Rockaby and Other Short Pieces Read online

  Rockaby and Other Short Pieces

  Works by Samuel Beckett published by Grove Press

  Cascando

  Collected Poems in English and French

  Collected Shorter Plays

  Disjecta

  Endgame and Act Without Words

  Ends and Odds

  First Love and Other Stories

  Happy Days

  How It Is

  I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On

  Krapp’s Last Tape

  The Lost Ones

  Mercier and Camier

  Molloy

  More Pricks Than Kicks

  Murphy

  Nohow On (Company, III Seen III Said, Worstward Ho)

  Ohio Impromptu, Catastrophe, What Where

  Rockaby and Other Short Pieces

  Stories and Texts for Nothing

  Three Novels (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable)

  Waiting for Godot

  Watt

  Happy Days: Samuel Beckett’s Production Notebooks,

  edited by James Knowlson

  Samuel Beckett: The Complete Short Prose, 1929-1989,

  edited and with an introduction and notes by

  S. E. Gontarski

  The Theatrical Notebooks of Samuel Beckett: Endgame,

  edited by S. E. Gontarski

  The Theatrical Notebooks of Samuel Beckett:

  Krapp’s Last Tape, edited by James Knowlson

  The Theatrical Notebooks of Samuel Beckett: Waiting for

  Godot, edited by Dougald McMillan and James Knowlson

  Books on Samuel Beckett published by Grove Press

  On Beckett: Essays and Criticism, by S. E. Gontarski

  Conversations on Beckett, edited by Mel Gussow

  Rockaby

  AND OTHER SHORT PIECES

  BY

  Samuel Beckett

  This collection copyright © 1981 by Grove Press, Inc.

  Rockaby copyright © 1981 by Samuel Beckett

  Ohio Impromptu copyright © 1981 by Samuel Beckett

  All Strange Away copyright © 1976 by Samuel Beckett

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  Grove Press

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  New York, NY 10003

  CAUTION: These pieces are fully protected, in whole, in part, or in any form under the copyright laws of the United States of America, the British Empire, including Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union, and are subject to royalty. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, radio, television, recitation, and public readings are strictly reserved. For amateur and stock rights, apply to Samuel French, 45 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. For professional rights, apply to Barney Rosset, Rosset & Company, 61 Fourth Avenue, New York, NY 10003. All other inquiries should be addressed to the Permission Department, Grove Press.

  A Piece of Monologue first published in The Kenyon Review, New Series, Vol. I, Number 3, Summer 1979. Copyright © 1979 by Kenyon College.

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 80-8916

  eBook ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-9833-4

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  First Evergreen Edition 1981

  contents

  Rockaby

  Ohio Impromptu

  All Strange Away

  A Piece of Monologue

  Rockaby

  Rockaby was first performed at the Center for Theatre Research in Buffalo, in association with the State University of New York at Buffalo, on April 8,1981. It was directed by Alan Schneider and produced by Daniel Labeille.

  Woman and Voice . . . . . . Billie Whitelaw

  W = Woman in chair.

  V = Her recorded voice.

  Fade up on W in rocking chair facing front downstage slightly off centre audience left. Long pause. W: More.

  Pause. Rock and voice together.

  V: till in the end

  the day came

  in the end came

  close of a long day

  when she said

  to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  going to and fro

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  for another

  another like herself

  another creature like herself

  a little like

  going to and fro

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  for another

  till in the end

  close of a long day

  to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  going to and fro

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  for another

  another living soul

  one other living soul

  going to and fro

  all eyes like herself

  all sides

  high and low

  for another

  another like herself

  a little like

  going to and fro

  till in the end

  close of a long day

  to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  going to and fro

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  Together: echo of “time she stopped,” coming to rest of rock, faint fade of light.

  Long pause.

  W: More.

  Pause. Rock and voice together.

