Rajiv Joseph - Guards at the Taj and Mr. Wolf: two plays

PRAISE FOR THE PLAYS OF RAJIV JOSEPHGRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIESGruesome Playground Injuries finds a fresh way of expressing human vulnerability, and two individuals struggle to understand their need for each other. Joseph takes risks... that pay off emotionally. EVERETT EVANS, HOUSTON CHRONICLE Make[s] us feel lifes brevity and fragility... theres something paradoxically life-affirming about the sensitivity with which playwright and players perform this haunting ode to self-destruction. CHRIS KLIMEK, WASHINGTON CITY PAPER A provocative dark comedy.

OLIVIA FLOREZ ALVAREZ, HOUSTON PRESS Layered with quirky humor and poignant intensitya crash course in growing up, getting hurt, and the healing power of love. GWENDOLYN PURDOM, WASHINGTONIANANIMALS OUT OF PAPER Josephs observant, pitch-perfect script seems modest at first but is really quite ambitious, dealing ruthlessly... with the fragility of happiness, the tragedy of impulsiveness and the tenuousness of hope. ANITA GATES, NEW YORK TIMES Terrific... Josephs carefully modulated play slowly reveals darker edges to these characters. JASON CLARK, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY [Joseph] begins with a quirky comedy about origami experts and deftly transforms it into a melancholy reminder that close friends make the worst messes.

His journey from one extreme to the other... is surprising and specific, pulling honest insights out of unusual situations. MARK BLANKENSHIP, VARIETY Rajiv Joseph is one of the most refreshing new playwrights Ive ever encountered... Animals Out of Paper is one of the most satisfying new works Ive seen all year. Joseph is a fascinating voice in the world of theatre. Hes crafted a substantial play, funny and sad, down-to-earth and unpretentious, with a great deal of meaning...

Josephs play is refreshingly genuine, and hes a playwright to look out for. DAVID GORDON, NYTHEATRE.COM BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO No ordinary play. Im tempted to call it the most original drama written so far about the Iraq war, but why sell the work short? The imagination behind it is way too thrillingly genre-busting to be confined within such a limiting category... Bengal Tiger marks the breakthrough of a major new playwriting talent. CHARLES MCNULTY, LOS ANGELES TIMES The writing is beautiful... the pacing is taut and thrilling.

LAURENCE VITTES, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Quite magnificent. STEVEN LEIGH MORRIS, LA WEEKLY Though set amid the throes of the U.S. incursion, its less an Iraq War play than a heavily metaphorical musing on lifes purpose in a godless universe. BOB VERINI, VARIETY ebook ISBN 9781619028555 Copyright 2017 by Rajiv Joseph All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication is available. Cover illustration by AKA Interior design by Megan Jones Design SOFT SKULL PRESS An Imprint of Counterpoint 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 318 Berkeley, CA 94710 www.softskull.com Distributed by Publishers Group West 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that all materials in this book, being fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States, the British Empire including the Dominion of Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union, are subject to royalty. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved. The stock and amateur performance rights in the English language throughout the United States, and its territories and possessions, Canada, and the Open Market are controlled by The Gersh Agency, 41 Madison Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10010, Attn: Seth Glewen.

No professional or nonprofessional performances of the plays may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of The Gersh Agency and paying the requisite fee. Inquiries concerning all other rights should be addressed to The Gersh Agency. This book is dedicated to the memory of my parents parents:William and Dorothy GauchatP.L. and Constance Lily Joseph Table of Contents

CONTENTS The world premiere of GUARDS AT THE TAJ was produced by Atlantic Theater Company, in New York City, opening June 11, 2015. It was directed by Amy Morton; the set design was by Timothy R. Mackabee; the lighting design was by David Weiner; the sound design was by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen; the costume design was by Bobby Frederick Tilley II; and the production stage manager was Cambra Overend.

The cast was as follows:

HUMAYUN	Omar Metwally
BABUR	Arian Moayed

HUMAYUNBABURTIME 1648 PLACE Agra, India NOTE: Actors should not use a dialect. Agra, India. 1648. Night. Humayun, a young Imperial Guard, stands watch. Brilliant stars dot the sky, but there is no moon.

Crickets chirp. The distant call of a crazed bird. Otherwise silence. Another guard, Babur, hurriedly enters, very much disheveled, late to his post. He awkwardly sets up in guard position a few feet away from Humayun, trying to get properly dressed. Finally Babur is set. Finally Babur is set.

He stands at attention like Humayun. HUMAYUN: Wrong hand. Babur switches his sword to the proper hand, holding the blade perfectly upright, against his body. A long beat. They stand guard. Crickets.

The same crazy bird calls out. Aaarixah!BABUR:(imitates) Aaarixah!HUMAYUN:Shhhh!BABUR: Which one is that? HUMAYUN:Shhhh!Crazed bird again. Aaarixah!BABUR: I dont know them like you know them. The birds. Which bird is that one? Chickadee? Sandgrouse? Thick-knee? HUMAYUN: Shut up! BABUR: You always know the birds, I dont know any birds or HUMAYUN: Would you be quiet!? BABUR: Im just saying... Do Not Speak.BABUR: You just spoke. HUMAYUN: Among the Sacred Oaths of the Mughal Imperial Guard is to Never Speak.BABUR: You keep talking about not talking. HUMAYUN: In silence, we are vigilant. BABUR: Swearing an Oath to Not Speak: Contradiction!HUMAYUN: Babur! Stop! You have to be careful! BABUR: Okay! HUMAYUN: Im serious! BABUR: Okay. HUMAYUN: Theyll release us from this Honored Fleet without a second thought! The tiniest of infractions will see us both gone; quick-stuffed to the lowliest gullies of Agra. BABUR: You wont tell on me. HUMAYUN: Well, I wont lie. BABUR: Come on! Were brothers, you and me. HUMAYUN: Were not brothers, were just friends. BABUR: Thats insensitive. BABUR: Thats insensitive.

That makes me sad. I think of you as a brother. As a bhai. You call me bhai. I call you bhai. BABUR: Hah! You?! And who is your father? Only simply the highest of high command in the All-On-High Imperial Guard.