in there to take some
pictures. Do you understand? Pictures?
She does not seem to understand. He reaches for one oftlu doors, but tlu
old woman bloeks his way. She looks terrified. Luke backs off.
The Amniean ~oldier, Luke O'Connor, enters, walking in the roek Luke All right. I'mjust gonna take pictures of the outside
ga!den. _An eme, suspenseful sound aeeompanies his entrance. He and the surroundings.
wipes hisfaee and opens his eantem, but il's empty. Through the doors He goes baek to his eamera,points it towards tlu audiente. A.s he
of" }4 hous~ a "!omtJn sittin~ with her baek to tlu audience isj ustllisible, measures the light, he beeomes more aware oft he heal.
as u a white kimono, hang.ng up with its sleeves outstretched.
Lake Could I get some water? Hot. Me. Water?
Luke Is anybody hqme?
ThewOmtJnbehindtludoors,Nozomi,speakstluJapanesewordfor
Luke takes a pieee ofp aper out ofh is poeket and reads, in Japanese.
'water'.
He has a Sout/um US aeemt. His words are translated using
supertitlu. Nozomi Mizu.
Luke Luke O'Connor to iu Amerika-gun no cameraman Chimes play. Luke gioes his eantem to tlu elderly woman, who is
Nozomi'• MotheMn-law. Luke speaks to her as she re-41llers
d~ tatemono to shuhen no shashin wo totte imasu. Amerika
aeifu ga genbaku no higaijo-kyo-no toukei wo tsukulu tlu house.
tameno shashin desu. Otaku no sotogawa to naka no shashin Lake Thank you very much, ma'am, you're very kind.
wo tolasete itadakitai. Taulai de shouga nichibei lyoukoku ni
Through tlu doors, Nozomi speaks to him in English with a heaay •
Japanese aeemt. Their dialogue is punetuated by soft ehimes and
• A ~HbuNJ il a survivor oft he atomic bombs dropped on Japan gongs.
dunng the Second World War.
4 The Seven Streams of the River Ota Part I, Scene 4 5
Noacmai Light is very nice in the afternoon. The Mother-iD-Iaw eomes out oftlu house wilk lais e1111tem, hut
Lalre I'm sorry? Luke is gone. Slu slitks open tlu three emter doors to rmtzl tlu optUJue
serem, 1111d goes insid• tlu house. Bltzekout.
Noacmai Light is very nice in the afternoon, but at night
the sunset on the River Ota is beautiful. The sky becomes
orange.
3: Chee•ec:ake
Lake Oh! really . . .
An Ammean soldier, etzrrying a painthnuh, is silhouetted ngainst tlu
a
Nozomi AreyoufromNewYork? serem, whidz is tint1d ehartreuse. Musie Plii.Jis,a mixture of
syntlusi;;td Freneh horns 1111d pereussion. Tht soldier htgins to 'paint'
Lake No ma'am, I'm from Houston, Texas.
tlu sertm with his hnuh. A photogrtl/Jh of Amlriean military plane
1111
Nozomi Houston is in the south, near the sea, isn't it? from tlu 1940s tmtrges. Tht image turns into 'fflnning 'Ditko oftluplane
flying. Tlu soldier holds his hand up 1Z111l lkt pl1111t stops sudtknly-tlu
Lake Yes, it is. My God, how come you speak such good
English? jilmfrw::es in on•framt. The soldkr 'paints' tlu plant some more; tlu
film starts running again, and lk1 plan• flits off, ntarly hitting him.
Noacmai My husband was a diplomat. He worked for
The soldier picks up a hueket1111d gestures at tlu plan., tossing paint at
Foreign Office. He teach me English.
tlu sertm, whieh turns ehtzrtreustagain. Ht paints again, revtaling
Lake Have you ever been to the United States? imnges ofs eantily elad women painted on tlu sitks ofp lants. H• lkrows
Nozomi No. more paint at tlu sertm,lkm paints 1111 airplant taxiing down a
runwiJ)I. He runs after it hut e1111't eatt:h up, and disapp.ars stage right
Lake How come you know so much about America? as tlu plan. takts off. Blaekout.
