Dromgoole Maud Wood Nathan LuckyPerry MargaretSaid - Plays from VAULT 4

PLAYS FROM VAULT 4 3 BILLION SECONDS Maud Dromgoole ALCATRAZ Nathan Lucky Wood COLLAPSIBLE Margaret Perry INSIDE VOICES Nabilah Said JERICHO MALAPROP Theatre OPEN Christopher Adams & Timothy Allsop THROWN Jodi Gray NICK HERN BOOKS London www.nickhernbooks.co.uk Welcome to VAULT The magic of the theatre often lies in its transience. Theres something special in the live event, in the shared space of bodies crammed into a room to witness a good story well told. Imagine that, multiplied by ten, and youve got the inarticulable atmosphere of VAULT Festival dozens of stories unfolding in one moment to thousands of captive audience members. It is theatre at its most vibrant, its most immediate, its most live. Plays though what makes them special is the way that they live on long after the stage goes dark. For writers, seeing their script published represents a permanent life for their work.

It allows the stories theyve dreamed up to reach out to people long after their run with us has ended. Publishing a script preserves, but it also reinvigorates placing the story firmly into the imaginations of new readers and audience members and artists for years and years to come. This year, VAULT Festival is honoured to welcome one of its strongest contingents of new writing yet. The emerging artists that we work with are bursting at the seams with stories, ranging from elaborate escape plans to playful ruminations on the state of the world, from measuring the value of a single life to celebrating the warmth of a community. The writers and stories chosen here represent a small portion of the talent on offer from the VAULT Festival family. Our artists are teeming with love and intelligence and rage, they are brimming with urgency and voice and soul and ready to tear up the stage.

As far as were concerned, they are the writers, makers and tellers of the future, and now, their stories are in your hands. As always, none of this would be possible without the unwavering support of Nick Hern Books. Their dedicated belief in our artists and consistent investment in their talent is essential to our work. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Gillian Greer, Head of Theatre and PerformanceVAULT Festival 2019 3 BILLION SECONDS Maud Dromgoole For Jessica,who against all good maths brought me into the world MAUD DROMGOOLE Maud Dromgoole is a writer from London. Her plays include Marys Babies (VAULT Festival/Kings Head/Fertility Fest @ Bush Theatre/Jermyn Street Theatre); Rosa, Ursula and Richard (Finalist Mercury Weinberger Prize; reading at Old Red Lion); Blue Moon (Bread and Roses/The Courtyard/Arcola as short play).

Her short plays include Sleeping Beauty (The Bunker); Milk (The Bunker/Hackney Attic); Cake (The Cockpit/Tristan Bates Theatre); The Boy James (Love Bites); A Violet in the Youth of Primy Nature (Theatre Utopia) and Selkie (Southwark Playhouse/Old Red Lion). Her sitcom Acting Up was shortlisted for BBC Writersroom Comedy Script Room and she is currently working on several short films. 3 Billion Seconds was first performed at VAULT Festival, London, on 6 March 2019, directed by Beth Pitts. At the time of going to print the play was still to be cast. A previous, shorter version of the play was performed at The Miniaturists, Arcola Theatre, London, with the following cast:

DAISY	Rhiannon Neads
MICHAEL	Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong

3 Billion Seconds was started on an Arvon course under the tutorage of Chris Thorpe and Alice Birch, both of whom have been incredibly generous with their time and ideas. As has the excellent Beth Pitts. Thanks to Gill Greer and everyone at VAULT.

Thanks to everyone at Nick Hern Books. Huge thanks are owed to my Playgroup: Joel McCormack, Max Levine, Sonia Jalaly, Hatty Jones and especially to Jessica Dromgoole, Jenny Bakst and Margaret Perry who have each seen this play through many drafts, tantrums, and panicky phone calls. Thanks to my supportive family, especially Cat Horn, Gordon Snell, Agnes Dromgoole, Matilda James and Chris Morgan. Thanks also to Greg Kyle, Jodi Gray, Natasha Magigi, Felicity Thompson, Grizzie Elliot, Laura Horton, Celia De Wolff and Olivia Ross. Thanks to James and Izzi at The Miniaturists for giving me some space to try this play, to Eleanor and Sophie for helping it run smoothly, and Tayla and Rhiannon for giving it breath. John Davol The power of population is so superior to the power of the Earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race. Thomas MalthusNote on Play The first word has been underlined to indicate a break of space, time or character. Thomas MalthusNote on Play The first word has been underlined to indicate a break of space, time or character.

Characters have not been distinguished but should be obvious. Words in [square brackets] are unspoken. A forward slash (/) indicates an interruption, including self-interruption. A lack of full stop indicates an open-endedness. The world that is of interest to the characters contracts as the play progresses and this should be represented somehow physically. Their relationship with the audience is inversely related to their relationship with each other.

The audience begins as their allies but, as they become more intimate and insular with each other, we lose them. We are moving outwards to inwards. We are becoming more compact. There is a lot of love. A clock is visible on stage showing Earths current population. An example can be found here: www.worldometers.info/world-population

DAISY

MICHAEL

We are a plague on earth.

When I was born. 1990 Yep. Thanks. Good year. The population stood at just over five billion. Five point two.

Five point two nine six actually Five point two nine six and one. She cheesily winks at him and points. By the time I was twenty. The population had increased Drum roll By thirty per cent. Thats loads. In my grandfathers lifetime Between 1900 and 2000 The increase in world population was Three. Greater. Greater.

Than during the entire previous history of humanity. Going from one point six To six point one Billion people In just over three billion seconds. Michael and I Met on stage Population Pow wow Coventry 2016 And from the second I saw her Hell did we hate each other. Michael was a paralegal with a degree in superiority. Daisy was a Poet Dont do the air quotes. Daisy was a poet We had undeniable chemistry on stage And unbelievable rows offstage.

But it sort of Worked. We launched a small Kickstarter Funded almost exclusively by Daisys estranged wealthy pare[nts] / And toured any conference centre, Student Union Or village hall who would have us. It was hell. Michael was attempting a vegan hygiene regime and smelt vaguely of kettle chips. MICHAEL counts out on his fingers. Daisy spent a week Of both of our lives speaking Only in haiku We didnt care for each other But we both cared a lot about / Population is the single greatest threat to humanity But we can change that. Simply educating men and women about population can have a huge impact.

When Iran introduced a national family-planning programme 1989 Its fertility rate fell from five point six births per woman To two point six. In a decade. We shared a lot of cheap B&B rooms. And stayed up late drinking conference-centre wine out of plastic cups. Putting the world to rights. King of the world for the next thirty seconds.

K Go Solve the NHS Scrap private health care Solve education Scrap private schools Solve immigration Scrap borders Solve wealth distribution Scrap inheritance Feed the world Scrap Eating So much meat. Solve population. Scrap having babies. Solve ageing population. Scrap Out of Time Treating cancer? Thats a lot of scrapping for thirty seconds. Im very scrappy.

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