Lindsay Joan Weigall - Picnic at Hanging Rock

Joan Lindsay PICNIC AT
HANGING ROCK adapted for the stage by Tom Wright NICK HERN BOOKS London www.nickhernbooks.co.uk Contents This adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock was first co-produced by Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, and Black Swan State Theatre Company, Perth, and first performed at Malthouse Theatre on 26 February 2016. The play received its European premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, on 13 January 2017. The cast was as follows:

CAST	Harriet Gordon-Anderson
Arielle Gray
Amber McMahon
Elizabeth Nabben
Nikki Shiels
Direction	Matthew Lutton
Set & Costume Design	Zo Atkinson
Lighting Design	Paul Jackson
Composition	Ash Gibson Greig
Sound Design	J. David Franzke

The Rock is a nightmare,
and nightmares belong in the past.CharactersFive Australian women AMBER NIKKI ARIELLE ELIZABETH HARRIET OneA room.A girl in school uniform, with hat. As you would see on a Melbourne tram. Or a Blackman painting. AMBER Australia is a thin layer of scum Floating on a vast volcanic lake.

It is true that for the last few blinks of an eye this crust has held sure The boiling magma below is forgotten Or ignored A truth we pretend we do not know But quietitude is highly unusual in this country The normal state of affairs is emanations, eruptions, Puncturing the veneer, spreading ash, pumice, and rock in liquid form. In a geological sense, we sleep on a sea of flame And all through our land, there are portals. Gateways to eternal fire. The doors of Hell. This is Australia. Blackout.A sign on the wall, high above: PERFECTLY USELESS MOVEMENT.She has been joined by four other girls in the same uniform.

They stand equally spaced across the stage. NIKKI High on the wall A sign over the assembled school: GIRLS SILENCE IS GOLDEN ARIELLE Mrs Appleyard Splays the girls about her Imperious She lambasts them with Englishness ELIZABETH Are we all present?GoodWell, young ladies, we are indeed fortunate in the weather for our picnic to Hanging RockI have instructed Mademoiselle that as the day is likely to be warm, you may remove your gloves after the drag has passed through WoodendYou will partake of luncheon at the Picnic Grounds near the RockOnce again let me remind you that the Rock itself is extremely dangerous and you are therefore forbidden to engage in any tomboy foolishness in the matter of exploration, even on the lower slopesIt is, however, a geological marvel on which you will be required to write a brief essay on Monday morningI also wish to remind you that the vicinity is renowned for its venomous snakes and poisonous ants of various species I think that is allHave a pleasant day and try to behave yourselves in a manner to bring credit to the CollegeI shall expect you back, Miss McCraw and Mademoiselle, at about eight oclock for a light supper. NIKKI They are in muslin, calico, silk Their skin is not made for this sun They need parasols Lest they should turn dark Sink back into the land. Miranda asks the driver Mr Hussey, did you know today is Saint Valentines Day? Mr Hussey knows nothing of saints But Miranda is seventeen She magnetises air He asks Whats the particular job of this one? AMBER Irma says Hes the patron saint of loversHes a darlingSends people gorgeous cards with tinsel and real laceHave a caramel? Irma Leopold Her mama is a Rothschild She is beautiful Dark curls around her face But Mr Hussey does not want the caramel while he is driving HARRIET Edith (Fourteen Gauche ribbons in her hair Was not in the queue when charm was being distributed) She leans over and asks Why is the horse called Duchess? Mr Hussey has his favourites Edith is no Miranda Comes to that, Miss, why are you called Edith? ARIELLE It is hot They want to take their hats off Miss McCraw Mathematics mistress: Certainly notJust because we are on an excursionThere is no necessity to look like a wagonload of gypsies. HARRIET They stop, rest The bush a tinderbox around them It rustles and snaps. To Saint Valentine! Mr Hussey is keen to keep to the schedule and get a wriggle on if the saint has no objections A magpie nearby Turns its head to one side Miss McCraw peers over her pince-nez Confides in the bird Humans are obsessed with the notion of perfectly useless movementNobody ever sits still any more For her this world is calculus Change in the form of abstractions Unending change The bird does not respond ARIELLE Mr Hussey hurries It must be nearly midday He has Sworn black and blue to Mrs AppleyardI would have you girls back at the College by eight oclock Miss McCraw pipes up From the rear of the wagon ELIZABETH There is no reason why we should be lateEven if we linger for an extra hour at the Rock She says Mr Hussey knows as well as she does Two sides of a triangle are together greater than the third She says This morning we have driven along two sides of a triangle Asks Mr Hussey if this is correct Very well then She says We have only to change our route this afternoonReturn by the third sideSince we entered from Woodend at right anglesThe return will be along the hypotenuse ARIELLE He thinks she means hippopotamus He speaks of the way to the Camels Hump Which is behind us Regardless of what arithmetic might say. ELIZABETH But Miss McCraw Was not referring to the Camels Hump, Mr Hussey, thank you for your explanation all the same Knowing little of horses and roads She admits she becomes Theoretical She asks Marion up there if she understands? Marion, Spectacles She is the intellectual Her father is a QC She will be the New Woman for the nouveau sicle HARRIET Mr Hussey points to the Rock Rising in the distance He lists all he knows: Over five hundred feet in heightVolcanicSeveral monolithsThousands of years old NIKKI Miss McCraw says The mountain comes to MuhammadThe Hanging Rock comes to Mr Hussey And she bursts into laughter But no one else laughs AMBER And there it is The mineral marvel A castle suspended in bright sky A fist, clenched Huddled monsters turning their backs It is not a gentle, manicured park of reverie It is a carbuncle in this anti-Eden The girls are beautiful That is their role They are young ladies With their Saint Valentine cards Their thoughts of love And this corpse of a volcano It is It is the other thing Sound, from above, faint. Then silence. NIKKI Edith says How dreadfully quiet it is out here She cannot imagine how anyone could live in the country Unless of course they were awfully poor The school picnic girls Are the only human beings at the Rock Apart for a small group of wealthy types From Mount Macedon An older couple Their coachman A young visitor from abroad He is good looking The girls are too far away To grasp this Edith says AMBER We might be the only living creatures in the whole world ELIZABETH On rocks and grass Diligent ants Cross miniature Saharas Drag slices of icing From the cake Lizards bask on the hottest stones An armour-plated beetle rolls, Lies, kicking on its back Fat white grubs squirm Grey woodlice In rotting bark Snakes coiled in secret holes NIKKI The girls are not of this world They eat chicken Twirl their hair Sip tea Some sing to each other A humming sound In the afternoon heat Miss McCraw Propped under a tree Reading her book Full of diagrams Insoluble problems. Their French mistress Reclines Eyes