Nozomi I read magazines.
Lake What kind ofm agazines do you read? fJ lh'"bakllllha 2
Nozomi Magazines from America.
Whm tlu lights eom< up, Ike lkrte emter doors are opmed to rev1tzl tlu
Lake laughs. insitk oftlu house. Nozomi is sitting wilk her haek to tlu audknee in
front oft lu kimono, whieh stt is whit• wilk eranu stitelled
Lake What's your name? Wt<IIIIIIOW
in gold lkrend.
Nozomi Nozomi.
Luke mters wilk his eam~ra ooer his slwultkr. The same terk sound
Lake Listen, Nozomi,l'm really gonna have to get in ae<rJtn/JIIIIUS his mtrane•; ngain, gongs IZIIIl ehimes panetuate tlu
there to take some pictures. Or else, I'm gonna get in trouble. aetion.
Do you understand?
Lake Good evening!
Helltdfo pnu a door. Nozomi eloses it aJJ,.ptlJ.from tlu insitk.
Nozomi Oh! You came ... How nice to have a visitor ...
Noacmai No. Come Tuesday night. Mother-in-law, not You arrive too late for sunset.
here. I'D let you take pictures. Tuesday night.
Lake Yes .•. I'm afraid so ... May I come in?
h«.ld, Lakefoltls up lais eamna,pieks up his hags,tznd exits.
Nozcmd Yes.
6 The Seven Streams of the River Ota Part l,Scene5 7
He Pills his hags down and dim6s tJu stairs to t/11 poreh. He hesitam, then talces a pictur< out ofh is wallet.
Nosomi Your shoes! Lake Here's my wife.
Lake Oh! I'm sorry.
Nosomi Very pretty, very nice.
He sits on tlu slip and takuoffhis shou. Lake And that's my boy. (He giu11 h<r anoth<r picture.) His
Nozomi The night is beautiful. name is Jeffrey.
Lake Sure is! I'm usually offd uty in the evening, but Nozomi Jeffrey?
tonight's an exception.
Lake You like that name?
Nosomi Do you want cigarette?
Nozomi Yes. How old is he?
Lake Sure.
Lake He's five. I miss him very much. You see, I've been
Sh< holds out a eigaretll whieh II< taku. He is slill6ehind h<r. As he out in the Pacific for the past two years, so I haven't seen him
jiUks his light<r opm, sh< holds out h<r own eigar<lll. He then walks in in a long time. (Shegiueshim6aek the photographs.) Well, I'd
front ofh<r to light it, tuming so II< is facing till audimee. HeletnU better take my picture now.
down to h<r. Whm he sets h<rfae• 6y the flame ofh is lighm, his
He Jnlls til< eam<rajust insilh the mtranee and tak11 two pictures oft he
11cprusion trmu to shoelc, and II< stops moving. Sh< taku his hand and
inside oft he house.
lights h<r dgaretl6 with his lighm. PllltSe.
Lake That's it, thank you.
Nosomi Surprising, isn't it?
He goes to leaue and puts on his shoes.
Lake Yes it is ... (PIIIlSe.) I brought you alittlesomething.
Nozomi That's all? I'm disappointed. I thought you take
He hands h<r a mogadlu.
a picture of me.
Nozomi (e.rdtrd) Ohl Lif< magazine!
Lake No ma'am, I only have to take pictures of the inside
Lake Yes. There were some around at the base, so I
and the surroundings.
thought you might enjoy reading them.
Nosomi Please ... I thought you took pictures ofp hysical
Nozomi Thankyouverymuch. Verynice. Very kind. (Sh<
damages.
6owsafewtimes.)
Ht picks up his bags and exits. Blackout.
Lake (ill at ease, II< looks around tJu room) That's a beautiful
kimono you got there . . .