  V: so in the end

  close of a long day

  went back in

  in the end went back in

  saying to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  going to and fro

  time she went and sat

  at her window

  quiet at her window

  facing other windows

  so in the end

  close of a long day

  in the end went and sat

  went back in and sat

  at her window

  let up the blind and sat

  quiet at her window

  only window

  facing other windows

  other only windows

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  for another

  at her window

  another like herself

  a little like

  another living soul

  one other living soul

  at her window

  gone in like herself

  gone back in

  in the end

  close of a long day

  saying to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  going to and fro

  time she went and sat

  at her window

  quiet at her window

  only window

  facing other windows

  other only windows

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  for another

  another like herself

  a little like

  another living soul

  one other living soul

  Together: echo of “living soul,” coming to rest of rock, faint fade of light.

  Long
pause.

  W: More.

  Pause. Rock and voice together.

  V: till in the end

  the day came

  in the end came

  close of a long day

  sitting at her window

  quiet at her window

  only window

  facing other windows

  other only windows

  all blinds down

  never one up

  hers alone up

  till the day came

  in the end came

  close of a long day

  sitting at her window

  quiet at her window

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  for a blind up

  one blind up

  no more

  never mind a face

  behind the pane

  famished eyes

  like hers

  to see

  be seen

  no

  a blind up

  like hers

  a little like

  one blind up no more

  another creature there

  somewhere there

  behind the pane

  another living soul

  one other living soul

  till the day came

  in the end came

  close of a long day

  when she said

  to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  sitting at her window

  quiet at her window

  only window

  facing other windows

  other only windows

  all eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  time she stopped

  time she stopped

  Together: echo of “time she stopped,” coming to rest of rock, faint fade of light.

  Long pause.

  W: More.

  Pause. Rock and voice together.

  V: so in the end

  close of a long day

  went down

  in the end went down

  down the steep stair

  let down the blind and down

  right down

  into the old rocker

  mother rocker

  where mother sat

  all the years

  all in black

  best black

  sat and rocked

  rocked

  till her end came

  in the end came

  off her head they said

  gone off her head

  but harmless

  no harm in her

  dead one day

  no

  night

  dead one night

  in the rocker

  in her best black

  head fallen

  and the rocker rocking

  rocking away

  so in the end

  close of a long day

  went down

  in the end went down

  down the steep stair

  let down the blind and down

  right down

  into the old rocker

  those arms at last

  and rocked

  rocked

  with closed eyes

  closing eyes

  she so long all eyes

  famished eyes

  all sides

  high and low

  to and fro

  at her window

  to see

  be seen

  till in the end

  close of a long day

  to herself

  whom else

  time she stopped

  let down the blind and stopped

  time she went down

  down the steep stair

  time she went right down

  was her own other

  own other living soul

  so in the end

  close of a long day

  went down

  down the steep stair

  let down the blind and down

  right down

  into the old rocker

  and rocked

  rocked

  saying to herself

  no

  done with that

  the rocker

  those arms at last

  saying to the rocker

  rock her off

  stop her eyes

  fuck life

  stop her eyes

  rock her off

  rock her off

  Together: echo of “rock her off,” coming to rest of rock, slow fade out.

  NOTES

  Light

  Subdued on chair. Rest of stage dark. Subdued spot on face constant throughout, unaffected by successive fades. Either wide enough to include narrow limits of rock or concentrated on face when still or at mid-rock. Then throughout speech face slightly swaying in and out of light.

  Opening fade-up: first spot on face alone. Long pause. Then light on chair. Final fade-out: first chair. Long pause with spot on face alone. Head slowly sinks, comes to rest. Fade out spot.

  W

  Prematurely old. Unkempt grey hair. Huge eyes in white expressionless face. White hands holding ends of armrests.

  Eyes

  Now closed, now open in unblinking gaze. About equal proportions section 1, increasingly closed 2 and 3, closed for good halfway through 4.

  Costume

  Black lacy high-necked evening gown. Long sleeves. Jet sequins to glitter when rocking. Incongruous frivolous headdress set askew with extravagant trimmings to catch light when rocking.

