#PLAYS – Alysse Aallyn

Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

SCENE 5 (The Hamptons. Lights up on WHITNEY, sitting against the boulder, staring out at the ocean, drinking from a bottle of tequila. EIGHT approaches and sits beside her silently.) EIGHTWhat? No door hammering? Your fists must be sore. WHITNEYI’m waiting for her to come out and swim. She usually does – when the moon…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn
Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

SCENE 4 (Lights up on Strip club., “Guilty Pleasures”. Pole, stage, café table with chairs on top. MR BUTTERBATCH wearing apron is sweeping floor. Enter WHITNEY with wheeled suitcase) WHITNEYDidn’t this club used to be The Gentleman’s Secret? BUTTERBATCHLong, long ago. Are you the new dancer? WHITNEYNot hardly. BUTTERBATCHWell, that’s lucky. (Shakes his head.) WHITNEYI’m…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn
Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

(Behind WHITNEY’S back appears an old man dressed for fishing. He carries a tackle box and two fishing rods.) WHITNEY(Shouting after EIGHT)Some “master of the elements” you are. Scared of a little chill! DR. QUANTREAUWhitney? Ready to go fishing? The bluefish are running. WHITNEY(Overcome) Dad! Dad! Oh, my God! Dad! DR. QUANTREAUDon’t touch me. I’m…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn
Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

WHITNEYThat went HORRIBLY. (Goes to sit disconsolately on the beach behind the boulder, hidden from the house. EIGHT appears, wielding his metal detector.) WHITNEY(Sarcastically) Well if it ain’t the Prince of Wands. EIGHTExcuse me? Name’s Eight. Like pieces of eight? WHITNEYWell, I found out the demon’s name. And it got me exactly nowhere. It’s Creature…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn
Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

(Evening. Lights up on the Hampton house. ) WHITNEY(Banging) Charmayne!! Charmayne!! CHARMAYNE(Appearing at the door – seemingly annoyed) Whitney, you really do have to make an appointment. I don’t have time to play with you today. WHITNEYOh, I think you’ll see me – Pearleen. CHARMAYNE(Steps outside, closes door carefully) Oh? Are your efforts to master…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn
Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

WHITNEY (Thinking aloud) A demon’s real name… (Silence while WHITNEY thinks. Decision.) WHITNEY Be not afraid. (She resumes hammering on the door.) Charmayne! Charmayne! Charmayne! CHARMAYNE (Seductively from the door open only a slit) I thought we had an agreement, Whitney. WHITNEY (Bravely) I’d like you to tell my fortune. Give me a reading. You know. With the cards. CHARMAYNE (Instantly…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn
Queen of Swords – the Tarot Play by Alysse Aallyn

CHARACTERS (4)Charmayne: a beautiful, powerful woman just at the drop off point into middle ageWhitney: a stubborn, determined girl on the cusp of adulthood who doesn’t give a damn about her looksEight: mysterious male beachcomber, late 20’sThe Guardians of the Past: (can be played by a single actor)Dr Quantreau: elderly male in fishing regaliaMrs. Preece:…
Read more: Queen of Swords – the Tarot Play by Alysse Aallyn
The Demon Lover – a play for 2 voices by Alysse Aallyn

SCENE IV – THE LAST SCENE EVAI am gnawed by an aching hopeless wish.Loneliness leads to breakdown,Becomes dementia. I batterAround the rooms of this castle,However brightly-plumaged,Knocking into furniture,A tragic bird who’s trapped indoors.Even dizzy with drink I maintain the frigidityOf an Edwardian hostessIntolerant of scenes at meals.Without you life’s a half-lit room. EVANI’ve become a…
Read more: The Demon Lover – a play for 2 voices by Alysse Aallyn
The Demon Lover – a play for 2 voices by Alysse Aallyn

SCENE III EVANThis is the letter I would write you if I dared,if I weren’t frightened bf the cancerOf your Elayna-hatred.I am overworked, wrung out.I feel possessed by you.You must always live at the pitch of anguish.Our love has roots in good and evil,It lives in the darkest places of our naturesDespite of its pleasant…
Read more: The Demon Lover – a play for 2 voices by Alysse Aallyn
The Demon Lover – a play for two voices by Alysse Aallyn

Scene I EVAN I like women willful, lateFor appointments,fond of showy clothes and society, vague, drifting, dreamy,yet of course all of that is tiresome.But I don’t like competence, intellectual honesty, intelligent sensuality.Women keep turning on me saying,“You don’t love me.”What good is it to have been so happywhen it ends so painfully?I am a “crook”,…
Read more: The Demon Lover – a play for two voices by Alysse Aallyn

Category: #PLAYS