Nosomi It's my wedding kimono. It is made with real 5:Thetrain
gold.
Aetualfootage oft he Japanese eountrysidt,jilmed through the
Uneoniforta61<, II< goes out to till por(/1 and lights his cigarette. windows ofa train in motion, is projected on thef ull width of the serem,
Nozomi Are you married? turning the front poreh of the house into tlu inside of a moviag train.
Til< filmed images are tinted 6lue. Rhythmic pmussion that sounds like
Lake Yeslam.
a train plays. Thret soldiers-one ofw hom is Lake-are silting stage '
Nozomi Do you have photo ofyol!r wife? lifl, hauing a raU&OUS eonuersalion; two other military p<rsonnel sit
8 The Seven Streams of the River Ota
Part I, Scene 6 9
stagt rigid. All are sitting in trap tlom infrDnl oft lu smms so that
Lake You really didn't have to.
t/uU .pp.r 6otliu are sillunutltd against tlu serem.
H•goutopiekup tlugift. Wu11him insillzouetlt.
Lab and oru oft lu Gls gil into ajislfigld; tfu.J art rtstraintd by tlu
otlltr solditr. Lab opms oru oftlu smms aftw im:hu as ifo pining a Nozomi It is a wedding dlill. A traditional doll we give to
wimiow and leans against it, smoking a cigarellt. Tlu hlru tint children ...
disappears from tlu uidto. Tlu otlltr ehara<lm slowly slip tlown tlu 0 Luke Usually in America, boys don't play with dolls ...
traps. Lab sits down IJIIdfalls asl11p. A rtd tint Slips into tlu uideo
They play with trucks.
and tlu sormd offlamn eraekling mi:tu witll tlu train musit:. Blackout.
Nozomi He doesn't have to play with it ... It brings good
luck ... It means someday he finds a good wife.
6: llibabsha 3
Luke Oh well, in that case, thank you.
WAm tlu ligkls tomt up, we are haek in tlu houseiJIIdLab is He eomts 6atk into view, holding the doll whieh is wearing a red
photographing Nozo:mi, who is stimding up wearing Ius wedding kimono.
kimono. Htr haek is still to tlu mulitnte.
Nozomi I'm ready for another picture now.
Nozo:mi I'm very tired •.. Muat sit down ...
Luke All right.
He puts his arms around htr and helps fztr. sit down.
He puts the doll down and goes to help Nozomi stand up.
Lake (rtlaxed) Arc you gonna be all right? Let's take a
break. You want some sake? (On tlletatamis sits a tr'!)l witll a Nozomi No. I'll stay hereon tatami. (Shetouclzeshisjace.)
hottlt ofs ake. He hands htr a glass.) I'm starting to get used to What happened to your eye?
this drink. Back home, I usually drink beer. That's my drink.
Luke It's nothing.Ijuatgotinto a brawl with a couple of
Nozomi Oh ... we drink beer too. But it is more a man's Glson my way to Nagasaki.
drink. Women, they drink sake. What women drink in
Nozomi Who arc these men?
America?
Luke They're part ofa film crew. You know, they're doing
Lab I don't know ... Shirley Temples? (He laughs.)
a moving picture. .
Nozomi What is Shirley Temples?
Nozomi A Hollywood movie?
Lab It's a drink without alcohol that was named after the
actress. Luke (laughs) No. They're doing a documentary on the
reconstruction ofJapan.
Nozomi Oh! I see.
Nozomi They film houses or they film people?
~drink a toast.
Lab I don't know ... (Pause.) Why do you want me to
Nozomi Kampai.
take a picture ofy ou?
Lab Kampai.
Nozo:mi InJapan, at the funeral, we display a picture the •
Nozomi I have a gift for your son ..• over there. (She penon has chosen. I want to choose mine, but I only have
paints stage rigid.)
pictures ofm e before bomb. After bomb, mother-in-law take
.,....