  Attitude

  Completely still till fade-out of chair. Then in light of spot head slowly inclined.

  Chair

  Pale wood highly polished to gleam when rocking. Footrest. Vertical back. Rounded inward curving arms to suggest embrace.

  Rock

  Slight. Slow. Controlled mechanically without assistance from W.

  Voice

  Lines in italics spoken by W with V a little softer each time. W’s “More” a little softer each time. Towards end of section 4, say from “saying to herself” on, voice gradually softer.

  Ohio Impromptu

  Ohio Impromptu was first performed in the Drake Union, Stadium 2 Theater, in association with Ohio State University, on May 9, 1981. It was directed by Alan Schneider.

  L = Listener.

  R = Reader.

  As alike in appearance as possible.

  Light on table midstage. Rest of stage in darkness.

  Plain white deal table, say 8’ x 4’.

  Two plain armless white deal chairs.

  L seated at table facing front towards end of long side audience right. Bowed head propped on right hand. Face hidden. Left hand on table. Long black coat. Long white hair.

  R seated at table in profile centre of short side audience right. Bowed head propped on right hand. Left hand on table. Book on table before him open at last pages. Long black coat. Long white hair.

  Black wide-brimmed hat at centre of table.

  Fade up.

  Ten seconds.

  R turns page.

  Pause.

  R (reading): Little is left to tell. In a last—

  L knocks with left hand on table.

  Little is left to tell.

  Pause. Knock.

  In a last attempt to obtain relief he moved from where they had been so long together to a single room on the far bank. From its single window he could see the downstream extremity of the Isle of Swans.

  Pause.

  Relief he had hoped would flow from unfamiliarity. Unfamiliar room. Unfamiliar scene. Out to where nothing ever shared. Back to where nothing ever shared. From this he had once half hoped some measure of relief might flow.

  Pause.

  Day after day he could be seen slowly pacing the islet. Hour after hour. In his long black coat no matter what the weather and old world Latin Quarter ha
t. At the tip he would always pause to dwell on the receding stream. How in joyous eddies its two arms conflowed and flowed united on. Then turn and his slow steps retrace.

  Pause.

  In his dreams—

  Knock.

  Then turn and his slow steps retrace.

  Pause. Knock.

  In his dreams he had been warned against this change. Seen the dear face and heard the unspoken words, Stay where we were so long alone together, my shade will comfort you.

  Pause.

  Could he not—

  Knock.

  Seen the dear face and heard the unspoken words, Stay where we were so long alone together, my shade will comfort you.

  Pause. Knock.

  Could he not now turn back? Acknowledge his error and return to where they were once so long alone together. Alone together so much shared. No. What he had done alone could not be undone. Nothing he had ever done alone could ever be undone. By him alone.

  Pause.

  In this extremity his old terror of night laid hold on him again. After so long a lapse that as if never been. (Pause. Looks closer.) Yes, after so long a lapse that as if never been. Now with redoubled force the fearful symptoms described at length page forty paragraph four. (Starts to turn back the pages. Checked by L’s left hand. Resumes relinquished page.) White nights now again his portion. As when his heart was young. No sleep no braving sleep till—(turns page)— dawn of day.

  Pause.

  Little is left to tell. One night—

  Knock.

  Little is left to tell.

  Pause. Knock.

  One night as he sat trembling head in hands from head to foot a man appeared to him and said, I have been sent by—and here he named the dear name—to comfort you. Then drawing a worn volume from the pocket of his long black coat he sat and read till dawn. Then disappeared without a word.

  Pause.

  Some time later he appeared again at the same hour with the same volume and this time without preamble sat and read it through again the long night through. Then disappeared without a word.

  Pause.

  So from time to time unheralded he would appear to read the sad tale through again and the long night away. Then disappear without a word.

  Pause.

  With never a word exchanged they grew to be as one.

  Pause.

  Till the night came at last when having closed the book and dawn at hand he did not disappear but sat on without a word.