Whittington - Kiss Me Quickstep

Amanda Whittington KISS ME
QUICKSTEP NICK HERN BOOKS London www.nickhernbooks.co.uk ContentsKiss Me Quickstep was first presented as a co-production between New Vic Theatre and Oldham Coliseum Theatre, and performed at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, on 4 March 2016, with the following

SAMANTHA SHAW	Amy Branes
JUSTIN ATHERTON	Matt Crosby
NANCY KNIGHT	Hannah Edwards
COMPERE	Alison Hammond
MICK KNIGHT	Jack Lord
JODIE ATHERTON	Abigail Moore
LUKA KRALJ	Isaac Stanmore
LEE HART	Ed White
Director	Theresa Heskins
Designer	Dawn Allsop
Lighting Designer	Daniella Beattie
Choreographer	Beverley Edmunds
Musical Supervisor	James Atherton
Sound Designers	James Earls-Davis
Alex Day
Assistant Director	Christa Harris
Choreographers Assistant	Marissa Crain
Casting Associate	Anji Carroll CDG
Vocal Coach	Caroline Hetherington

Life in a Mirrorball Light The first step towards Kiss Me Quickstep takes me to Blackpool Dance Festival. Held in the gorgeous Winter Gardens, this world-famous competition sees three thousand couples representing sixty countries in ballroom and Latin. If theres a play in competitive dance, then it must be found here. The world feels completely off-kilter with everyday life but its surreal sights have a strange kind of beauty. Glitz and glamour are everywhere the frocks, fake tans and fixed smiles along with the steely eyed stares and sharp elbows of those in it to win. The dancing, of course, is extraordinary; so are the gowns and tailsuits hung at the back of the ballroom where hundreds of dancers must dress.

I dont expect to see backstage in full public view. I snatch photos of dancers in stairwells with suitcases spilling open, making-up and maybe breaking up, too? More couples split up at Blackpool than Christmas, Ill later be told. One night, I see a young dancer sat on the floor, still in her ball gown and head in her hands. Whats her story? Why is she here, tonight, in a world that seems frozen in time? The play will begin with that question. Later, I meet wonderful dancers who tell me their stories, both on the record and off. Im indebted to them and to the local dance schools who allowed me into their classes, competitions and confidence.

Thank you also to Theatre Writing Partnership, whose Making Tracks bursary enabled the first creative journey to Blackpool. Last but not least to Theresa Heskins and the New Vic Theatre for commissioning and believing in the play. Like ballroom and Blackpool, I daresay theres truth and illusion within Kiss Me Quickstep: life caught in a mirrorball light. Amanda WhittingtonCharactersin order of appearance LUKA KRALJ, a dancer from Moscow, mid-twenties NANCY KNIGHT, a dancer from Blackpool, early twenties MICK KNIGHT, Nancys father, also from Blackpool, mid-forties JUSTIN ATHERTON, a dancer from Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, early thirties JODIE ATHERTON, a dancer from Burslem, late twenties LEE HART, a dancer from Chester, mid-twenties SAMANTHA SHAW, a dancer, originally from Burslem, mid-twentiesWe also hear the voice of a COMPRE over the PA. This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed. A Note on the Dancing Dance sequences and dialogue may be adapted to fit the performers level of ability.

For confident dancers, the play can be staged as written but simpler routines could be devised for the less experienced. Act One, Scene Thirteen may be shortened and/or feature the waltz, quickstep and tango only. Act Two, Scene Twelve can also be shortened, and steps for the cha-cha-cha and samba simplified. Alternatively, the competitions could be staged with one ballroom and Latin dance only. Steps for those dances could be repeated throughout the play. When dialogue refers to the dance steps of individual routines, companies may adapt those lines with reference to their own choreography.

All steps and routines are open to interpretation but the storytelling aspects of the dance sequences must remain. As our characters proceed through the championship, a dance chorus may share the space and augment the competition. A.W. ACT ONEScene OneBritish Amateur Dance Championships. Empress Ballroom, Winter Gardens, Blackpool. A Friday afternoon in winter.

Present day. LUKA KRALJ enters. He wears a tracksuit and carries a rucksack and a suit in a cover. He looks around in awe and wonder. LUKA. Blackpool LUKA goes onto the dance floor.

He tries a progressive chass and repeats it with great concentration, his arms placed as if dancing with a partner. No music plays but the silence gives LUKAs steps a compelling beauty. He moves slow-quick-quick-slow-slow; slow-quick-quick-slow-slow. As LUKA progresses, DANCERS and their SUPPORTERS come into the ballroom, costumes in hand, excited and nervous in equal measure. Among them is NANCY KNIGHT. She wears a tracksuit and is made-up to the nines, with hair severely scraped back and lacquered.

NANCY watches LUKA before stepping forward. NANCY. Youre here. LUKA stops dancing. LUKA. I was early, I NANCY.

Sall right. LUKA. I thought Id come in and NANCY. Its fine. LUKA looks up. It is. NANCY. NANCY.

So you found it all right? Cos you know wed have picked you up from the station? LUKA. I like to walk. NANCY. But youre staying tonight at our house? LUKA. I am. NANCY. NANCY.

You like it? LUKA. The floor the lights NANCY. Chandeliers. LUKA. Chandeliers NANCY. I dreamt once they fell as I danced.

Crashed and shattered around me. LUKA. Like a horror film. NANCY. Tiny beads under my feet. LUKA.

The Evil Dance. Thriller-style. Billie Jean. LUKA moonwalks across the floor. NANCY (laughs). Luka! LUKA.

I like to walk. Moonwalk! NANCY. Not here! LUKA. Though Cab Calloway called it the Buzz. NANCY. Cab? LUKA.

And Marcel Marceau? Youve seen him walk into the wind? NANCY. I dont know, I LUKA. Michael who? LUKA does the routine of walking against the wind. NANCY. Wow! Enter MICK, pulling a suitcase on wheels. MICK. MICK.

You found him then? NANCY. Yes. MICK. The waif an stray. NANCY. Dad MICK.

Shes been waiting outside, son. LUKA. I make my own way. MICK. Texting yer. NANCY.

Once, thats all. MICK. I thought youd bottled it. LUKA. Bottled it? NANCY. LUKA. LUKA.

I know what it means. MICK finds a corner of the ballroom. MICK. Come on, thisll do us. LUKA. Cold feet? Not me.

LUKA does his own hotshoe shuffle. MICK (calls). Base camp. LUKA. No way. MICK.

Bring your stuff, sunshine. NANCY looks between MICK and LUKA. NANCY. Luka? LUKA picks up his rucksack. LUKA. Never.

LUKA heads for their corner. Scene TwoBallroom. Later that afternoon. Couples from the DANCE CHORUS gently warm up. They wear tracksuits but hair and make-up are competition-ready. We hear the voice of the