Part I, Scene 8 11
10 TheSevenStreamsoftheRiverOta
offstoge in syne/1 with 1M video image, 1M Mother-in-law clapping
no pictures, hide all mirron. When I _die, I want people to see with t/um. Thl scen~jrell.U on 1M screen; 1M Mo~law
my face. stands up, criu out harshly, and slaps lur 1uwh against 1M screen
Luke I undentand. swerallinus; each linu shl slaps, 1M image grows smaller, until iJ' s
He tufiruts lur luzir, and holds •P 1M light nullr to lurf au. Shl slips small enoughfar lur to put lur hands 011 it and' drag' it into tlu
portfolio, which sAl cloSIS up and takes o.ffstage.
1M kinwnofromlur shoaldns. Lukefr~u. Shl 16kes tlunut~rfrom
his hand, tAm 16ku his hand, and tliretts it to 1M IIIli' oflur m"k and •
lur 6ad:. Shl hans uutr and hi carusu lur.
8t Hl"balmsba t
Nozomi Close the door, please.
Lights up outSide and inside 1M horue. Noxomi, seated, and the
H1 slidu 1M thret doors closed; 1M awlierr&e stu thlir a<tion now in
MotJaer..iD.Iaw, standing, are uisibk behind the closed doors.
sillunutll. Nozomi stands up, holds lur luwhout to Aim; hi 16ku Luke enters carrying his camera, bag, and af older. He crosses 1M rock
tlum. Ht gou to pat his arms aroand lur, but sut/Jml.J brlllks GWI!JI
garden, tlun rashes to hide as hi sees the Mother-ill-law coming out
ftomlur, opmsou oftlu doors.
with a handbag. Shl uits across 1M porch.
Luke l'msorry,ljustcan't.
Luke goes to tlu parch, takes offh is shoes, and gou to 1M open door,
He gots to pad: up his canura. He tAm sits down on 1M porch and puts after making sure lluJt tlu Mother-in-Jaw is out ofs ight.
onhisshou.
Luke Nozomi.
Nozomi Is it your wife?
Nozomi Luke-san ... Come in! ... I waited a long time.
Luke No, it's not.
He slides open the doors. Thl wedding doll is still sitting next to
Nozomi Is it my ugliness?
Nozomi.
Luke No ... It's mine. Nozomi I thought you would never come back .•.
Ht uits. Blackout.
Luke I brought you whatyou'veaskedfor.
Nozomi Pictureofme?
7a Wed llul pletUiea
Luke Yes.
TAt Mather-ID-Iaw mtm with a porifolio,puts it doum 011 1M He kuels inftollt oflur, takes a photo out oft /ufoldn and giuts it to
parch, and hte.U down to open il up. DreamliU g011g IIIUSU pla.JS
lur. She looks at it, then tlou6hs ouer. Hereachls out to lur.
tllroughoul 1M scent. Shl 16ku out sonu photographs lluJt haD• 6een
half-thslr'!)lttl6.Jfirt and /oaks at tMm sadl.J. Shl tAm slidu open 1M Nozomi Please, leave me alone.
thru cenllr doors to rwtal 1M screen. Ou oftM photographs shl is
lookin8 at, ofa Japarwt wetfdint procusiOII, appears 1M screen. He persists and hllps lur to sit up.
011
TAt inutge trmu into rt11111i1tg 'Dilko; as 1M wttltlingprocusionconus Luke I bought you a present.
clDstr 1M Mother-fD.Iaw stands and toK<hls 1M groom's face, but He 16kua lipstick out ofhispockll and offers it to lur. Shl dotm'tmoue.
1M inutg1 iisappears. A IIIW 'Dilko oftlu rlietfdint tlrlf1UIIl.J Pli!Jis. TAt Het6kuitoutofitscaseand appliesillohtrlips. He kisStSiur; they •
kuelsinjroKI oftlu sam. TAt 6ridl am/groom
~w
embrace. Blackout.
on-clap thlir 1uwh twiee as part oftlu cmmo11.1 and 1uwh clap