STRANGERS
(a silent play with no words spoken whatsoever)
By Eleanor Tylbor


GUY1 walks across the stage and is approached by GUY2.


GUY1 waves at GUY2 but GUY2 doesn't wave back.


GUY1 waves at GUY2 again, smiling.


GUY2 ignores him and turns his head sideways.


GUY1 rushes over to him and taps him on the shoulder, forcing GUY2 to acknowledge his presence


GUY2 turns to face him, pushes him backwards and attempts to rush away


GUY1 blocks his departure with an extended arm and moves his face close to GUY2's face, and points to his face


GUY2 backs up and attempts to flee


GUY1 chases after him but GUY2 moves too quickly.


GUY 1 drops his head and shakes it slowly and his shoulders droop indicating dejection


A FEMALE APPROACHES.


GUY1 lifts his head and focuses his attention on her. He scans her body with his eyes, taking in her figure. He smoothes his hair, fixes his shirt collar and adjusts his pants. She is reading while walking and he makes a point of bumping into her.


FEMALE, startled, drops book and takes step backward.


GUY1 smiles and bends over to pick up book. He glances at title and points at her - then at himself.


FEMALE grabs book out of his hand and attempts to move on, obviously leery of GUY1.

GUY1 extends his arm and touches her shoulder. She whirls around and hits him squarely across his face. He reels backwards and places his hand on his face, shaking his head in bewilderment and shrugs his shoulders


FEMALE removes her purse that is hanging on her shoulder and hits him on his shoulders - then focuses her attention on the book and moves on


GUY1 drops down on to the floor, drops his head and it's obvious by his heaving shoulders that he is sobbing. He shakes his head in frustration while pounding the floor with his fists.

He suddenly jumps up after spotting a CLOWN, who is puffing away on a cigarette. GUY1 jumps up and down in excitement, runs towards clown in an attempt to communicate with him

(END OF SCENE 1)

The Play's the Thing - Even If No Words are Spoken by Anyone

by Eleanor Tylbor

To say that Austrian playwright, Peter Handke is a man of few words is truly an understatement.

In fact he has written a play entitled, "The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other" to be performed at the National Theatre from March 31 to April 12 for 30 performances. What makes his play "special" is that not one word will be spoken by the actors.

For 1 hour and 40 minutes, 450 characters will be silent.

According to a blurb on the National Theatre site:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/thehour

The play is best described: "For a moment, a bright, empty town square. And then a figure darts across, and another and another – businesspeople, roller-bladers, a cowboy, several street-sweepers, a halfdressed bride, a film crew, a line of old men, a tourist, a beauty in a mirrored dress, Abraham and Isaac, a family of refugees, a fool – more and more people, the bizarre and the humdrum, fleetingly connected by proximity alone."

The idea apparently came to Handke as he sat at a cafe on an Italian piazza watching strangers come and go. Even if not a word is spoken, the play is not sound-less. The silence is punctuated by snatches of music, the occasional scream and the recorded sounds of an aeroplane or workmen drilling.

A National Theatre spokeswoman said: "It is a great piece of work, challenging and something that we should be doing. Tickets are selling well - not like hotcakes, but they are doing well. It is appealing to younger people. We think our more traditional audiences will wait until the reviews."

If this is a success, I shall re-read and re-edit my plays with the possibility of eliminating the dialogue. Perhaps I'll re-name the wedding play, "Make Me a Wedding and Let's Keep It Between Ourselves." Given that it's a comedy, there will be lots of body language and gesturing. Since my play has a mere 9 characters, it shouldn't be too difficult to fill the various roles.

If anyone attends this play, please pass on your impressions and review.


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