McCafferty - Days of Wine and Roses

JP Miller's

DAYS OF WINE
AND ROSES

in a new version by

Owen McCafferty

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

World Premiere

JP Millers Days of Wine and Roses
in a new version by Owen McCafferty
was first commissioned and developed by
SCAMP Film and Theatre Ltd and
RJK Productions, Inc.

First performance at the Donmar Warehouse, London,
on 17 February 2005, with the following cast:

Anne-Marie Duff and Peter McDonald

Directed by Peter Gill
Designed by Alison Chitty
Lighting by Hartley T.A. Kemp
Music by Terry Davies
Sound by Matt McKenzie

for those whose light shines brightly

if only for a brief moment

Characters

DONAL, mid-twenties

MONA, mid-twenties

The play takes place between 1962 and 1970.

Throughout the play the actors should remain onstage.

Scene One

1962. Belfast Airport departure lounge.

DONAL. planes

MONA. sorry

DONAL. planes were not meant to be up there birds arent that size that should tell us something shouldnt it

MONA. if they can orbit the moon im sure flying to london wont be a problem

DONAL. youre going london

MONA. yes

DONAL. me too my names donal by the way donal mackin

MONA. mona mcreynolds

DONAL. mona nice name you dont mind me talking to you mona do you people can be funny about strangers talking to them

MONA. not at all talk away

DONAL. have they said how long were going to be delayed

MONA. no just waiting for the wind to die down

DONAL. youd think a good strong wind would be of some type of benefit to the whole notion of flying do you believe that stuff about the moon

MONA. it was in the paper

DONAL. you shouldnt believe everything you read in the paper

MONA. i dont

DONAL. i think its a con

MONA. why

DONAL. dont know havent worked that out yet i just know that whenever i look up at the moon the first thing that strikes me is that its not a stones throw away

MONA. id like it to be true the thought of it is exciting being able to fly up into space maybe one day well all be able to do that

DONAL. ill give you whatever odds you like thats never going to happen

MONA. it will theres no point in them going up there otherwise

DONAL. strong winds hardly stop that flight sorry no rocket flight today lads the wind would blow you away out there

MONA. we could all take our holidays on a space ship

DONAL. a space ship jesus a space ship something about that doesnt sound right either you been over in london before

MONA. no you

DONAL. no first time in the big city be a bit different from belfast id say

MONA. i hope so

DONAL. you just going over for a holiday to visit relatives or something

MONA. no i dont have any relatives there im going over to live

DONAL. so am i

MONA. have you people there

DONAL. no im going to be all on my swanny its to do with work

MONA. your company transferring you over there

DONAL. sort of but not really i work in a bookies here in belfast mchughs just round the corner from the cattle market you know it

MONA. i think ive passed it once or twice

DONAL. i clerk for a bookie at race meetings as well all over ireland i do the dogs too its a small outfit the man that owns it knows that i really should be manager now but he wants to keep running it himself he says it gives him something to do and if he wasnt doin it hed be stuck at home with the wife

MONA. maybe she doesnt want to be stuck at home with him

DONAL. hes joking when he says that

MONA. oh

DONAL. anyway my boss has contacts with a bigger outfit in london they were looking for a manager and he put a good word in for me so thats what im going over to do manage a bookies

MONA. it was good of him to help you like that

DONAL. it was although in saying that he owed me

MONA. its normally the other way round isnt it

DONAL. what

MONA. people owe bookies

DONAL. theres not many of them thats skint thats true he owed me because im very good at what i do born to it you might say when i started there the place was a kip and i turned it round for him he thought it was just about figures but its not my da taught me to always make your work social so thats what i do i get on well with the punters im good with the figures part as well you need both

MONA. is your father a bookie

DONAL. no he drives a tram

MONA. id love to do that

DONAL. drive a tram

MONA. yes why not

DONAL. no reason not something you think of women doing though

MONA. doesnt mean you shouldnt do it

DONAL. what do you do

MONA. work in the civil service

DONAL. good job steady

MONA. yes steady

DONAL. thats what youre going over to london to do is it

MONA. i suppose so theres a job waiting on me i dont know though well see what happens

DONAL. have you something else in mind

MONA. not really work isnt really the reason im going over to london

DONAL. oh i see

MONA. you see what

DONAL. sorry i shouldnt have said anything its none of my business

MONA. you think im pregnant dont you

DONAL. sorry i didnt mean its just you hear that a lot of girls go over to london because

MONA. im not

DONAL. its ok really its ok

MONA. really im not all i meant was that the reason im going to london isnt to do with work its personal

DONAL. i understand

MONA. no you dont you think i mean bad personal i mean personal in that it has to do with me

DONAL. right you dont have to tell me anything were just sitting here talking to pass the time thats all

MONA. i know that i just had this feeling one day that going to london was something i had to do

DONAL. the bright lights

MONA. something like that

DONAL. all on that journey to make our fortunes

MONA. no not that i just had this feeling one morning walking to work that i didnt want to be in belfast any more it felt like it was too small and that i knew everything about it and all that i knew i didnt really like

DONAL. sometimes theres not too much to like about it youre right about that

MONA. i felt like i didnt want to die there or maybe it was if i stayed there i would die my parents think im mad they probably thought that anyway

DONAL ( takes a hip flask from his coat ) . do you mind if i have a drink a quick nip to warm the cockles of your heart

MONA. not at all go ahead

DONAL. do you want one

MONA. no thanks i dont drink its a family thing was never any drink in our house my fathers a very disciplined man does the same things at the same time every day his father liked a drink and i think that put him off theres six of us he wouldnt tell us not to drink but i dont think hed be happy if we did so none of us touch it what youve never had you dont miss

DONAL. the other way of looking at that is what youve never had you dont know about or a little bit of something does you good

MONA. would you like me to have a drink

DONAL. you could look back upon this as a good memory the day that i was starting out my new life in london i met this very nice young man called donal i had my first drink with him and it was a laugh when youre an old woman sitting talking to all your cats that will be a good memory

MONA. i dont like cats

DONAL. i dont like drinking on my own

MONA. since you put it that way why not ( Drinks. ) thats awful

DONAL ( drinks ) . you get used to it well you make yourself get used to it i used to be a pioneer but then given the line of work im in its just too difficult not to have a drink after race meetings you spend a lot of time in pubs and that drinkings the price you have to pay for getting on in this game