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The Half Of It (NHB Modern Plays)
By Karen Cogan
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About this ebook
The first play written by award-winning actor and playwright Karen Cogan.
The Half Of It is a relentless, darkly lyrical monologue about a life, lived unseen, which won the Stewart Parker Award in 2018 after a sold-out run at the Dublin Fringe Festival, produced by Mommo Theatre.
In a London flat, a Cork woman is climbing the walls. She lives alone, eating dry digestives and hiding from the postman. She hasn't stepped outside in six years. Does she definitely still exist?
'An exquisite piece of theatre… a poignant reflection on modern society and how we treat ourselves and each other' - The Reviews Hub
'A slow-burning and complex vision of a woman's inner life' - No More Workhorse
The Half Of It is a relentless, darkly lyrical monologue about a life, lived unseen, which won the Stewart Parker Award in 2018 after a sold-out run at the Dublin Fringe Festival, produced by Mommo Theatre.
In a London flat, a Cork woman is climbing the walls. She lives alone, eating dry digestives and hiding from the postman. She hasn't stepped outside in six years. Does she definitely still exist?
'An exquisite piece of theatre… a poignant reflection on modern society and how we treat ourselves and each other' - The Reviews Hub
'A slow-burning and complex vision of a woman's inner life' - No More Workhorse
Author
Karen Cogan
Karen enjoys writing all of her historical romance.
Read more from Karen Cogan
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Book preview
The Half Of It (NHB Modern Plays) - Karen Cogan
(A bedsit in London. Maybe there are fresh stains on the carpet.)
(A WOMAN wakes up. She is crumpled and unable for life.
12.11 p.m. She has slept for as long as she can.
She stands in her space. She turns the radio on. Static rings out.
The radio springs to life and ‘Knock Three Times’ by Dawn plays.
She is transfixed by the sudden music. Perhaps she sways tensely.
The house does not smell good. She does not smell good.
She walks to the window. She stands in front of it but makes no move to open it. This window will not be opened today.
She stares out, into space.)
Woman
Woman
Man
Bus Stop
Smoking
Phone
Hello
Maggots
Stop
Mick Café
Morning Mick
Sandwich Board
Mick
Woman
Downturned mouth
Looks Irish or maybe Bulgarian
Woman
Girl
Dopey bitch
Stop
Mick Café
Stop
Stop
[This is] Pointless.
(She gives up on the window.)
(She goes to a packet of biscuits and begins to eat. She chews some, well, and then spits out.)
(She sprays air freshener all over the space; and then, herself.)
Putrid
No point crying over… No
It is a known fact that a life needs witnesses
Ssh!
If a tree falls in a forest and…
But shur…
Girl
No
Girl
NO
Mick Café
Boy
Boy
Brown
Lovely
Rushing
Stooped over
Can of
(She stares.)
Can of
Lager
Tanora
Energy drink
Green slash on the tin
Energy
For the day
Energy Boy
Three times more men kill themselves than women
Girls
Women
Ladies
Women
Three times more
Or two times
Suicide
Energy Boy is suicidal
He is
Killing himself because of
Not enough. Energy?
Too much energy?
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